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Former National Vice Chairman (North West) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, has issued a stark warning about the state of Northern Nigeria.
Naija News reports that Lukman described the region as an explosive waiting to detonate, highlighting the potential for significant instability.
The former APC chieftain exonerated President Bola Tinubu from the severe under-development and numerous challenges plaguing northern Nigeria.
Lukman attributed the region’s deteriorated state to the eight-year tenure of former President Muhammad Buhari, whom he criticized for failing to improve the region’s conditions.
In an open letter to Northern political leaders titled, “Explosive North: Open Letter to Northern Politicians,” Lukman emphasized that the current dire situation in northern Nigeria is a consequence of Buhari’s ineffective governance.
Lukman lamented the degradation of traditional institutions and the disconnection of religious leaders from the path of righteousness.
He pointed out the scarcity of industries and the decline in agricultural activities due to insecurity.
He also highlighted the alarming statistics of out-of-school children and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region, coupled with issues of drug abuse and broken homes.
Lukman stressed that the North is on the brink of an explosion due to these compounding problems.
He criticized the lack of political unity and effective leadership in the North, stating that the region has never been as disunited politically as it is today. He noted that many politicians in the North are like IDPs, losing influence and position once out of office.
Lukman argued that the opportunity to rejuvenate the North with committed leadership was missed during Buhari’s tenure.
He noted that Buhari had unprecedented national support at the start of his tenure, which could have been used to foster selfless leadership and national development.
He said: “If anyone is interested in finding the practical meaning of the Hobbesian description of life being ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short’, just look at what life is in Northern Nigeria. Indices of poverty, unemployment, and inequality are beyond description. The conditions of schools and hospitals are, to say the least, depressing. The civil service, in virtually all the nineteen states, is only a shadow of itself, with hardly any public service activity taking place.
“Our illustrious and respected traditional institutions have been devalued and reduced to a state of hopelessness. Most of our religious leaders and centres are far removed from God’s way of life. Few industries exist in the region. And on account of insecurity, agricultural activities, which is the mainstay of the economy of the region, is highly on the decline.
“Not to talk of problems of drugs and substance abuse. The problems of broken homes and abandoned children are quite alarming. As it is, the North is an explosive waiting to explode. We have lost virtually all our homes, our families, and our children. Every person with human feelings should be saddened with the reality of what the Northern part of Nigeria has become. Sadly, even the one strength the North is known for, which is strongly united political leaders, has been lost.
“More than any time in the political history of Nigeria, the North has never been disunited without any semblance of political leadership like we have in today’s Nigeria. Partly, on account of the lack of unity, the quality of political leadership in the North is sharply on the decline. Many so-called politicians are Internally Displaced Persons/Politicians (IDPs), especially once they are out of office. Those in office today are potential IDPs.
“Consequently, the worst among us, with hardly any commitment to resolving the challenges facing the North, find their way to political leadership in the North simply because they can cheaply access elective and appointive offices and control public resources, which is largely mismanaged and privatised.
“Perhaps, the opportunity for Northern political leaders to redeem themselves and return the North to rational order with committed leaders capable of responding to the challenges of the region was blown away during the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The painful reality was that no leader in the political history of Nigeria gained the kind of national acceptability former President Buhari had at the beginning of his tenure. The closest was Chief M. K. O. Abiola whose election was annulled by the military regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.
“More than any Northern political leader, former President Buhari undisputedly won the votes of people from both Northern and Southern Nigeria, which could have been used to produce a new crop of selfless leadership for the country. Selfless leadership is required to put every part of Nigeria on the roadmap to national development.
“Golden eight years between 2015 and 2023 was lost. Instead, the country, especially the North became worse off with a crisis of insecurity taking over everywhere. Problems of poverty, unemployment, drugs, and substance abuse, etc. become almost peculiar characteristics of the Northern region. ”
Lukman concluded by stating that although President Tinubu received substantial support from the northern regions, he is not to blame for the region’s issues.
Instead, he emphasized that Northern political leaders should not complain about Tinubu’s disinterest in the region’s challenges, as the fault lies within their past leadership and lack of unity.
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