Rescuing Northern Nigeria from Internal Threats. May 14, 2025

It's time for a decisive shift in focus to rescue Northern Nigeria and preserve national stability. Various Northern interest groups have failed to defend the region's interests, allowing chaos to reign while diverting public resources meant for development into personal pockets.

It is hypocritical to promote nomadic traditions and glorify the Almajiri culture while providing quality education to their own children. This contradiction highlights a fundamental leadership failure and a lack of commitment to the public good. How long must a state or region remain educationally disadvantaged when it doesn't take more than four years to train Teachers?

The Western region's educational superiority in Nigeria can be attributed to the foundation laid by Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his Action Group party from 1952 to 1956. So, what's hindering the Northern region's progress? The answer lies in leadership.

Boko Haram is the chickens coming home to roost. A child growing up should have a home, a government that cares, and the opportunity to make a choice about what to make of every religious doctrine contrary to the arrested development phenomenon within the Muslim faith in the northern part of the country.

They succeeded in creating generations of uneducated, easily manipulated religious extremists in their backyard – a cesspool for Boko Haram adherents and a recruitment reservoir for those who want to take over our land, appropriate our natural resources, and impose a state religion on the rest of us.

A child capable of imbibing and reciting entire Quranic verses verbatim is capable of solving, for instance, Quadratic Equations in a Mathematics class if he or she has the opportunity to take the class. No matter our perspective, it’s all about effort and the leadership we have and what their views are on education, equal rights, and egalitarianism.

We must not give up on educating these children because the informed citizenry is the most potent and decisive weapon against false beliefs and extorted indoctrination. No one would buy into the disproved belief in the North that Western education is forbidden if regular education was part of his or her adolescence.

There must be a distinction to be made between religious purity and survival instinct through purposeful engagement in the national economy. God and Allah help those who help themselves is not just a proverb; it is a fact. Our Northern Islamic Scholars, Sheikhs, and regional leaders (political and traditional) should be willing to embrace changes and accept the fact that religious freedom is most ennobling when combined with socioeconomic empowerment for ultimate emancipation.

Now what?

Former Chadian President Idriss Déby's success in taking down Boko Haram fighters on Nigerian soil a few years ago proves they're not invincible. What Déby had, and the Nigerian Armed Forces lack, is internal trust and esprit de corps – essential for maintaining operational confidentiality.

The presence of suspected moles and Boko Haram sympathisers within the military has compromised critical missions. Leaked intelligence and deployment plans have undermined national security efforts. President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his security team must prioritise addressing this internal breach of trust.

A pressing question remains: How loyal are the "rehabilitated" Boko Haram members now embedded in the Nigerian armed forces? Eliminating internal moles is the first step toward regaining security.

Finally, given the severity of the crisis, it's worth considering Western intelligence support or Private Military Companies (PMCS) on the ground to counter Boko Haram's relentless attacks. Recent reports of Boko Haram overrunning a military base in Bornu State, killing soldiers, and looting weapons are alarming. Perhaps it's time to invite Mercenaries or targeted U.S. intelligence and preemptive action to save lives and restore security.

Let's stay in faith, Nigeria is worth saving.

May 14, 2025.

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