DRIVERS OF VIOLENCE IN THE NORTH-WEST

Uba Sani contends that porous borders, unchecked flow of illegal arms and drug trafficking are largely responsible for insecurity in Northwest Nigeria, writes  MUHAMMED ABBAS

At a time when insecurity continues to challenge Nigeria’s cohesion and development, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has sounded a firm and sobering alarm on what he describes as the real drivers of violence in the North-West: porous borders, drug trafficking, and the unchecked flow of illegal arms. Speaking at a high-level security summit organised by the Senate ad hoc committee on national security in Kaduna, the governor offered more than a diagnosis. He presented a comprehensive road map for restoring stability to a region that has endured years of banditry, kidnappings and communal fear.

According to Sani, Nigeria’s vast and weakly monitored borders in the North-West have become arteries for criminality. He warned that drug traffickers and smugglers “move across this border with astonishing ease,” often retreating into neighbouring territories whenever security forces close in. This fluid movement, he explained, allows criminal networks to outmanoeuvre law enforcement and sustain operations across state and national lines.

The governor’s concern goes beyond drugs alone. He revealed that the same porous borders are being used to funnel illegal arms into Nigeria, contributing to what he described as an alarming proliferation of ammunition “estimated in the tens of millions” within the region. These weapons, now firmly in the hands of non-state actors, have dramatically escalated the scale and lethality of violence.

In a particularly stark assessment, Sani identified drug trafficking not just as a crime in itself, but as a central financier and enabler of banditry. He argued that narcotics are both a source of revenue for armed groups and a tool of control. Young people, already vulnerable due to unemployment and social dislocation, are drawn into criminal networks through substance abuse.

Bandit leaders, he explained, use drugs “to manipulate, embolden, or enslave” recruits, dulling fear and boosting aggression. The result is a dangerous cycle in which narcotics fund weapons, weapons fuel violence, and violence further destabilises communities. For the governor, any security strategy that ignores this nexus between drugs and arms is destined to fail.

Sani’s intervention was not limited to highlighting problems. Central to his proposals is a call for a fundamental restructuring of security operations in the North-West. He argued that the scale and complexity of the crisis demand a response that goes beyond fragmented and state-by-state efforts.

To this end, the governor recommended the creation of a North-West Theatre Command that would bring the Nigerian Army’s 1st and 8th divisions under a single, unified structure. Such an arrangement, he said, would accelerate intelligence sharing, enhance coordination, and dismantle cross-state criminal networks more efficiently than the current dispersed system.

In Sani’s view, violent groups do not respect administrative boundaries, and security agencies should not be constrained by them either. A unified regional command would allow for faster decision-making and sustained operations across multiple states.

Beyond domestic coordination, the Kaduna governor also urged Nigeria to think regionally. He proposed expanding the Multinational Joint Task Force to cover Nigeria’s borders with the Republic of Niger. The MNJTF, he noted, has recorded notable success in the Lake Chad Basin by pooling resources and intelligence among neighbouring countries.

Extending this model to the North-West, according to Sani, would disrupt arms trafficking routes, deny criminals cross-border safe havens, and weaken the regional networks that sustain banditry. In a region where borders are lines on a map rather than barriers on the ground, cooperation with neighbours is not optional, it is essential.

Perhaps the most compelling element of Sani’s presentation was his insistence that firepower alone cannot solve the crisis. While acknowledging the importance of military operations, he stressed that sustainable security must rest on community participation and trust-building.

The governor proposed the establishment of permanent security committees at state and local government levels. These committees, he said, should include traditional rulers, religious leaders, women’s groups, youth organisations, civil society actors and security agencies. Their role would be multifaceted: serving as early-warning systems, mediating local conflicts, and acting as bridges of trust between citizens and the state.

In regions where distrust of government runs deep, such inclusive structures could help rebuild confidence and encourage communities to share intelligence before violence erupts. For Sani, security is as much about listening as it is about force. Uba Sani also returned to a long-running national debate by advocating the creation of state police. He argued that Nigeria’s centralised policing system is simply overstretched. With fewer than 400,000 police officers nationwide, vast rural areas are left without meaningful protection.

State police, he contended, would allow for faster response times, better local intelligence, and policing strategies tailored to specific cultural and geographic contexts. While acknowledging concerns about potential abuse, Sani maintained that with proper safeguards, decentralised policing could significantly strengthen internal security.

Underlying all of Sani’s proposals is a holistic vision of security that integrates force, development and social cohesion. By linking porous borders to drug trafficking, arms proliferation and youth vulnerability, he painted a picture of insecurity as a systemic problem requiring systemic solutions.

His remarks resonated strongly at the summit organised by the Senate ad hoc committee on national security, where lawmakers, security experts and community leaders gathered to examine Nigeria’s security challenges. The choice of Kaduna as host city was itself symbolic: a frontline state that has experienced both the pain of violence and the possibilities of reform.

Governor Uba Sani’s message to the nation was clear. Nigeria cannot continue to respond to twenty-first-century security threats with outdated structures and narrow tactics. The North-West’s crisis, he argued, is not just a regional issue but a national one, with implications for food security, economic stability and social cohesion.

By addressing borders, drugs, arms and governance together, Sani offered a blueprint that goes beyond reactive measures. It is a call for national resolve, regional cooperation and community ownership of security.

As Nigeria searches for lasting solutions to its security challenges, the Kaduna governor’s intervention stands out for its clarity and depth. Whether the proposals translate into policy will depend on political will at the federal level. What is certain, however, is that the conversation has shifted, from treating insecurity as a series of isolated outbreaks to confronting it as an interconnected crisis demanding bold, coordinated action.

Abbas writes from Kaduna State