By Umar Osabo PhD.
It is rare for a single article to ignite a collective reflection so urgently and so painfully. Idris Muhammed Abdullahi’s essay, “ **HABA AREWA* : One Hundred and Fifty Million Souls Yet, Conquered Without a Single Bomb?”, has done just that. It isn’t just a cry of frustration; it is a necessary indictment of a region rich in people and potential, yet paralyzed by its own choices.
The tragedy of Northern Nigeria is not war or natural disaster. It is not external occupation or foreign sabotage. No, Arewa, with its over 150 million resilient souls and abundant natural resources, has been conquered by something far more insidious: self-sabotage.
Let us say it plainly. *Northern Nigeria is not poor because it lacks land, labor, or capital.* It is poor because it lacks *leadership, vision* , and collective responsibility. The North has failed itself — economically, politically, and intellectually.
But it doesn’t have to stay that way. *Arewa can still rise — not through blame games* or nostalgic laments, but through bold reform and strategic action. Here is how.
*A Regional Economic Marshall Plan*
The first truth we must confront is this: Abuja will not develop the North. It is not Abuja’s job — it is ours. Arewa must design and implement its own Marshall Plan, a bold economic framework that unites the 19 Northern states around a shared vision for transformation.
This plan must include clear blueprints for reviving agriculture, reindustrializing key sectors, and harnessing energy, technology, and trade potential. A regional economic coordination council, driven by experts and youth, not bureaucrats and cronies, must take the helm.
Let’s stop begging for inclusion and start building regional self-reliance.
*End the Culture of Political Mediocrity**
One of the North’s most crippling diseases is the normalization of failure. Governors are celebrated for repainting school walls while unemployment, out-of-school children, and poverty skyrocket. We praise “loyal” leaders, not competent ones.
*That era must end* .
Citizens must demand Performance Scorecards from their state governments — public metrics on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), healthcare access, education quality, and infrastructure progress.
Traditional rulers and religious leaders must evolve from ceremonial gatekeepers to active development partners. Silence in the face of stagnation is no longer golden — it is betrayal.
*From Farm to Factory*
Northern Nigeria feeds the country, but its farmers remain trapped in poverty. Why? Because we export raw produce and import processed goods — an economic absurdity.
We must industrialize agriculture. Every state in the North should develop Agro-Industrial Parks, with processing facilities, cold storage, packaging plants, and logistics hubs. Think tomatoes to tomato paste; cotton to textiles; grains to cereals — all processed locally.
These ventures must be driven by public-private partnerships and regional agricultural corporations modeled after Kenya’s KTDA, run by professionals — not politicians or their proxies.
It is time for Arewa to stop farming *poverty* and start manufacturing *prosperity* .
*Reinvent Education- Almajiri to Artificial Intelligence*
No society advances faster than its educational system. Yet millions of Northern children remain trapped in outdated, underfunded, and irrelevant systems of learning.
Arewa needs an *Education Renewal* *Agenda* focused on digital literacy, STEM, and vocational training. It must integrate Qur’anic education with numeracy, hygiene, entrepreneurship, and civic values.
Basic education should be compulsory, enforced, and linked to conditional social benefits. Tech companies should be brought in to establish *Digital Academies* in cities like Kaduna, Lafia, Kano, Jos, Jalingo and Maiduguri.
We cannot prepare for the 21st century with 19th-century education models. The time for reform is now.
*Finance Our Future*
Transformation needs capital — long-term, patient, and purposeful.
Arewa must establish a *Northern Infrastructure* *Development Fund* (NIDF), seeded by state budgets, diaspora remittances, philanthropic capital, and ethical investments through Islamic finance instruments like sukuk.
This fund should prioritize roads, dry ports, energy access, rail networks, and water systems. Infrastructure isn’t a luxury — it’s the spine of any modern economy.
Let’s stop waiting for *federal crumbs* . Let Arewa fund and build its own roads — to development.
*Build Regional Banks, Not Just Mosques and Churches*
Where is the Northern financial ecosystem? Why are there no *Arewa-controlled banks* , investment funds, or insurance giants?
*Capital* is the *bloodstream* of development. The North must re-establish regional financial institutions — community banks, cooperative credit unions, and microfinance schemes tailored for farmers, artisans, and SMEs.
A Northern Commodity Exchange is long overdue, starting with agricultural products and livestock.
Money must not only be made in the North — it must also be managed, multiplied, and reinvested there.
*Security Through Inclusion*
Security cannot be achieved by military force alone. Banditry and insurgency feed on poverty, hopelessness, and disillusionment.
Arewa needs a dual-track approach: intelligence-led policing and aggressive economic inclusion.
Establish Peace and Prosperity Zones, where *at-risk* youth are *re-skilled* in agriculture, tech, and construction. Expand community policing with real accountability and oversight — not political *thuggery in disguise* .
We must understand: a job is more powerful than a jail cell. An opportunity is more disarming than an AK-47.
*Northern Brand Culture*
Identity matters. Arewa must stop being defined by crisis and conflict.
Let’s build a new narrative — one that celebrates northern innovation, entrepreneurship, art, music, fashion, literature, and film.
*From* *Zuma Rock to the Durbar festivals,* from the Jukun culture to Arewa textiles, the North holds untapped treasures. We must support local creatives, fund regional media houses, and export our culture with pride.
A people without pride in their past can’t build a future. It’s time Arewa told its own story — on its own terms.
*The Final Reckoning*
Let us be brutally honest: Arewa’s decline is no longer mysterious or accidental. It is *self-inflicted* .
No colonial master, no southern politician, and no foreign conspiracy destroyed Arewa. We did it to ourselves — through complacency, corruption, and cowardice.
But the future is still unwritten.
Arewa can become a symbol of rebirth — not through prayer alone, but through planning. Not through slogans, but through startups. Not through lamentation, but through leadership.
The next decade must be about factories, not feuds; progress, not pity; dignity, not dependency.
We owe it to our children. We owe it to our ancestors. We owe it to the *150 million* *Northern Nigerians* whose talents are being wasted while the world moves on.
The question is not can Arewa rise — it is will Arewa choose to?
The world is watching. Let’s get to work.
Dr Umar Osabo Mohammed is a critical thinker, creative writer, author of many books, political and economic analyst. He can be reached on umarmosabo@gmail.com
