The Northern Elders’ Forum has raised fresh concerns over the worsening condition of Northern Nigeria, with its Chairman, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, blaming the region’s insecurity, poverty and underdevelopment on the erosion of the values that once guided its leaders.

Abdullahi, a former Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, spoke alongside political economist, Dr. Usman Bugaje, at the third edition of the Late Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina Memorial Conference held at Arewa House, Kaduna, on Saturday, July 25, 2026.

The conference was held under the theme, “From Sacrifice to Strategy: Rekindling Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina’s Vision for a Prosperous Northern Nigeria.”

Abdullahi said the North, once known for discipline, integrity and a strong sense of purpose, had gradually lost the moral values that helped make it a respected region.

“The North has lost its values. You may not want to hear this, but that is the case today. If we have not lost the values we inherited from our parents and our pioneer leaders, the North will not be where it is today,” he said.

He noted that although many cities across the region had witnessed physical expansion, virtues such as honesty, sacrifice, patriotism and selfless leadership had steadily declined.

“The North is in a pathetic situation. For me, that is the only reason why the North has stagnated. Don’t worry about the buildings you see. The basic issue concerning where the North finds itself today is the loss of our values,” Abdullahi stated.

He called on Northerners to draw inspiration from the legacy of the late Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina, whom he described as one of a generation of leaders who represented integrity, accountability and dedication to public service.

“If we can go back to those values, particularly by remembering those who inherited them and practised them, there is no doubt in my mind that the North would have been different today,” he added.

In his keynote address, Bugaje said Northern Nigeria had endured decades of economic decline, insecurity and institutional decay because the region had moved away from the visionary leadership represented by Hassan Katsina and his contemporaries.

“The troubles of the North are many and varied. Food production is going down daily, hundreds of thousands are being displaced from their homes, the economy has been shrinking, poverty has nearly tripled, education and healthcare have collapsed, and our human capital has been depleted,” he said.

Bugaje added that the persistent insecurity in the region had continued to damage agriculture, commerce and the livelihoods of residents.

“It is indeed time to ask how much of the North still remains. Or, better still, how much of the sanity of the elite, especially those in government, still remains? Today, who is there to go to? Where are the General Hassans to complain to? Where exactly is the leadership? Where is the direction?” he asked.

Bugaje, who served as Special Adviser on Political Affairs to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, also criticised members of the Northern elite for repeatedly highlighting the region’s problems without offering practical solutions.

“It has become the pastime of the elite to sit in the comfort of their homes and say that the North is in trouble. Some even scream that the North is finished. These comments only betray the complacency, or even the complicity, of the Northern elite,” he said.

Recalling his personal encounter with the late Hassan Katsina, Bugaje said the former military governor once defended him after the American ambassador complained about an article he had written criticising Western imperialism.

“The American ambassador came all the way to Kaduna to complain about the article. General Hassan read it himself and called me. Instead of asking me to stop, he told me to write more of such articles. That was the kind of leader they were. When they knew what was being done was right, they encouraged it,” he recalled.

According to Bugaje, the generation led by Hassan Katsina successfully combined modern education with deeply rooted Northern values such as contentment, discipline, modesty, justice and commitment to community development.

“General Hassan’s generation had an infusion of a high dose of our value system. We saw it in their contentment, commitment to their communities, respect for rules and procedures, modesty and decorum, and their vision of a prosperous North where every Northerner became his brother’s keeper,” he said.

Bugaje urged present-day political leaders to return to those ideals in order to address the social, economic and security challenges confronting the region.

The annual memorial conference was organised to honour the legacy of the late Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina and promote discussions on leadership, governance and the future of Northern Nigeria.