Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has expressed dismay that despite the development indices, some policians in the North are still promoting toxic politics and “pull him down” syndrome.
The governor observed that some Northerners indulged in endless blame games, devoid of attempts at soul-searching or introspection.
Governor Uba made the comment in his speech when he received the newly elected leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) under the Chairmanship of Mamman Mike Osuman (SAN) on a courtesy visit at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House on Monday.
According to him, Northerners must take a hard look at themselves to face the truths so as to move the region forward.
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Governor Sani assured the ACF leadership that the region would soon overcome the current security and socio-economic challenges bedeviling it.
He fumed at the narrative that President Bola Tinubu was against the North, stressing that it was false, absurd and unbecoming.
He explained that the President Tinubu administration was doing its best to salvage the situation, noting that the federal government had been giving uncommon support to state governments in the North to address their myriad challenges.
“Despite the development indices, unfortunately, what people see in the North is the promotion of toxic politics, opposition for opposition’s sake, and ‘pull him down’ syndrome.
“We have failed to ask ourselves some vital questions: Where did the rain start beating the North? Who are those complicit in the underdevelopment of the North? What have we done individually and collectively to find solutions to the challenges facing the North?
“We must take a hard look at ourselves, tell ourselves some home truths, and move together to fashion a common strategy to address our developmental challenges and confront the criminals making life unbearable for our people,” he said.
Governor Sani further stated that the ACF has a major role to play in building a consensus for the best approach to tackle the multifaceted challenges facing Northern Nigeria.
ACF, according to him, must make efforts to refocus the attention of Northerners to de-emphasize politics and focus on development and gear their efforts towards overcoming the threats.
In his remarks, the ACF Chairman, Mamman Mike Osuman, said all the indices that track human progress—poverty, illiteracy, health, and security of life and property—placed the North at the deep end of the trough.
“It is therefore incumbent on our leaders and citizens alike to change the narrative without further delay,” he said.
On the planned national protest, the ACF Chairman said the Forum was not a party to it and would not support it as it was ill-timed and counterproductive.
“We at ACF remain committed to articulating and defending the interests of the peoples of the North through our various activities. One such was the recently constituted Technical Committee that reviewed the 1999 Constitution (as amended) by the ACF.
“The report of the Technical Committee formed the basis of ACF’s submission to the joint committees of the National Assembly on Constitution review. Our input will be formally made available to the Northern Governors’ Forum,” he said.
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