Northern Group Adopts Community-driven Strategies to Curb Insecurity 

Francis Sardauna in Katsina 

The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has commenced community-driven strategies that will involve the 19 northern governors to combat the pervading security and economic challenges bedevilling the region.

The CNG explained that the myriad of challenges exasperating Nigerians in the region can only be tackled through civic engagement and purposeful local leadership in synergy with security agencies. 

In a communiqué read by the Katsina Coordinator of the CNG, Abdullahi Kabir, after a community engagement meeting in Katsina, the group said the community-driven strategies would explore actionable solutions to the socio-economic crises.

“This community centred-engagement which sets the ball rolling, that will eventually involve all 19 northern states and the FCT, is Intended to initiate local, community-driven strategies to confront and tackle insecurity, unemployment and poverty in northern Nigeria,” the coalition added.

The coalition reiterated that poor leadership, poverty, growing Al-majiri menace, decay in educational system, as well as the alarming rate of out-of-school children were widening the socio-economic challenges affecting the northern region. 

It therefore said the culture of collective responsibility must be fostered in the region to enable communities to work together to identify their challenges and devise localised strategies to tackle the identified predicaments for peace and development to thrive. 

While noting that community participation in decision-making was the cornerstone for effective governance and sustainable development, the CNG called on northern stakeholders to embrace collective actions and innovation to “transform our region”.

The Coalition of Northern Groups also advocated partnerships between government, civil society organisations and other critical stakeholders to facilitate community-driven solutions to the region’s problems.