North Under Siege Of Corruption, Failed Leadership – Gwadabe

As the late Gen. Hassan Katsina’s legacy was spotlighted 30 years after his death, former military governor and chairman Board of Trustee  (BoT) of the New Vision Development Initiative (NEVDI), Col. Lawan Gwadabe (rtd), has said Northern Nigeria is under siege, not by external forces, but from decades of internal decay caused by poor leadership, widespread corruption, mediocrity and chronic illiteracy.

Gwadabe, a one-time political detainee during the late Sani Abacha regime, warned that if urgent reforms were not made, “the North may collapse under the weight of its own dysfunction.”

He stated this at a press conference in Kaduna to announce the 30th memorial activities in honour of late Gen. Katsina, who served as military governor of Northern Nigeria and later chief of army staff during Nigeria’s most critical periods.

According to him, “The North is facing existential threats, and we must admit that these threats are self-inflicted. It is the result of decades of corruption, leadership failure, mass illiteracy, and abandonment of the values that held us together.”

He said, the region’s downward spiral began when political actors abandoned the foundation of integrity, discipline and patriotism laid by the late Hassan.

“If we had built upon the moral and leadership legacy of Gen. Hassan Katsina, the North would not be trapped in today’s hopeless cycle of banditry, poverty, and political paralysis,” Gwadabe declared.

He described the late General as a symbol of responsible governance and a rare bridge-builder who governed Northern Nigeria with compassion, fairness and strategic foresight.

“Gen. Hassan didn’t rule with propaganda or division. He ruled with empathy, and left behind a generation of leaders who understood service. What have we done with that legacy?” Gwadabe queried.

The NEVDI chairman lamented that leadership in the North today has become transactional, self-serving and exploitative, especially towards the vulnerable population.

“Everywhere you turn, insecurity, street children, out-of-school youth, poverty and yet we have the highest number of elected officials. We are choking ourselves with failure.”

Gwadabe, who once served under Gen. Hassan, said the upcoming Second Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina National Leadership Conference would offer an opportunity to interrogate how far the region has strayed and what can be done to salvage it.

He hailed the federal government’s establishment of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education, but warned that without political sincerity, it could become “another vehicle for patronage, not progress.”

“Gen. Hassan saw education as a leveller. He would never have tolerated the mass neglect of children we now normalise across the North,” Gwadabe added.

He urged younger leaders and politicians in the region to reconnect with history, stressing that General Hassan remained a moral compass for decades after retirement, often consulted by presidents, governors, and traditional rulers.

“Thirty years after his death, Gen. Hassan still commands reverence. Not because he was rich or loud, but because he lived and led with honour. Can we say the same about today’s leaders?” he asked.

Gwadabe insisted that Northern Nigeria must urgently return to a value-driven leadership model or risk becoming “a permanent burden on the Nigerian federation.”

He concluded: “This memorial is not just a tribute, it is a wake-up call. We must revive the legacy of service above self, or history will not forgive us”, he stressed.