Northern Leaders Task FG, Governors On Security, Youth Empowerment

Prominent Northern political, cultural, and security figures on Thursday converged on Kaduna for the 25th anniversary celebration of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF).

They called for urgent and innovative action to tackle the region’s deepening insecurity and growing development gaps.

This is coming at a time the region is being ravaged by insecurity following the abduction of over 24 female students of the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in the Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State by armed men.

Speakers at the event — including ACF Board of Trustees Chairman, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu (Wazirin Dutse); former Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.); representatives of Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Defence Headquarters; and the Minister of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, warned that the North must rethink its development path or risk further instability.

The anniversary activities featured technology and entrepreneurship exhibitions, women-focused pavilions, cultural showcases, and a high-level policy roundtable.

Declaring the celebration open, Dalhatu said the North must adopt “bold, modern developmental models” that address inequality and deliberately empower young people.

“We must begin in earnest to plunge into modern developmental efforts,” he said in his keynote address.

He explained that the ACF intentionally designed the anniversary around mentorship and innovation so that experts “will mingle with our young entrepreneurs and coach us in ways and means that must become necessary parts of our lives from now on.”

The BOT Chairman emphasised that the region’s future must be built on inclusive development rather than mere economic expansion.

According to him, the Forum is determined to create opportunities “for those that are less opportune, so that we can include with us and amongst us the haves and have-nots, the opportune and less opportune.”

Re-echoing the Forum’s long-standing message of unity, Dalhatu described the North as “one people, one North,” noting that no meaningful progress can be achieved without collective action.

He, however, warned that the occasion was taking place at a difficult time for the region, while honouring victims of conflict in the last 15 years and insisted it was time for authorities to reassess strategy.

“We are doing this knowing fully well the dire security circumstances that our region and our people are going through,” he said.

“We appreciate the sacrifices they are doing,” he noted of security personnel, “but it is time to also look for further, better, more effective means of challenging and curtailing our security circumstances.”

Speaking on the significance of the milestone, Buratai said the Forum’s 25 years offered an opportunity to reflect on achievements and prepare for the future.

He praised the anniversary theme, ‘Creative Economy: Engaging the Youth’, saying it reflected the realities of a region that must turn its population into an asset.

“Northern Nigeria is a microcosm of the nation. When one part of the country develops, that progress translates to others,” the former Army Chief said.

Buratai noted Nigeria’s evolving social environment, pointing out that the country’s regions now mirror a blend of cultures, institutions, religions, and identities. He described the ACF celebration as one that had “a truly national outlook.”

Representatives of Governor Mai Mala Buni, NSA Nuhu Ribadu and the Chief of Defence Staff also spoke at the event, stressing that national unity and social stability were indispensable in unlocking the economic potential of the North, particularly the tourism sector.

They argued that tourism could become a powerful driver of peace if properly harnessed.

A major highlight of the anniversary was a high-level roundtable on “Tourism for Security,” chaired by Musawa.

The minister said tourism could offer a strategic pathway out of insecurity when linked with job creation, community engagement, and cultural preservation.

“Tourism and security are inseparable,” she said. “Visitors will not explore our heritage sites or cultural festivals if they fear for their safety.”

According to her, many security challenges in the North are rooted in widespread poverty, exclusion, and lack of opportunity. “Security challenges often stem from exclusion, poverty and alienation,” she said, urging states and communities to adopt tourism as a socioeconomic stabiliser.

Musawa called for a partnership-driven approach between government, investors, traditional institutions, and security agencies. “Walk with us. Safeguard our heritage. Protect our dream,” she appealed.

Among dignitaries at the event were former Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; former Kaduna State Governor, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero; Sardaunan Dutse, Nasiru Gwamdu; and the representative of the Emir of Zazzau, Wazirin Zazzau Muhammad Inuwa, alongside a wide array of Northern academics, traditional rulers and policymakers.

Northern Leaders Task FG, Governors On Security, Youth Empowerment is first published on The Whistler Newspaper