By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo

Kaduna — The Arewa Defence League (ADL) on Wednesday formally unveiled the Kaduna October Declaration on the Rights of the People of Northern Nigeria, describing it as a turning point in the region’s struggle for justice, equity, and renewal.

The Declaration, presented at the end of a strategy seminar held at Arewa House, Kaduna, followed what organisers described as an extensive consultation process involving state coordinators, national directors, subject-matter experts, and stakeholders from all 19 Northern states. It represents, according to the ADL, a collective, evidence-based assessment of the challenges confronting the North and its place within the Nigerian federation.

Addressing journalists, ADL President, Murtala Abubakar, said Northern Nigeria is currently trapped in a “polycrisis” of spiralling insecurity, economic stagnation, and social decay. He lamented the region’s worsening plight marked by insurgency, banditry, kidnappings, collapsing agriculture, entrenched poverty, a broken education system, and deepening political marginalisation. These overlapping crises, he noted, have eroded both human dignity and the social contract between the Nigerian state and its Northern citizens.

While clarifying that the ADL does not advocate secession, Abubakar warned that “all options must remain on the table” if the state continues to fail in its basic duty of safeguarding lives and welfare. He stressed that what the North seeks is not separation but a transformative renewal of the Nigerian project, anchored on liberty, equality, and popular sovereignty.

The Kaduna October Declaration, he explained, affirms the sovereignty of the people of Northern Nigeria within the Nigerian federation, insisting that no authority is valid unless it derives from their consent. It reasserts the right of every citizen to life, liberty, and security, and argues that governance only has meaning when it guarantees safety, freedom, and prosperity. It further calls for dignity and equality as the foundation of efforts to dismantle poverty, discrimination, and marginalisation.

According to the ADL, the adoption of the Declaration marks only the beginning of a renewed journey. The group announced plans to convene a broader Northern Stakeholders’ Conference, draft detailed policy blueprints on politics, economics, and regional alliances, and embark on a massive voter education and mobilisation campaign ahead of the 2027 elections to ensure genuine representation of the people’s will.

Abubakar urged the Federal Government, the National Assembly, civil society, international partners, and Nigerians of goodwill to engage seriously with the Declaration, warning that “the era of empty words is over. The time for action has come.”