Ahmad Musa

Lawyer • Student • Enlightener

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

@abu_twinss Tsinannun banza, tsinannun wofi. Shiyasa yan Kannywood basa gamawa lafiya, sai da miyagun chututtuka da mugun talauchi.

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

…was the very one it needed. Whether factual or symbolic, this story captures an enduring principle of life: never underestimate the value of helping others. Today’s compassion may become tomorrow’s rescue. What goes around comes around.

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

The greatest acts of kindness are often investments in our own future. A monkey may be fast enough to escape a wildfire, but speed alone cannot carry it across a river. Had it left the helpless tortoise behind to burn, it might later discover that the one it refused to save…

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

@ShehuSani_Media @ShehuSani A shameless, desperate politician. You spent your whole life bragging about championing democracy, yet here you are supporting the most corrupt and most anti-democratic government of @officialABAT. Big shame on you!

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

@Khady_Bamalli There is no honor for a man who sleeps around with other women. There is nothing to show as a symbol of love, respect, and dignity for your wife if you indulge in immorality. Probably, a woman who desires money over a man’s soul is ok with that. I’m not accusing anyone.

[JIKAN WAZIRI 🌶️🌶️🌶️ @mkadamu3]

meaningful change.

This perceived failure to pursue vigorous post-election engagement forms a central component of the argument advanced by those who claim that the North lacks elders in the representative sense of the term. According to this school of thought, an elder is not simply one who convenes meetings, issues communiqués, or articulates public concerns. Rather, an elder is one who consistently follows through on agreed objectives, holds leaders accountable irrespective of political affiliations, and mobilizes society in pursuit of collective interests.

Consequently, critics regard the apparent absence of a robust and sustained campaign to ensure implementation of the Charter of Demands as evidence of declining effectiveness and influence among the region’s leadership institutions. In their view, while organizations and prominent personalities may still exist, the institution of elder statesmanship has increasingly become symbolic rather than functional.

A further criticism advanced by this school of thought is that a structured follow-up mechanism on the Charter of Demands would have provided an objective framework for evaluating the performance of the administration that emerged from the 2023 presidential election. Through periodic assessments of progress on issues identified in the charter, Northern leaders could have developed an evidence-based scorecard measuring government performance in areas such as security, education, economic development, poverty reduction, agriculture, and infrastructure.

Such a process would not only have enhanced public accountability but would also have provided the region with a clear benchmark against which future political decisions could be made, including considerations relating to support for a second term in office. It would have enabled Northern leaders to determine, on the basis of measurable outcomes rather than political sentiment, whether the administration had substantially addressed the priorities presented before the election.

According to proponents of this view, the absence of such a structured review process deprived the region of an important instrument for protecting and advancing its interests. Given that many of the concerns highlighted in the charter-including insecurity, poverty, unemployment, and underdevelopment-remain significant challenges, they argue that a rigorous and transparent performance assessment would have assisted the region in determining whether its expectations had been met or whether alternative political options should be considered.

More fundamentally, they contend that the inability or unwillingness to institutionalize accountability mechanisms reinforces the perception that Northern leadership bodies have become largely reactive rather than strategic. Instead of serving as long-term guardians of regional interests, they are perceived as responding intermittently to events without sustained engagement capable of producing measurable outcomes.

Ultimately, the question of whether there are elders in the North depends largely on how one defines the concept of elderhood. If the term simply refers to the existence of elderly individuals possessing wisdom, experience, and social standing, then there is little doubt that Northern Nigeria has many elders. However, if the term is understood in the context of organized leadership with a responsibility to protect regional interests, hold governments accountable, and pursue collective goals through sustained engagement, then the debate becomes more complex and deserving of serious reflection.

The controversy, therefore, is not merely about age, titles, or institutional existence. Rather, it is about effectiveness, accountability, representation, and the capacity of leadership institutions to translate advocacy into tangible outcomes. It is within this framework that the debate over the existence or otherwise of Northern elders should be understood. @ishakaa

[JIKAN WAZIRI 🌶️🌶️🌶️ @mkadamu3]

Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Northern Elders Forum (NEF). The ACF was established on 7 March 2000 in Kaduna with the objective of providing a platform for consultation among Northern leaders, including traditional rulers and political stakeholders. The NEF, on the other hand, was established in 2013 under the leadership of Professor Ango Abdullahi and other prominent Northern figures to serve as a socio-political voice for the region.

It has been widely argued in political circles that the NEF emerged at a period when the ACF was perceived by some observers as being sympathetic to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), while the NEF was viewed as being more favourable to the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Whether or not this characterization is entirely accurate, the perception itself is significant because it contributed to the belief that divisions among Northern leadership groups were driven more by political alignments than by a unified commitment to the collective interests of the region.

For the purpose of this article, however, it is unnecessary to engage extensively with the historical evolution of these organizations. Rather, attention is focused on understanding why public opinion regarding their effectiveness remains sharply divided.

One of the most significant recent examples of organized Northern engagement in national politics was the pre-election hearing organized ahead of the 2023 presidential election. The event was convened by the Arewa Joint Committee, a coalition comprising several prominent Northern organizations, and brought together presidential candidates to discuss their plans for the country and, particularly, for Northern Nigeria.

The interactive session, held in October 2022, provided candidates with an opportunity to present their visions, policies, and strategies for addressing the country’s numerous challenges. According to the organizers, the objective was to engage candidates on issues of national importance while enabling Northern voters to hear directly from the aspirants before making electoral decisions. The event attracted considerable public attention and was widely regarded as one of the most significant regional engagements with presidential candidates during the election cycle.

A major feature of the event was the presentation of a policy memorandum known as the Charter of Demands of Northern Nigeria. The document outlined a broad range of regional concerns and priorities, including security, education, economic development, poverty reduction, agriculture, infrastructure, governance, and national unity. It represented an attempt to articulate a common regional agenda and encourage presidential candidates to incorporate those priorities into their policy frameworks.

The hearing and the accompanying charter have since become important reference points in discussions concerning the role of regional leadership, policy advocacy, and elite engagement in Nigeria’s democratic process.

Critics of Northern elite leadership frequently point to the October 2022 engagement and the Charter of Demands as illustrative of what they perceive to be a disconnect between advocacy and sustained follow-through. While acknowledging the significance of convening presidential candidates and articulating regional priorities, these critics argue that there was no equally visible, coordinated, and sustained effort after the election to monitor, evaluate, and publicly demand implementation of the commitments contained in the charter by the eventual winner of the election.

From this perspective, the value of policy advocacy does not lie merely in producing documents or organizing high-profile events. Rather, it lies in establishing effective mechanisms for accountability, implementation tracking, and periodic public reporting. In the absence of such mechanisms, policy documents risk becoming symbolic exercises rather than instruments of

[JIKAN WAZIRI 🌶️🌶️🌶️ @mkadamu3]

Are There Elders in the North?

By Barrister Ahmad Musa Umar

This piece is a contribution to the ongoing debate over whether Northern Nigeria (Arewa) still has elders in the true sense of the term.

Opinion on the subject is largely divided into two camps: those who affirm that the region has elders and those who contend that it does not. Generally, those who reject the notion point to the longstanding challenges bedevilling the region, many of which remain unresolved despite decades of public concern and repeated interventions by various groups claiming to represent Northern interests. According to this view, some of these groups primarily pursue personal, political, or sectional interests rather than undertaking concrete actions capable of addressing the region’s problems and restoring dignity to its people. For such critics, the issue is not the existence of elderly persons but the quality, effectiveness, and impact of their leadership.

This opinion gained wider publicity when the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufa’i, publicly questioned the existence of genuine elders in the North during controversies surrounding the 2023 presidential election. However, El-Rufa’i was neither the first nor the only prominent political figure to make such a claim. Prior to him, other politicians had expressed similar sentiments. One example is Bello Matawalle, the current Minister of State for Defence, who reportedly made a similar assertion during his tenure as Governor of Zamfara State in the course of disagreements with some Northern elders. Likewise, Professor Kabiru Mato advanced strong criticisms of Northern elite leadership in one of his opinion articles published in Daily Trust, later reproduced in his book For the Common Good: Thoughts on Time (pp. 31–35).

On the other hand, those who affirm the existence of elders regard such claims as unfair and potentially damaging. They argue that dismissing the existence of elders undermines the status of respected senior citizens and leaders who have devoted considerable portions of their lives to public service and community development. To them, the existence of shortcomings does not negate the presence of elders within society.

To properly examine the competing viewpoints, it is important to distinguish between what may be described as “elders in the North” and “Northern elders.” The former refers broadly to elderly individuals who possess wisdom, integrity, experience, and other admirable virtues. The latter refers to persons or institutions that assume a representative responsibility on behalf of the region and its people. Such individuals are expected not merely to command respect because of age or experience, but also to actively promote, defend, and advance the collective interests of Northern Nigeria.

This representative role entails articulating the concerns of the people, engaging governments at various levels, advocating solutions to pressing challenges, and ensuring that agreed objectives are pursued to implementation. Importantly, such leadership cannot operate in isolation from the people it claims to represent. There ought to be mechanisms through which Northern leaders regularly interface with communities, civil society groups, professional associations, youth organizations, women’s groups, traditional institutions, and other stakeholders. Through such engagement, they would be able both to receive feedback from the people and to provide updates regarding their advocacy efforts and engagements with government institutions. In essence, Northern elders, in this representative sense, are expected to function as custodians and advocates of regional interests.

This distinction is necessary in order to fairly assess the arguments advanced by both sides of the debate.

Like other regions of Nigeria, Northern Nigeria is home to various groups of elders and socio-political organizations. However, two of the most prominent are the Arewa

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

@mkadamu3 @ShehuSani He’s hungry. Even the activism he was involved in was a mean to put food on table for him and his family. 😅

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

@ejykmykel1 Bwala spoke the truth about Tinubu. Appointing him despite all that he had said about the president is telling regarding the president's state of mind.

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

@ADCngcoalition Shame on shameless characters like @ShehuSani who support this anti-democratic regime of Tinubu. God will not only punish them for what they are doing to this country, but also for failing to stand by what they hypocritically claim to have fought for—democracy.

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

@AJHeadtoHead @mehdirhasan @BwalaDaniel offered to put certain words on his own “honour”, which he never had.🤮

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

@BwalaDaniel We know you’re not bothered because all you care about is food like a go@t.

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

@BwalaDaniel You’re anything but NEVER smart and intelligent. SHAME.

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

@BwalaDaniel Shame on you and your useless team.

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

@realJudebela Shame on the decile team who participated in this show.

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

@ADCVanguard_ I’m ashamed that Bwala is a lawyer.

[SODAEC @sodaec_ng]

INNALILLAHI WA INNAILAIHI RAJI’UN!

PUBLIC NOTICE OF LOSS AND TRIBUTE

It is with profound sorrow and total submission to the will of Almighty Allah that we announce the passing of Arc. Irfan Sunusi Gumbi, one of the founding members and a former Member of the Board of Trustees of the Society for Drug Abuse Enlightenment and Control (SODAEC). He passed away on 17th February, 2026, in Cairo, following an illness.

Though he transitioned from his formal role in 2017 to pursue other endeavors, Arc. Irfan never truly left SODAEC. His vision, sacrifices, counsel, and foundational contributions remain etched into the very fabric of our organization. The structure we stand on today bears the imprint of his commitment, intellect, and unwavering belief in a drug-free and enlightened society. His legacy is not in titles held, but in values instilled and systems built.

Arc. Irfan was more than a colleague; he was a builder of ideas, a voice of reason, and a quiet pillar of strength in our formative years. His dedication during SODAEC’s early days helped shape the mission that continues to guide us.

We extend our deepest and most heartfelt condolences to his beloved wife and their two children. May they find strength in the noble legacy he leaves behind and comfort in the knowledge that he lived a life of purpose and impact.

Our thoughts and prayers also go to his entire family, especially his dear mother. No grief compares to that of a mother losing her child. We pray that Almighty Allah grants her the fortitude to bear this painful loss and envelops the family in His mercy and peace.

“Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un” — To Allah we belong, and to Him we shall return.

May Allah forgive his shortcomings, reward his good deeds, expand his grave with light, and grant him Aljannatul Firdaus.

Arc. Irfan Sunusi Gumbi may have departed from this world, but his impact endures. His contributions will forever remain part of SODAEC’s story.

May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace.

[Ahmad Musa @realAMUmar]

@ARISEtv Nobody takes Congressman Riley Moore seriously except his fellow clowns. Initially, he acted out of ignorance, pushing Christian genocide, but changed his tune after his visit. He's never been consistent, and now he's dragging innocent Kwankwaso into his drama.

[SODAEC @sodaec_ng]

…networks rather than merely intercepting couriers.
CONCLUSION

The evidence is no longer debatable. If Nigeria does not systematically cut the chemical bloodline of insecurity, armed violence will continue to regenerate. SODAEC stands ready to partner with NDLEA, ONSA, the National Assembly, financial regulators, and international partners to advance this strategic shift.

The time to move from fragmented responses to a unified national counter–drug security doctrine is now.

Signed:

Barrister Ahmad Musa Umar
Executive Director
Society for Drug Abuse Enlightenment and Control (SODAEC)