The 19th Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) meeting in Kaduna represents a crucial and determined response to the spiraling crisis of banditry, insurgency, and criminality that has plagued Northern Nigeria for years. Coming on the heels of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of a nationwide security emergency, the governors’ resolutions—specifically the plan to raise a substantial fund and the call for a six-month suspension of all mining activities—underscore a commitment to move beyond mere rhetoric and tackle the foundational issues fueling the regional conflagration. This convergence of executive action at the federal level and a unified, well-funded regional strategy marks a potential turning point in the relentless battle for peace and stability in the North.
💰 Mobilising Resources: The N228 Billion Security Trust Fund
The most decisive resolution emerging from the Kaduna meeting was the agreement to establish a regional Security Trust Fund. Under this ambitious arrangement, each of the 19 Northern states, in collaboration with its respective Local Government Areas (LGAs), is expected to contribute N1 billion monthly, culminating in an annual pool of approximately N228 billion.
The significance of this financial commitment cannot be overstated. For too long, state governments have relied heavily on the Federal Government to provide security, a structure often criticized for being slow, centrally-controlled, and inadequately resource-matched to the diverse threats across Nigeria’s vast northern landscape. The creation of a dedicated, regional fund signals an acceptance of shared responsibility and a move toward sustainable, localized financing for security operations. This fund is intended to provide the necessary capital for:
* Joint Operations: Funding coordinated, cross-border military and police interventions against criminal enclaves.
* Intelligence-Driven Interventions: Investing in advanced surveillance technology, intelligence gathering networks, and counter-insurgency training.
* Coordinated Security Responses: Ensuring rapid deployment and better logistical support for frontline security operatives.
This pooled resource directly addresses the challenges of fragmented state budgets and the bureaucratic delays often associated with federal appropriations. By ring-fencing this fund, the NSGF is positioning itself to implement a more agile and effective regional security architecture, complementing the efforts mandated by President Tinubu’s national security emergency.
⛏️ Tackling the Root Cause: The Mining Suspension Demand
Equally critical is the NSGF’s demand for a six-month suspension of all mining activities across the region. This resolution directly addresses a widely acknowledged, yet often uncurbed, nexus between illegal mining and insecurity. Numerous investigations, including those by the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), have established that proceeds from the illicit trade of solid minerals—particularly gold and lithium—serve as the primary financial lifeblood for many bandit and terrorist groups in the North-West and parts of North-Central Nigeria.
The mining sites, often located in remote areas with minimal government presence, provide criminal syndicates with three critical elements:
* Funding: The vast, easily convertible wealth from illegally mined gold is used to purchase sophisticated weapons, recruit fighters, and maintain their logistical networks, making the groups harder to penetrate and defeat.
* Territorial Control: Control over these lucrative mining zones becomes a central point of conflict, fueling inter-gang violence and attacks on nearby communities, which the bandits then subject to “taxation” or forced labor.
* Vulnerability: The influx of people, both legitimate and criminal, into these remote mining communities creates chaos and makes them ripe targets for kidnapping and extortion, further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
By calling for a temporary suspension, the governors are advocating for a strategic six-month window to conduct a comprehensive audit, revalidate all mining licenses, and establish a framework for robust state government participation and regulation. This is an attempt to surgically cut off the financial oxygen supply to the criminal enterprises, thereby undermining their capacity to wage war against the state and its citizens. The move aligns perfectly with the spirit of President Tinubu’s emergency declaration, which seeks to flush out terrorists and bandits by targeting their strongholds and funding sources.
🏛️ Constitutional and Policy Reform: The Call for State Police
Beyond funding and resource control, the NSGF meeting also served as a renewed platform for advocating fundamental constitutional reform. The governors, supported by the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council, strongly reaffirmed their wholehearted support for the establishment of State Police.
The current centralised policing model is widely considered inadequate for a country as vast and diverse as Nigeria, particularly in the face of widespread, asymmetrical threats like banditry and insurgency. The NSGF argues that a decentralized, State Police system would provide:
* Local Intelligence: Officers with deep knowledge of the local terrain, culture, and community dynamics, leading to better intelligence gathering.
* Faster Response Time: Direct local control would eliminate the bureaucratic delays inherent in waiting for orders from a distant federal command.
* Accountability: Increased local accountability to state governors and the immediate communities they serve.
This resolution is a political challenge to the Federal Government, urging the National Assembly to expedite action on the necessary legal and constitutional amendments. It is a tacit acknowledgment that merely deploying more federal troops (“boots on the ground,” as ordered by President Tinubu) is only a temporary fix; a sustainable security solution requires an overhaul of the security architecture itself.
🤝 Conclusion: A Critical Juncture for the North
The 19th Northern States Governors’ Forum meeting in Kaduna is more than just another gathering of political leaders; it is a declaration of regional resolve at a critical juncture in Nigeria’s history. The resolutions—to raise a N228 billion Security Trust Fund, to demand a six-month suspension of mining activities, and to champion the creation of State Police—are pragmatic, action-oriented, and directly address the structural enablers of insecurity: lack of finance, illicit funding, and a flawed security architecture.
The governors’ action is a direct and complementary step following President Tinubu’s nationwide security emergency. It translates the Federal Government’s intent into a coordinated, well-resourced regional plan. The success of this strategy hinges on its implementation and enforcement. Halting illegal mining will require political will and military protection for enforcement teams, and the security fund must be managed with absolute transparency to ensure it is not diverted. The coming months will test the political unity and determination of the Northern governors and traditional rulers to transform these resolutions into a lasting peace for a region ravaged by violence.
