By Our Reporter
Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has warned that the North risks prolonged stagnation and worsening insecurity unless its leaders urgently rebuild unity, reset priorities and confront the region’s deepening developmental challenges with courage and clarity.
Atiku made this call on Friday at the 25th Anniversary Dinner of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), which took place in Kaduna, saying that the Forum’s endurance through thick and thin over the past two decades reflected its importance.
The former vice president paid glowing tributes to past ACF leaders who, he noted "weathered enormous political and social storms" to sustain the organisation, but quickly stressed that the North must move beyond nostalgia toward honest reflection and strategic action.
He prayed for the repose of their souls and urged present leaders to uphold their legacy.
Recalling his early days as vice president in 1999, Atiku, who noted that the North at the time was deeply fragmented along various political blocs, said one of his first assignments was to rally the region under one umbrella.
He narrated how wide consultations led to the formation of a reconciliation committee headed by the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, to unify different northern interest groups, saying it was an effort that culminated in the creation of the ACF.
According to him, the merger process, with unity being "our first priority," even though tough, ultimately turned successful, bringing leaders together under the guidance of former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, and the late M.D. Yusufu.
"Unity was our first priority," he declared.
Atiku emphasized that the ACF was founded not only for political cohesion but also to drive development across the North, aligning with the vision of the late Sir Ahmadu Bello.
He reminded the gathering that the Sardauna’s core priorities—education, agriculture and industrial growth—remained indispensable today.
Quoting at length from Ahmadu Bello’s 1961 address, which emphasized agricultural expansion, soil conservation, livestock improvement, and creating the conditions for education and industry to thrive, the former vice president said that by 1999, these priorities had acquired a new significance, prompting him to initiate a Northern Education Project headed by Prof. Adamu Baiki to diagnose and revive the region’s collapsing education system.
He said the findings were alarming, prompting reforms, including rewriting teacher inspection manuals, building capacity and restoring dignity to the teaching profession through awards and motivation schemes.
According to him, based on this approach, enrolment and transition rates doubled in several northern states by the end of their first term, with the records still available at Arewa House.
He also highlighted efforts through the Northern Development Project (NDP) to reform agriculture by reviewing policies, rebuilding value chains and addressing climate-related challenges affecting yields.
Speaking further, Alhaji Atiku said a survey uncovered on industry uncovered longstanding obstacles, energy poverty, finance gaps, raw material shortages and multiple taxation, which he noted regrettably persist "two decades later."
The former vice president, however, said the discussion of these past efforts was not to lament but to "wake the North from complacency" and remind leaders of the urgency of building on earlier foundations.
On unity, Atiku warned that diversity was becoming a weapon in the hands of adversaries who, he said, exploit fear, technology and disinformation to sow discord and target the region’s resources, urging that the North must learn from countries like India and China which had managed far greater ethnic diversity and still achieved economic transformation.
This was just as he quoted Ahmadu Bello’s 1960 speech in Los Angeles, where the Sardauna described diversity as a strength and warned against those who "set tribe against tribe, Christian against Muslim."
Atiku raised tough questions on the future of the North, regarding population growth, food security, education, jobs and the region’s preparedness for the knowledge-driven global economy, and quickly warned that the 21st century would not tolerate what he described as "complacency, absentee leadership or leadership without vision."
The former vice president, while insisting that the North must brace up urgently, urged Northern leaders to decide how they wanted to be remembered whether "as those who sacrificed for their people or those who only buttered their bread."
Atiku, therefore, appealed for renewed unity, insisting that if there was ever a moment for the North to come together, "that time is now."
He, however, thanked the ACF for its role in shaping northern consciousness, and prayed for God’s guidance as the region confronts its challenges.
Post a Comment