There is no Development Template in Northern Nigeria.

By Dr Abubakar Alkali 

Mass Wedding is NOT the Solution 

There is currently no development template for Northern Nigeria. The last development template was during the first republic when the late Sardauna Sir Ahmadu Bello implemented a deliberate plan to develop the North. Modern-era Northern politicians have turned Sardauna’s Northern development agenda to Personal development agenda thereby further exposing the region to poverty, insecurity and illiteracy.

A region that cannot fix the Almajiri crisis cannot be said to be serious about development. Instead of pursuing development in critical areas such as agriculture, skills acquisition, education, healthcare, mass housing, solid minerals development to create jobs, jumpy Northern politicians especially Northern governors most of whom are ill-prepared and less-equipped for leadership, resort to MASS WEDDING wrapped as a religious garb to hoodwink and deceive their own people.

The North needs jobs not mass weddings.

– Despite the region’s obvious potentials in solar, Northern state governors are not talking about renewable energy powered by solar

– ⁠Despite the region’s huge mineral deposits especially gold, Northern state governors are not talking about respositioning the region’s economy through solid minerals exploitation.

– ⁠Despite the region’s arable land mass, Northern state governors are not talking about mechanised farming by exploiting the wide stretch of Fadama for rice farming in the region. Goronyo Dam in Sokoto state can feed the whole country with rice if properly utilised.

– ⁠Despite the region’s vast deposits of Calcium carbonate CaCO3, the key raw material for cement production, Northern state governors are not talking about setting up cement companies in joint ventures with the private sector under PPP.

Northern politicians do not understand how to develop their communities but they understand how to pursue and grab power.

When they get power, they do not know what to do with it hence the key hallmarks of the North are insecurity, illiteracy and poverty.

The beneficial Northern politicians understand that we Northerners are most vulnerable to religion so they take advantage of us using religion for their own selfish interests.