From: Femi Oyelola in Kaduna
Kaduna paused, temporarily, on Saturday, 25th July 2026, as Arewa House, once the hub of Northern Nigeria’s political thought, hosted the 3rd Late Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina Memorial Conference. The theme, “From Sacrifice to Strategy: Rekindling Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina’s Vision for a Prosperous Northern Nigeria,” served as both a tribute and a challenge, a call for the region to reflect on its past to shape its future.
The hall was filled with traditional rulers, academics, security officials, and political leaders. But the mood was not festive; it was contemplative and urgent, a region questioning how to restore the discipline, service and integrity that once defined Northern leadership under figures like Gen. Katsina.
Prof. Ango Abdullahi, elder statesman and Convener of the Northern Elders Forum, set the tone with a serious speech. “The North has lost its values. You may not want to hear this, but that is the case today,” he said.
Continuing, he added, “If we have not lost the values we inherited from our parents, from our pioneer leaders, the North would not be where it is today.
“Don’t worry about the buildings you see. The core issue that’s affecting the North today is the loss of our values”, Abdullahi stressed.
He noted that while cities across the North have expanded physically, the virtues of discipline, honesty, sacrifice, and selfless leadership have steadily diminished.
Describing Gen. Katsina as a symbol of integrity and accountability, Abdullahi urged current leaders to return to these principles.
“If we can return to those values, especially by remembering those who inherited and practiced them, there is no doubt in my mind that the North would be different today,” he added.
To understand what is being lost, one must recall the era when Northern Nigeria was the center of commerce, politics, and moral authority in the country.
From the 1950s through the 1980s, cities like Kano, Kaduna, Zaria, and Gusau fueled the national economy. The Kano textile mills, the groundnut pyramids, and the Kakuri industrial layout in Kaduna employed thousands. The North supplied the nation and exported it to the world.
Politically, the region produced Nigeria’s independence leaders, men like Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, who shaped national policy with their vision of a united, educated, and self-reliant North. Kaduna was the capital of the Northern Region, and decisions emanating from it resonated across the federation.
That era was built on mutunci (respect), gaskiya (truth), amana (trust), and aikin gwuiwa (hard work). Leaders lived modestly, served publicly, and were accountable to their people.
According to speakers at the conference, those pillars have cracked. Prof. Usman Bugaje, who delivered the keynote address, painted a bleak picture of today.
“The troubles of the North are many and varied. Food production is declining daily, hundreds of thousands are being displaced from their homes, the economy is shrinking, poverty has nearly tripled, education and healthcare have collapsed, and our human capital has been depleted,” Bugaje lamented.
He blamed insecurity for crippling agriculture, commerce, and social life, saying “It is indeed, time, to ask how much of the North remains”. In his words, “Where are the General Hassans to complain to? Where exactly is the leadership? Where is the direction?”.
Bugaje also criticized the Northern elite for complacency. “It has become the pastime of the elite to sit comfortably at home and say that the North is in trouble. These comments only reveal the complacency or even the complicity of the northern elite,” he said. Recalling the lifetime of Gen. Katsina, he said the late leader encouraged critical thinking.
According to him, “The American ambassador came all the way to Kaduna to complain about an article I wrote. General Hassan read it himself and called me. Instead of asking me to stop, he told me to write more. That was the kind of leader they were.”
The conference also heard a candid remark from Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (Rtd), former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha.
“Every child on the street to the elites knows that Nigeria is in a sorry state. The state of the North is totally hopeless,” Al-Mustapha declared.
He added, “Speaking the truth is meant for patriots. People who praise leaders in power are deceivers.”
Amid the criticism, the Federal Government presented what it called a strategy to rekindle development.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by his Special Adviser on Political Matters, Alhaji Ibrahim Masari, described Gen. Katsina as a patriot who embodied “humility, courage, discipline, and an unwavering love for Nigeria.”
According to the President, “His (General Katsina’s) uncommon commitment to the unity of this country laid part of the foundation for the democracy and freedoms we enjoy today”. On security, he assured: “By the grace of Allah, the challenges of insecurity confronting us, particularly in Northern Nigeria, will soon be behind us.”
On the issue of education, the President disclosed that over one million students have benefited from the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, stressing that Tertiary institutions have been removed from IPPIS to guarantee autonomy, while TETFund has commissioned projects in Nasarawa, Kaduna, Jigawa, and Bauchi.
Continuing, he explained that the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies in Kaduna has been upgraded into a full university named after Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina, with the project over 90% completed. Additional federal universities have been established in Kaduna, Ekiti, Ogun, Rivers, and Katsina.
On infrastructure, the President explained that his administration is reconstructing the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Expressway, the commercial backbone of the North. The 1,200-kilometer Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, with about 800km in the Northern states, is ongoing alongside the Sokoto-Zamfara-Kaduna Road and the Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe Road.
In the energy sector, the government, he said, is building the Kaduna Power Station, implementing the 40-megawatt Kumbotso High Voltage Project, and revitalizing the 215-megawatt Kaduna Power Plant in Kakuri to revive the textile industry.
The 1,350-megawatt Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant, he said, is also in development, with over 1,500 solar-powered streetlights and 50 mini-grids for rural communities.
Work, he added, continues on the Kaduna-Kano Rail Line and Kano-Maradi Rail Project for transportation. Funding, according to him, is already secured for Kaduna Light Rail and Kano Light Rail, while the Abuja-Kaduna train service is being upgraded.
Tinubu stated that all these reforms are aimed at repositioning the North as a center of learning, skills, energy, and industry.
“We have approved a new national curriculum, launched major teacher training programs, and invested heavily in technical and vocational education over the past decades,” he explained.
However, speakers expressed the belief that infrastructure alone cannot revive the North. The groundnut pyramids, they pointed out, were built not just with capital but with discipline and community trust. The Sardauna’s North, they reasoned, prospered because leaders prioritized service as sacrifice.
As Prof. Abdullahi reminded the audience, “The North is in a pathetic situation. For me, that is the only reason why the North has stagnated.” He insisted that the way forward is to return to: gaskiya, amana, and leadership by example, the same values Gen. Katsina upheld.
Citizens at the conference also offered practical suggestions for reclaiming the lost glory.
Hajiya Aisha Mohammed, a woman leader from Zaria, said the revival must start from homes and schools. Her words, “We must bring back civic and moral education in our primary and secondary schools. Teach our children mutunci and gaskiya early. Government should also support women cooperatives in agriculture so we can feed ourselves again instead of waiting for aid”.
Malam Ibrahim Dabo, a trader from Kano’s Sabon Gari Market harped on accountability in public projects, saying, “Leaders must go back to the people and give an account. We also need to revive our industries- the textile mills in Kano and Kakuri in Kaduna”.
“If government gives real support to small businesses, thousands of our youths will have jobs and leave the streets,” Dabo argued.
Dr. Suleiman Bello, a lecturer at Kaduna State University, stressed the need for unity across ethnic and religious lines.
“The North was strong because we spoke with one voice. We need town hall meetings in every LGA where traditional rulers, clerics, youth and women can agree on security and development plans. Without community policing and intelligence from citizens, no amount of federal troops will bring peace,” he said.
The 3rd General Hassan Usman Katsina Memorial Conference concluded with a shared call: Northern Nigeria can still reclaim its era of discipline and service, not through nostalgia alone, but through strategy rooted in the core values that built it. The current question is whether this generation of leaders will accept that challenge.
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