Northern Nigeria and the perfidy of politics, by Usman Sarki

2026-02-25 - 05:36

“No longer anything but a decoration which is useful for nothing”— Paul Cambon The withering description of a once-revered political figure in France by the diplomat Paul Cambon, applies with equal or perhaps greater force, to the state of politics in Nigeria today. Even objects of decoration, no matter how worthless, may still retain some redeeming features such as a trace of lustre, a hint of glitter, or a fleeting shine. Our politics has none of these. It is dull, featureless, uninspiring, purposeless, and devoid of moral compass. Applied to Northern Nigeria, it has become an incubus, a suffocating presence that has sat on the fortunes of the region for too long, stifling its progress and undercutting its dignity. Northern Nigeria, vast and variegated in its landscape, history and peoples, has, over the decades, been both the fulcrum of Nigerian unity and the victim of its own internal contradictions. It is a region endowed with immense natural and human resources, blessed with a proud civilization, and yet haunted by the perfidy of politics: that insidious manipulation of power and purpose that has turned noble ideals into instruments of division, domination and decay. The North once stood for purpose. It was guided by men who thought beyond self and family, who measured greatness by service and sacrifice not wealth, and who believed that leadership was a trust. Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, articulated a vision of the North founded on unity, education, faith, and progress. His was a politics of inclusion, anchored in discipline and social responsibility. Today, that moral compass has been broken. What passes for politics is little more than a scramble for privilege, a contest of personal fortunes clothed in the language of regional solidarity. The perfidy lies in how power has been stripped of its meaning. Political offices, once seen as sacred responsibilities, have been reduced to trophies. Public service has degenerated into self-service, and ideology has been replaced by opportunism. The great project of Northern modernisation conceived in its industrialisation, agricultural revival, and educational enlightenment, has been abandoned to slogans and ceremonies only. Nowhere is the betrayal of Northern ideals more glaring than in the collapse of institutions. Education, once the pride of the North, is in shambles. The region that produced pioneering universities, teachers colleges, polytechnics, and some of the country’s finest intellectuals is today beset by mass illiteracy. Public schools have decayed, teachers are demoralised, and millions of children wander the streets as out-of-school children and Almajirai – those human tragedies that mock our pretensions to piety and civilisation. Similarly, the once-robust local government system rooted in Native Authority or NA which served as the foundation of governance in the North, has been eroded by corruption and co-option. Traditional rulers, who once served as custodians of moral order and social cohesion, have been marginalised or politicised. Bureaucracies are captured by elites who thrive on patronage rather than performance. In this vacuum, fragility, insecurity, unemployment, and despair have found reflection and fertile ground. Leadership in Northern Nigeria has also become transactional. Too many so-called leaders pursue power without vision and govern without conscience. The culture of accountability has withered; loyalty is purchased, and integrity is penalised. The rise of money politics has made elections a bazaar, where votes are traded like commodities and public trust is auctioned to the highest bidder. This degeneration is not merely moral but it is existential as well. For a region grappling with population pressures, poverty, insurgency, and underdevelopment, the failure of leadership translates directly into human suffering. The betrayal is thus double: of the past and of the future. The generations that inherited the ideals of the founding fathers have squandered them; the youth that should inherit a future of hope is left with nothing but ashes. Another dimension of the North’s political perfidy lies in the cynical manipulation of religion and ethnicity. Once used as moral anchors, these have been transformed into weapons of division. Politicians mobilise along sectarian lines, preaching unity during campaigns and practising exclusion in office. The result is mutual suspicion, inter-communal strife, and a fractured sense of identity. The Northern ideal was once defined by a synthesis of Islam and modernity, of Christianity with empathy, of tradition and progress, and of diverse ethnic groups bound by a common destiny. That synthesis is now under assault. The region that once stood as a bastion of national stability is itself becoming a theatre of fragmentation. If this trajectory continues, Northern Nigeria may lose not only its moral authority but its historical mission as the guardian of Nigeria’s unity. The political decay of the North has direct economic consequences. Despite its vast agricultural potential, the region remains mired in poverty. Fertile lands lie fallow, irrigation projects collapse, and industrial zones decay. The rural poor are abandoned to scavenging and subsistence living, while the urban poor scramble for survival in cities devoid of infrastructure and jobs. The North’s youth still energetic, intelligent, and restless, are trapped between despair and exploitation. Lacking skills and opportunities, they are recruited into the armies of the disillusioned as insurgents, bandits, political thugs, or migrants fleeing in search of dignity elsewhere. This is not the fate of the North but it is the failure of its so-called leaders. It is a failure rooted in the betrayal of political responsibility. Equally troubling is the silence of the enlightened Northern population, especially the academics, clerics, professionals, and retired public servants and security officers who should be the conscience of society. Too many have chosen comfort over courage, complicity over confrontation. They watch as mediocrity is enthroned and the region sinks deeper into crisis, speaking only when their privileges are threatened. In the absence of moral leadership, the people are left to their own devices, prey to demagogues and charlatans who promise salvation while perpetuating decay. Yet all is not lost. Northern Nigeria can still redeem itself — but only if it returns to its founding principles. The first step is moral renewal: the re-awakening of conscience and the restoration of accountability. The second is educational revolution: rebuilding the schools, empowering teachers, and transforming the Almajiri system into a structured programme of learning and vocational training. The third is economic revitalisation through reviving agriculture, harnessing renewable energy, and developing local industries to absorb labour and create wealth. Politically, the North must cultivate a new generation of leaders who are disciplined, visionary, and uncorrupted. Leadership recruitment must be redefined around competence and character, not clan or cash. The people themselves must reject the politics of patronage and demand the politics of purpose. Northern civil societies, media, and religious institutions must reclaim their roles as watchdogs and moral anchors. Northern Nigeria stands today at a crossroads between renewal and ruin. The perfidy of politics has brought it to the brink, but history offers redemption for those who act with courage. The region that once produced Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Sir Kashim Ibrahim, Chief Sunday Awoniyi, Mallam Aminu Kano, Mallam Jolly Tanko Yusuf, Chief Joseph Tarka, Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim, Mallam Ibrahim Imam, the Makaman Bidda, and many other illustrious citizens, must rediscover their spirit – the belief that power is service, not spoils; that politics is a duty, not a deal; that leadership is sacrifice, not self-indulgence. The fate of the North is inseparable from that of Nigeria and vice-versa. A weakened North means a fragile nation. But a reformed North that is educated, productive, forward looking, united and just , can still lead Nigeria towards the promise of greatness that once animated its founding fathers. The time to begin that journey of reclamation is now.