By ACI (Rtd) Abdullah Adam Cory Garba, MNIM

The expression “Dan Arewa” carries a meaning that extends far beyond geography. It evokes a shared history, cultural heritage and regional identity associated with Northern Nigeria—a vast and diverse part of the country whose contribution to Nigeria’s political evolution, economic life and national security remains significant.

But identity alone does not produce prosperity. Cultural affinity does not automatically create political influence, and population size does not necessarily translate into development. This is where the central challenge confronting Arewa lies.

Northern Nigeria possesses enormous human and material resources. It has vast agricultural land, mineral deposits, livestock resources, strategic trade routes, renewable-energy potential, a large youthful population and communities with deep traditions of enterprise and resilience. Yet the region continues to confront widespread poverty, unemployment, educational deficits, insecurity, infrastructure gaps and political fragmentation.

This presents a troubling paradox: a region rich in potential but constrained by weak coordination.

The question, therefore, is no longer whether Arewa has the resources to prosper. It is whether its people and leaders can develop the institutions, political discipline, economic strategy and security architecture necessary to convert those resources into sustainable prosperity.

Being a Dan Arewa should not mean belonging to one ethnic group, one political party, one religious community or one ideological camp. Northern Nigeria is far too diverse for such a narrow definition. Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri, Tiv, Nupe, Berom, Igala and numerous other ethnic and linguistic communities have distinct histories and identities.

Arewa unity should therefore never mean uniformity.

It should mean the capacity to manage diversity while pursuing common interests.

That distinction is important because the future of Northern Nigeria cannot be built through hostility towards other parts of Nigeria. A strong North should not be conceived as a North against the South, East or West. Rather, it should be a politically conscious, economically productive, socially stable and secure region contributing more effectively to the development of the Nigerian federation.

The real objective should be a prosperous Arewa within a prosperous Nigeria.

One of the most consequential weaknesses confronting Northern Nigeria is political fragmentation. The region has enormous electoral significance, yet population strength does not automatically translate into effective political bargaining power.

Political influence requires coordination, credible leadership, policy consistency, negotiation skills, intellectual preparation, competent representation and accountability.

Where political competition becomes dominated by personal ambition, ethnic calculations, religious sentiments or short-term electoral interests, broader regional development can easily become secondary.

This creates a paradox: a region may possess substantial voting strength while lacking corresponding influence in determining the policies and investments that shape its future.

The answer is not to demand permanent political alignment. Democracy requires competition. Different political parties and candidates should compete for public support.

The problem arises when political loyalty becomes more important than public performance.

A more mature political culture would require citizens to ask difficult questions. What has a candidate done about education? What is the plan for agriculture? How will jobs be created? What is the strategy for reducing insecurity? How will infrastructure be improved? What policies will attract investment and develop industries?

The question should not simply be, “Who is your candidate?”

It should increasingly be, “What is your candidate’s plan for the people?”

The politics of personality must give way to the politics of performance.

Economic fragmentation is equally damaging. A region that cannot coordinate its economic priorities will struggle to develop integrated infrastructure, attract large-scale investment and maximise its comparative advantages.

Northern Nigeria has opportunities across agriculture, livestock, solid minerals, manufacturing, renewable energy, tourism, transportation, logistics, technology, agro-processing and regional trade.

The challenge is to move beyond the export or sale of raw resources.

Agriculture provides one of the clearest examples. The North cannot achieve agricultural transformation simply by increasing the number of people cultivating land. The real objective should be to create an integrated agricultural economy built around irrigation, improved seeds, mechanisation, extension services, storage, rural roads, affordable finance, processing facilities, commodity markets and export-oriented value chains.

The traditional chain of farmer to middleman to raw commodity must gradually evolve into a more productive system:

farmer → processing → manufacturing → domestic market → export.

That is how agriculture becomes a foundation for industrialisation rather than merely a means of subsistence.

The same principle applies to the region’s mineral resources. The extraction of solid minerals without sufficient local processing creates limited employment and leaves much of the economic value outside the communities where the resources originate.

Mining must therefore be connected to processing, manufacturing, environmental protection, community development and responsible regulation. The fight against illegal mining should equally be understood as an economic-security priority, because illegal extraction deprives government of revenue, damages the environment, fuels criminal networks and can undermine legitimate investment.

Perhaps the greatest economic and security question facing Arewa, however, is its young population.

Northern Nigeria has an enormous reservoir of youthful energy. Properly educated and economically empowered, this population could become one of the region’s greatest competitive advantages.

But a large youthful population without sufficient education, employment and opportunity can become vulnerable to exploitation.

An unemployed young person is not automatically a security threat. Poverty does not make anyone a criminal. But prolonged unemployment, exclusion, frustration and hopelessness can create conditions in which criminal networks, extremist organisations and other predatory groups find recruitment easier.

This is why youth development should not be treated merely as a social-welfare issue.

Youth empowerment is also a national-security strategy.

Young Nigerians need more than temporary interventions. They need quality education, technical and vocational training, digital skills, entrepreneurship opportunities, access to finance, apprenticeships, sports, creative industries and pathways into sustainable employment.

A young person with skills, purpose and opportunity is an economic asset. A young person without any credible pathway to a productive future can become vulnerable to manipulation.

Education must therefore occupy the centre of any serious Arewa development agenda.

The region needs an educational transformation that goes beyond enrolment figures. Basic literacy, girls’ education, teacher development, science and technology, technical education, digital literacy, research and innovation must receive sustained attention.

The objective should be to produce engineers, doctors, scientists, entrepreneurs, ICT professionals, economists, administrators, security specialists and industrialists—not merely politicians.

A region that produces millions of voters but insufficient numbers of skilled professionals will continue to depend excessively on others for expertise and economic transformation.

The security implications of these challenges are profound.

Parts of Northern Nigeria continue to face terrorism, violent extremism, banditry, kidnapping, communal conflicts, farmer-herder disputes, cattle rustling, arms trafficking, human trafficking and organised criminal activity.

These problems cannot be solved by military and police operations alone.

Security forces are indispensable, but sustainable security ultimately depends on governance, justice, economic opportunity, education, community resilience and public confidence in institutions.

The Armed Forces, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, intelligence agencies, Nigeria Immigration Service and other relevant institutions must therefore continue to strengthen cooperation.

But security is also a shared responsibility.

Traditional rulers, religious leaders, local government authorities, community leaders and responsible civil-society organisations have important roles to play. Communities possess information that security agencies may not easily obtain through conventional means.

Community intelligence should therefore be treated as a strategic national resource.

Citizens, however, will only provide reliable information when they trust that their identities will be protected and that security agencies will act professionally on the information supplied.

This makes trust between communities and security institutions fundamental to internal security.

Northern Nigeria’s geographical position adds another layer of complexity. The region shares extensive international borders, making effective border management critical to Nigeria’s security and economic interests.

Poorly controlled borders can facilitate the movement of arms, drugs, traffickers, criminal groups and terrorists. At the same time, legitimate cross-border trade supports the livelihoods of millions of people.

The answer is therefore not simply to create harder borders.

Nigeria needs smarter borders.

That means modern surveillance, biometric systems, intelligence-led patrols, stronger inter-agency cooperation, modern infrastructure, properly trained personnel and deeper security cooperation with neighbouring countries.

Border communities should not be regarded solely as security risks. They should become partners in border management.

Another serious concern is the politicisation of insecurity.

Security should never become a permanent instrument for attacking political opponents or defending political allies. Criminality has no political party, ethnicity or religion.

A terrorist is a terrorist. A kidnapper is a kidnapper. A bandit is a bandit.

Criminal conduct should never be excused because the perpetrator belongs to a preferred political, ethnic or religious constituency.

At the same time, security institutions must operate professionally, impartially and within the law. The credibility of the state depends not only on its capacity to confront criminals but also on its commitment to justice and due process.

National security must rise above partisan politics.

Traditional institutions also have an important role to play in rebuilding social cohesion.

Emirs, chiefs, district heads and other community authorities possess considerable social capital in many parts of Northern Nigeria. They can help mediate disputes, promote peaceful coexistence, encourage education, support early-warning systems and discourage criminality.

Religious leaders equally have a responsibility to reject the manipulation of faith for political or violent purposes.

Islam and Christianity should be instruments for promoting peace, justice, compassion, honesty, education and respect for human dignity—not tools for deepening division.

What Arewa requires now is a new development compact.

Northern states should pursue greater coordination in infrastructure, agriculture, education, trade, industrialisation, human-capital development and security. Such coordination would not undermine the constitutional independence of individual states. Rather, it would enable them to pursue common economic interests more effectively.

Economic corridors connecting production centres to markets, industrial clusters based on comparative advantages, improved transportation networks and stronger regional trade could significantly enhance economic integration.

Political leaders also have a responsibility to look beyond electoral cycles.

The region needs leaders capable of thinking beyond the next election and planning for the next generation.

This requires a new political culture in which integrity, competence, measurable performance and public accountability matter more than slogans and political loyalty.

The people themselves must also become more demanding.

Citizens should stop treating political leaders as patrons whose mistakes must be defended at all costs. Public office is a responsibility, not private property. Leaders should be praised when they perform and constructively challenged when they fail.

Arewa also needs a broader intellectual coalition.

Academics, economists, engineers, entrepreneurs, security professionals, lawyers, medical practitioners, technocrats, retired public servants, traditional institutions, women leaders and young professionals must be brought into serious discussions about the region’s future.

The North cannot afford a political culture in which important decisions are driven primarily by emotion and political convenience.

The region needs evidence-based policy.

It needs research.

It needs data.

It needs long-term planning.

And above all, it needs implementation.

The next generation of Arewa leadership should therefore be judged less by where a person comes from and more by what that person can contribute.

The question should no longer be:

“Where is he from?”

It should be:

“What can he contribute?”

Likewise, the question should not simply be:

“Which political party does he belong to?”

It should be:

“What solution does he offer?”

This is the transformation that the idea of “Dan Arewa” should represent.

The future of Northern Nigeria is inseparable from the future of Nigeria itself. A permanently unstable North cannot produce a permanently stable Nigeria. Likewise, Nigeria cannot achieve sustainable development while large sections of the country remain trapped in insecurity, poverty, unemployment and educational disadvantage.

The North therefore has both a regional responsibility and a national responsibility.

Its people must demand development without promoting division, protect legitimate regional interests without undermining national unity, and pursue political influence without turning regional identity into a weapon.

The greatest threat to Arewa may not come from outside the region. It may come from the combined effects of internal division, political opportunism, economic underdevelopment, educational weakness and insecurity.

But the greatest opportunity is also within the region.

Arewa possesses land, human capital, agricultural resources, mineral wealth, strategic geography, cultural heritage and a youthful population. These assets can either remain scattered and underutilised or be organised into a coherent development strategy.

The choice is ultimately political, economic and moral.

To be a Dan Arewa should mean more than geographical origin. It should mean responsibility: responsibility to educate children, protect communities, reject criminality, demand accountable leadership, promote enterprise, respect diversity and contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s development.

Arewa does not need another politics of division. It needs a politics of development.

It does not need leaders who merely speak in the name of the North. It needs leaders capable of transforming the North.

It does not need citizens mobilised only during elections. It needs citizens mobilised around education, enterprise, security, accountability and development.

The choice before the region is therefore unmistakable: remain divided and negotiate from weakness, or build common ground around development and negotiate from strength.

A united Arewa should never be presented as a threat to Nigeria. A productive, secure, educated and enlightened Arewa would be one of Nigeria’s greatest national assets.

The future will not be determined by the strength of the region’s identity alone. It will be determined by what its people do with that identity.

And for Arewa, the time to turn identity into responsibility, resources into prosperity and population into productive power is now.

By ACI (Rtd) Abdullah Adam Cory Garba, MNIM