If developed, Northeastern can be secure

Northeastern region continually makes headlines for insecurity- and poverty-related problems.

But these are just signs of the bigger problem: Deprivation in terms of development that mainly resulted from the past economic marginalisation of the vast region by successive governments.

The region was fundamentally disregarded for its aridity and harsh weather conditions and adjudged to have low economic returns by the pro-agrarian policymakers of Sessional Paper No. 10 of 1965, the document that unswervingly guided government development decisions for decades.

But while the state of affairs of the region is beginning to improve, mainly due to the impact of devolution in the past decade, it will certainly take time for the effects of the preceding relegation to wither.

Somalia-based terrorists Al-Shabaab's toehold on the region is partly a product of past desolation. Fanatics habitually thrive on broke, uneven and edgy societies, whose grievances they exploit for their narrow political vision of violence.

Security strategy

Nonetheless, instead of discerning the basic necessity for developing the region, even as a security strategy, regrettably, some leaders in the more developed areas of the country have jealously and disdainfully questioned even the insufficient devolution and equalisation funds that the region is currently allocated.

But there are mature leaders, such as Prof Kindiki Kithure, the former Senate Deputy Speaker, who had shared some insightful comments on the need to prioritise developing the untapped, expansive areas like Northeastern.

Senator Kindiki said the move was necessary not just because that is where the future of Kenya lies but also as a brilliant security policy like in other countries.

The national government and northeastern counties should jointly accelerate the region’s development as a peacebuilding technique.

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