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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Sixty years after the assassination of Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardaunan of Sokoto, northern leaders have declared the region at a crossroads, announcing a major conference to confront what they described as worsening leadership failures, insecurity and stalled development across the North.
The planned conference, titled “Sixty Years Without the Sardauna”, was unveiled on Thursday at the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) Secretariat in Kaduna during a press briefing marking the anniversary of the 15 January 1966 military coup that claimed the lives of Sir Ahmadu Bello and other national leaders.
Addressing a press conference on behalf of the groups, Bashir M. Dalhatu, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the ACF, said the conference, scheduled for the first week of April, would move beyond “consoling nostalgia” to seek practical answers to the region’s persistent leadership and security woes.
“Sixty years after the Sardauna, the North looks back in vain for successors who sustained his record of leadership, integrity and inclusive development,” Dalhatu said.
While acknowledging Armed Forces Remembrance Day and honouring the sacrifices of Nigeria’s military, the groups said 15 January also marked a critical turning point in the nation’s history, setting off a chain of crises that culminated in the civil war and the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives.
The briefing recalled Sir Ahmadu Bello’s pivotal role in laying the foundations of Northern Nigeria’s development, citing the establishment of Ahmadu Bello University, massive investments in education, healthcare, infrastructure and economic institutions, and an administration described as transparent, inclusive and sensitive to the region’s religious and ethnic diversity.
“He died leaving behind one personal house,” Dalhatu noted, drawing a sharp contrast between the Sardauna’s personal integrity and what the groups described as troubling contemporary narratives of governance.
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According to the organisers, more than 70 per cent of Northerners today are under the age of 60 and have no lived experience of leadership that united the region, protected its interests and promoted broad-based growth.
They cited rising insecurity, out-of-school children, the Almajiri crisis, strained inter-communal relations and the high cost of governance across the 19 states created from the old Northern Region as evidence of leadership failure.
The April conference will bring together elders, political leaders, academics, religious figures, entrepreneurs, women and youth to critically examine the region’s strengths and weaknesses.
Organisers said the forum would allow the North to “speak to itself”, confront uncomfortable truths and translate existing research into actionable strategies for improving security, economic development and peaceful coexistence.
Groups behind the initiative include the Arewa Consultative Forum, Northern Elders Forum, Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Arewa House, MACBAN and several other northern organisations.
Dalhatu said the ultimate goal is to rekindle the values associated with the Sardauna’s leadership: hard work, humility, integrity and service to the poor, while repositioning the North as a responsible and constructive force in Nigeria’s democratic development.
The organisers appealed to Northerners, other Nigerians and the media to support what they described as a critical moment of self-reflection and renewal for the region.
