in Bauchi

Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Yahay,a has reiterated the commitment of Northern governors to address the challenges facing the region and leverage its vast resources for accelerated development. 

This was as the Chairman of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu urged the present crops of leaders in the North  never to allow the legacies of Late Ahmadu Bello, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and  others  to die while they pilot the affairs of their respective states in the region.

The Gombe state governor was speaking yesterday when he chaired the 11th Annual Memorial Lecture of Sir Ahmadu Bello (Sardauna of Sokoto)  in Bauchi.

He acknowledged the challenges bedeviling the Northern region such as inadequate infrastructure, high unemployment and persistent poverty among others, urging collective efforts to address them. 

“The issues affecting our region are profound, but I want to assure you that as individual state governo

rs and collectively as the Northern Governors Forum, we are committed to addressing these challenges head-on.” 

“I believe we can all concur that Northern Nigeria is a treasure trove of untapped and underutilised human and natural resources. By harnessing these assets, we can effectively address the issues and propel the region onto a path of sustainable development,” he stated. 

“The North faces both common and peculiar challenges across states. Take insecurity for instance, it varies from one sub-region to another. Banditry and kidnapping in the North-west; ethno-religious crises in the North-central and insurgency in the North-east. Many of these issues originated from competition on resource control either by individual, or by a group. For example, farmers fight for control of land, while herders for grazing land for their cattle. At the centre of these problems is the unequal distribution of resources. Therefore, to create a prosperous and economically self-reliant region with vast opportunities for wealth and job creation, we must develop state-peculiar solutions which aligned with our collective goals at the Northern Governors Forum,” he added. 

Governor  Yahaya further noted that development agenda for the North is very necessary to achieve the goals of the region, referencing his 10-year development plan tagged “DEVAGOM” which wholly aligns with the goals of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) as a guide for which his administration uses in implementing policies and programmes that propel socioeconomic growth. 

He assured the stakeholders and other participants at the meeting  that as Chairman of the Northern State Governors’ Forum, he would use his influence to ensure every state that does not have a development plan creates one, as the issue will become part of the key agenda of the forum’s next meeting. 

The governor also announced that the Northern governors have revived and reformed the New Nigeria Development Company, saying it has now been transformed into a purely profit-making company while pledging that himself and other governors in the region would heavily inject funds into the company to support its growth for the development of the region. 

The Northern Governors’ Forum chairman commended the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation for its resilience in upholding the legacy of the late premier, particularly through the annual lecture series, saying: “I must commend your doggedness and resilience. Since its establishment in 2009 by the Northern States Governors Forum, the Foundation has steadfastly upheld the vision and principles of our revered leader through the Annual Lecture series.”

In his remarks, the host Governor, Sen. Bala Abdulkadir Muhammed of Bauchi state, said the North must unite in addressing its challenges regardless of all forms of divides that exist within the region, commending his Gombe counterpart for his exemplary and quality leadership in the region and the Governors’ forum. 

He lauded the foundation for keeping alive the spirit of Sardauna and promoting the unity of Northern Nigeria, conveying the Governors’ collective stance in deepening regional integration to address the challenges of the North. 

In his speech, the Guest Speaker, a former Minister of Finance, Dr. Mansur Mukhtar, who delivered a paper on the theme for this year’s lecture: ‘‘Nature’s Bounty: Turning Northern Nigeria’s Untapped Resources into Sustainable Prosperity’’, said Northern region is blessed with vast resources which if wisely harnessed, could solve a great number of the challenges in the region. 

He reminisced about the era when agriculture was the backbone of the region’s economy, providing sustenance and employment to over 70 per cent of its population, while recommending the adoption of cutting-edge technologies and sustainable farming practices to enhance productivity, ensure food security and jobs creation. 

Mukhtar further stated that prioritising human capital development by placing strong emphasis on education, health, and women’s empowerment, the North could harness the full potential of its greatest asset which is its people to drive socioeconomic growth and development. 

Earlier , Chairman of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu urged the present crops of leaders in the North  never to allow the legacies of late Ahmadu Bello, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and others die while they pilot the affairs of their respective states in the region.

Aliyu made the call when he led other officials of the foundation to a courtesy visit on Governors of Bauchi State,  Mohammed and Gombe State, Yahaya in Bauchi.

 Aliyu praised the lives and times of  Ahmadu Bello, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and  others who were  founding fathers of Nigeria for bequeathing a legacy of unity on the North while they ruled.

He called on the present leaders in the North to do everything humanly possible to bridge the seeming wide gap in the Northern region which has pitched the North-West, North-Central and North-East against each other. 

The former Niger Governor decried that the Northern part of Nigeria is at war against itself and gradually disintegrating, which he observed required urgent attention to salvage it from total collapse. 

According to him, “If you look around very well, there are some who are busy running down the North, it is not only USAID that is our problem, there are those who are instigating Hausa fighting Fulani and other things. These are the things we must urgently take care of before we are consumed.”

The former Governor of Niger State added that, “These segments of the people are using every available divisive measures to further aggravate our poverty situation and perpetrate all forms of evils among our people.” 

“We must be very careful, do away with every materialistic tendencies and unite our people, make our region better and stronger”, the foundation’s chairman noted.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the foundation said  we will continue to uphold the legacies of Sir. Ahmadu Bello especially his “one-North” philosophy.