Abdulsalami: It will take 20 years to revive North

by Ismail Mudashir

Former head of state General Abdulsalami Abubakar yesterday said security challenges have done a grievous damage to the North such that it will take as many as 20 years to revive the region.

Speaking at a conference on the ‘North and Strategies for Sustainable Development’ in Kaduna, Abdulsalami said the solution lies in the hands of the government and the people of the region.

“It will take 20 years to revive the North. A lot of damage has been done. If you go round the region you will appreciate the extent of damage done to the region,” he said, apparently referring to the 3-year-old insurgency that left thousands dead.

The former head of state, who spoke when he chaired a session on Security, Politics and Economy of the North, urged Northerners to join the Federal Government in tackling insecurity.

“We have to work together for us to overcome the challenges. All of us should join hands with the government,” he said.

“We should not leave it in the hands of the government alone. Every Nigerian is a security officer, let us try to join hands and report what we see that have security threat so that government can take action. Be the government’s watchdog and also be the watchdog of your community.”

Abdulsalami lamented the disunity among Northerners, saying there was urgent need for the people of the region to bury their differences and work together for the development of the region.

“I thank Arewa House for bringing various groups together in this conference so that we can chart a new course. If we are able to harness this, we will know the problems and we will know the solution. It is only when we are working together that we can address our challenged,” he said.

The conference, which began on Wednesday and ended yesterday, was organized by the Centre for Historical Research and Documentation (Arewa House) of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

Also speaking, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, said northerners must rise together in order to address the challenges facing the region.

He advocated for societal re-orientation among the people.

Tambuwal said failure of past governments also contributed to problems facing the region and the country at large.

“We must have the resolution that we want to have change. We must rise to the occasion and this is not about workshop, it is about taking the right steps at the right time. We must re-orientate ourselves and our children towards what is right,” he said.

“We need to redirect our searchlight into the civil service because Sardauna and his team succeeded because they had a very prudent civil service. Can we say we have a patriotic civil service now?”

DailyTrust