I wholeheartedly align with Ahmad Shuaibu Isa’s incisive analysis in “Raranisation or Reform: Northern Nigeria at a Crossroads.” His article captures, with striking clarity, the social and intellectual decay afflicting Northern Nigeria—a decay actively enabled by a political class that chooses entertainment over education, manipulation over enlightenment, and spectacle over substance.Indeed, the time has come for Northern Nigeria to go back to the drawing board.
The challenges Isa identifies,ranging from mass illiteracy and youth unemployment to the systemic neglect of education and intellectualism, are not merely incidental; they are the symptoms of a deeper failure in leadership and vision. Rather than treating these challenges as fate, we must confront them as products of deliberate decisions and misplaced priorities.
To reverse this dangerous trajectory, what the region needs is not more songs and shallow eulogies, but a bold reimagination of its developmental path. This must begin with a deliberate and informed process of leadership recruitment—one that transcends mere party loyalty, ethnic allegiance, or political theatrics.
Northern Nigeria needs leaders who are intellectually equipped, emotionally grounded, and morally committed to the common good. Such leadership must be driven by clear objectives and a genuine passion to tackle the region’s deep-rooted problems. This means reforming the educational system to provide quality learning, empowering institutions to hold power accountable, and nurturing a civic culture that values critical thought over blind praise.
Northern Nigeria cannot afford to continue sacrificing its future on the altar of entertainment-based politics. We must prioritize thinkers over chanters, visionaries over sycophants, and builders over distractors.
It is time to move beyond Raranisation. Let the North rise—not through empty choruses, but through informed, courageous, and transformative leadership that sees the youth not as tools for political thuggery, but as assets for rebuilding a just and prosperous society. Only then can we truly reform, rather than merely perform.
Tijjani Sarki is a Good Governance Advocate and Public Policy Analyst, writes from Zawaciki, Kano.
Email: abdullahisarkitijjani@gmail.com
24th May, 2025
Leave a comment