According to former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, it
will be at least 20 years before the North clears the mess created by
the security crisis.
The ongoing Boko Haram insurgency has held the North down, killing
thousands of people, crippling businesses and reversing the gains of
education.
Also yesterday, President Goodluck Jonathan called upon North-Eastern
political leaders to explore a long-lasting solution to the menace of
the sect. He made this statement at the opening of the North-East Summit
hosted by Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda at the Yankari Games
Reserve.
General Abdulsalami, who was speaking at the Arewa House conference
on strategies for sustainable development in Kaduna, bemoaned the lack
of unity among Northerners. He said insecurity has done so much damage
to the social and economic livelihood of the region.
The former Head of State said, “Certainly, if there is unity, we
wouldn’t be here at this conference and since there is no unity, that is
why Arewa House is trying to galvanize it at this conference.
“It will take 20 years to revive the North. A lot of socio-economic
damage has been done. If you go round the areas; that is when you will
appreciate the extent of damage to the region. We have to work together
to revive it.
“All of us should join hands; we cannot leave security to the
government alone; every Nigerian is a security officer. Let’s try to
join hands and report what we see, so that the government will be able
to take action. We should be the government’s watchdogs and also watch
our communities.”
The Senate Minority Leader, George Akume, on his own part, expressed
sadness that the North was no longer safe for both its people and
visitors. He implored the people to imbibe hard work, integrity,
honesty, respect and determination to restore the lost glory of the
region.
According to him, an atmosphere without peace will make it impossible
to achieve development, no matter how determined the actors were.
“The theme of this conference bears direct relevance to what is
happening in the North. The topic for today is value and leadership. I
do not intend to go into the conceptual definition of values and
leadership.
“In every society, there are norms and values. These are highly
respected; respect for sanctity of human life, and where this is not
respected, there is no way you can have peace. This is a very big
challenge, particularly in the North.
“I am very sad things are happening in the way they are happening
now. I was in Borno about six months ago when my friend and brother,
Governor Kashim Shettima, gave out his sister in marriage.
“We were about 30 that were supposed to go to Borno, but in the end,
only 8 of us went. The others gave different reasons for not making it.
We must imbibe the values of honour, respect, integrity, hard work and
determination because they have a direct bearing on the development of
the North.”
Former Secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed posited that the next two years would act as a
test case for the country and the North’s case to bounce back to
reckoning.
“The next two years will test the resilience of the Nigerian State
and the capacity of Northerners to bounce back. Right now, the Boko
Haram insurgency is eating up like a cancer, and it will require bold
initiatives by Northerners to find a solution, by influencing both the
insurgency and the government.
“Not all Nigerians are comfortable with a united and strong North.
Its current position is therefore a welcome development to its rivals
and detractors. They will not lift a finger to heal the wound. This will
have to be done by people in this hall who feel the pain the most.
Meanwhile, at the two-day Northeast Alliance for Transformation which
commenced yesterday, the President, who was represented by the Minister
for National Planning, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, asked the six governors in
the zone to come up with a framework for addressing insecurity. He also
expressed happiness that the governors were waking up to deal with the
security crisis.
“I hope this summit will not just be a talk show; I hope you will
identify at least four to five ways in tackling these problems in the
next one year. Governors of Northeast region should work collectively to
solve this problem in order to have peace in the region because
insecurity is a reality in the region,” he said.
The host governor Isa Yuguda, in describing the summit as historic,
said, “For quite a long time, the sub region has remained one of the
least developed, if not the least developed of the six geo-political
zones in the country in all spheres of human endeavour.” The Governor,
while lamenting that the underdevelopment in the Northeast had been
compounded by the security challenges which have adversely affected the
socio-economic activities in the region, said that the problem of the
region was not a lack of resources but failure to harness the abundant
resources for its development socially and economically.
“It is expected that at the end of this summit, recommendations for
setting in motion the machinery for the Northeast sub region to use its
comparative advantages in agriculture, solid minerals and tourism to
fast track the development of the region will be made.”
Mike Okiro, a former Inspector-General of Police, noting that
insecurity had dampened the economic livelihood of Nigeria in general
and North-East in particular, also called upon the summit to look
critically at the security challenges and suggest practical solutions.
Chairman of the Summit, Gen T.Y. Danjuma, represented by Maj-Gen
Tanko Nuhu Abdullahi, urged the participants to tackle security and its
facets such as education, food, health, technology and a solid
industrial base.
The 2-day summit has in its attendance the governors of Bauchi, Borno
and Gombe. The acting governor of Yobe State and the representative of
the Adamawa State Governor, in addition to the Senate Leader Abdul
Ningi, Senator Babayo Gamawa and some royal fathers are also in
attendance.
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