Northern Nigeria at a Crossroads: Unity as the Missing Strategy - By LM Hamidu

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 vision and competence.

Religion, which ought to be a moral compass and unifying force, has increasingly been reduced to a political instrument. Ethnicity, once a source of cultural richness, is now framed as a boundary of exclusion. Together, they have produced a climate where identity matters more than ideas, and loyalty to group supersedes commitment to common good. This has paralysed collective action and weakened the North’s ability to respond cohesively to its many challenges.

The consequences are evident. Insecurity thrives where trust is broken. Banditry, insurgency, and communal violence feed on local grievances and mutual suspicion. Poverty deepens where regions compete destructively instead of coordinating development. Education collapses where ideology displaces pragmatism. Governance fails where leaders are shielded by identity politics rather than judged by performance.

Addressing Northern Nigeria’s crisis therefore requires more than military responses or economic programmes; it demands a deliberate reconstruction of unity and purpose.

First, the North must reclaim a shared civic identity that rises above religious and ethnic labels. Being Northern should mean a commitment to mutual protection, fairness, and collective advancement, not a hierarchy of “insiders” and “outsiders.” Traditional institutions, religious leaders, and civil society must consciously promote narratives of coexistence and shared destiny, not selective victimhood.

Second, political leadership in the North must be reoriented away from identity mobilisation toward issue-based governance. Leaders who exploit division must be named, resisted, and rejected at the ballot box. Regional forums—governors’ platforms, elders’ councils, youth assemblies—should focus on concrete deliverables: security coordination, education reform, agricultural value chains, and infrastructure, rather than rhetorical posturing.

Third, economic interdependence should be deliberately strengthened across communities. Shared markets, cooperative farming schemes, regional transport corridors, and integrated value chains can turn diversity from a liability into an asset. People who profit together are less easily divided.

Fourth, education must be rescued from neglect and ideological capture. A modern, inclusive educational system—combining formal schooling, vocational training, and reformed traditional learning—can produce citizens who think critically rather than react emotionally. Education is the most sustainable antidote to manipulation.

Finally, Northerners themselves must take responsibility for rejecting narratives of hatred and suspicion. Unity cannot be imposed from above; it must be chosen daily in how communities interact, how grievances are resolved, and how leaders are held accountable.

Northern Nigeria stands at a crossroads. One path leads to deeper fragmentation, perpetual insecurity, and managed decline. The other demands courage: to confront uncomfortable truths, to abandon divisive myths, and to build a shared future anchored in unity, justice, and collective self-interest. Only by choosing unity—deliberately and consistently—can the North effectively confront the evils that threaten its present and its future.

Abuja, Nigeria

January 2026