How can the largest tribe in Nigeria be missing where power truly matters?

 How can the largest tribe in Nigeria be missing where power truly matters? 🇳🇬

The Hausa people widely regarded as the most populous ethnic group in Nigeria currently have no governor, even though they are indigenous to and numerically dominant in many northern states. This reality becomes more troubling when placed beside the current ethnic breakdown of Nigerian governors, which clearly shows who holds power and who does not.

Number of Nigerian governors by ethnic group 🇳🇬

 • Fulani – 9 governors

 • Yoruba – 6 governors

 • Igbo – 5 governors

 • Kanuri – 2 governors

 • Ikwerre (Igbo deniers) – 1 governor + 1 FCT minister

 • Half-Fulani, Half-Yoruba – 1 governor

 • Urhobo – 1 governor

 • Ibibio – 1 governor

 • Ijaw – 1 governor

 • Efik – 1 governor

 • Esan – 1 governor

 • Nupe – 1 governor

 • Ebira – 1 governor

 • Jukun – 1 governor

 • Tiv – 1 governor

 • Marghi – 1 governor

 • Mwaghavul – 1 governor

 • Mada – 1 governor

Yet, Hausa—zero.

What makes this situation even more alarming is that the Hausa are historically rooted in states such as Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, and Kaduna states globally recognised as Hausa homeland. These states were built on Hausa civilisation: trade, farming, city-states, language, and governance structures that existed long before colonial Nigeria. Still, despite this deep-rooted presence, Hausa people do not occupy the highest executive office in any of these states today.

This political absence has consequences. Across these states, Hausa farming communities continue to lose ancestral lands through insecurity, displacement, and unresolved conflicts. With no governor emerging directly from Hausa political consciousness, many communities feel abandoned, poorly protected, and marginalised in decisions that affect land ownership, security, and development. Over time, this has allowed others to consolidate political and territorial control, while indigenous Hausa communities are reduced to voters without power.

This is not about hatred or division. It is about representation, history, and justice. No ethnic group especially one with such population strength and historical legitimacy should be politically invisible in its own homeland.

The hard question remains: How did the Hausa become absent in Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, and Kaduna and how long will they continue to watch others rule their land?