Nigeria, Dec. 11 -- There comes a moment in history when a region must decide whether it will continue repeating old mistakes or seize the opportunity in front of it. For Northern Nigeria, that moment is now.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has issued one of the most consequential directives for our region in decades: Restructure security deployments, empower forest guards with modern arms, and revive grazing reserves into full-scale ranches and livestock settlements. If Northern leaders truly care about insecurity, unemployment, food production, and economic revival, then this is not just another presidential order. It is a lifeline.

A New Security Architecture: Forest Guards as a Northern Workforce:

For years, bandits have operated freel...