Northern-Nigeria Perspective

Ramadan Oh Allah Bless us in this Holy month of Ramadan & Grant is peace, Tranquility, & Mercy. Hamisu Idris Medugu ,  Sardaunan Madagali 

• Kadaria Ahmed in a TV program  Let us start with what we know. Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, former FCT Minister under President Olusegun Obasanjo, and one-time Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, is under arrest. He is facing allegations of corruption and accusations under the Cybercrimes Act, including claims that he facilitated the tapping of the phone of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. He has denied all wrongdoing. He says this is political persecution, punishment for criticising a government he helped bring to power. The courts will determine the legal truth. But politics is rarely only about what is written in a charge sheet. This story is not simply about El-Rufai. It is about power. It is about loyalty. And it is about a region in crisis whose leaders appear unable to rise above themselves. Because this is not just any defendant. This is a man who once stood shoulder to shoulder with Mallam Nuhu Ri...

One of the trending issues on the table recently in the North is the political aspiration of the Cleric-turn-politician, in his quest to become the next Governor of Gombe state come 2027. I am not going to support Jafar Jafar's dismissive article of Pantami's unrealistic effort to juggle the moral compass of his clerical uprightness against the immoral stance of Nigeria politics which thrives mostly on corruption and deciet. Nor am I going to agree with Professor Abba Aji's rejoinder to Jafar Jafar, seemingly endorsing Pantami's ability to eat his cake and have it, as he maintains the dual role of Cleric-Politician. What I am going to do is simply remind us of the antecedents and precedents of Pantami's role in the last two decades, from both the religious and political spaces he traverses.  In a viral video in recent years, we have seen the skinny, vocal and passionate Pantami castigating, condemning and distancing himself from politics and politicians....

When the All Progressives Congress (APC) took power in 2015 under President Muhammadu Buhari, it rode on the wings of a seductive slogan—“CHANGE.” Millions believed. Millions hoped. Millions voted. But from 2015 to 2023, Nigeria endured eight wasted years, marked by unprecedented economic stagnation, inflationary spikes, violent insecurity and institutional decay. By Buhari’s exit, Nigeria was ranked by the World Bank as the world’s poverty capital, with over 89 million people living in extreme poverty. Then came 2023. A controversial election. A divided nation. And the emergence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu under a new slogan—“Renewed Hope.” But today, less than two years into Tinubu’s presidency, the evidence is overwhelming: Renewed Hope has become Renewed Hardship. And for the survival of the Nigerian state, Tinubu must not return in 2027. This is not emotion. This is not opposition rhetoric. This is hard data—economic, social, and security evidence that Nigeria canno...

Northern Nigeria is confronted not merely by insecurity, poverty, or underdevelopment, but by a deeper and more corrosive crisis: a fragmentation of purpose driven by religious, ethnic, and identity-based divisions. These divisions are not organic accidents of history; they have been deliberately cultivated, weaponised, and sustained by selfish political and elite interests who thrive on disunity. Until this reality is confronted honestly and decisively, no meaningful progress can be achieved. The North’s greatest weakness today is not the absence of resources or people of talent, but the collapse of collective consciousness. Communities that share history, geography, and destiny are locked in suspicion and rivalry—Muslim against Christian, indigene against settler, tribe against tribe. These fault lines have become convenient tools for manipulation, allowing local and national actors to deflect accountability while mobilising support through fear and grievance rather than ...

Tinubu, America’s Air Strikes and Nigeria’s Imperiled Sovereignty                        By          Umar Ardo, Ph.D The reported American airstrikes conducted within Nigerian territory in Sokoto State targeted at ISIS fighters raise serious constitutional, legal, strategic and political questions that go to the core of Nigeria’s sovereignty and democratic governance. These questions are not matters of sentiment or politics; they are fundamental matters of national survival! They require urgent clarification, as their implications extend beyond security operations to the grave foundation of the country’s existence as a sovereign republic and its constitutional order. 2. Before we look at the operational implications of these strikes, let us first examine its legitimacy. And to do that, the legal analysis must turn on the issue of sovereignty and consent. Under international law, the territorial integrit...