The Lagos Chapter of the Arewa Community Forum has issued a powerful New Year statement, sharply criticizing Northern Nigeria’s political and traditional leadership for decades of failed governance, deepening insecurity, and the erosion of public trust.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Board of Trustees, Alhaji Dr. Ibrahim Tanko, the Forum accused Northern elites of presiding over a region now plagued by poverty, violence, and social decay. It warned that both history and divine justice would hold them accountable for the suffering of millions.
“Insecurity has reduced our region to a daily struggle for survival,” Dr. Tanko declared.
The Forum contrasted today’s grim reality with the early post-independence era, when leaders like Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Sir Kashim Ibrahim, and Mallam Aminu Kano championed education, equity, and inclusive development. These founding figures, it said, governed with integrity and prioritized the welfare of the people.
Today, however, the Forum lamented that Northern Nigeria tells a tragic story of collapse. Economic sectors have crumbled, millions of children lack access to education, and jobless youths are vulnerable to exploitation and violence. Many, it noted, are unfairly labeled as criminals—victims of a system that has failed them.
The statement accused the political class of diverting public funds meant for schools, hospitals, and infrastructure into private luxuries and political schemes. It condemned the hypocrisy of leaders who educate their children abroad while using uneducated local youth as pawns in political games.
The Forum described insecurity as a deliberate tool used to suppress progress and warned that the region’s continued decline would not go unpunished.
Beyond historical accountability, Dr. Tanko invoked a higher reckoning:
“On the Day of Judgment, power, wealth, and influence will avail no one.”
The Forum emphasized that its message was born not of hatred, but of conscience and love for the people of Northern Nigeria. It called on leaders to reflect, return to the values of justice and service, and take urgent action to rescue the region from further deterioration.