North On The Brink Of Collapse: Governor Sani Raises Alarm

In a stark warning, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has voiced deep concerns about the mounting crises facing Northern Nigeria. Highlighting alarming statistics on out-of-school children and widespread poverty, Governor Sani cautioned that the region is on the brink of collapse unless leaders unite to address these pressing issues.

The Governor’s remarks came during a courtesy visit from the National Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Mamman Osuman, to Kaduna State. He underscored the dire state of education and economic conditions in the North, referencing a UNICEF report that estimates 18.3 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, with approximately 70% of them residing in the North.

Governor Sani noted, “This new executive committee has emerged at a time of great challenges. We are confronted with difficult developmental and security questions. Criminal elements have been laying siege to communities in the North and reversing our progress on multiple fronts. Our development deficits are scary and require urgent attention.”

He also pointed to a Federal Government survey by the National Bureau of Statistics, which revealed that 63% of Nigerians—about 133 million people—are multidimensionally poor. Of these, 65% live in the North, highlighting the region’s disproportionate share of the nation’s poverty.

The Governor emphasized the severe impact of insecurity on development, particularly in agriculture, where many farmers cannot access their farms, leading to food insecurity. He also mentioned increasing child and maternal mortality rates and decaying infrastructure as critical issues exacerbated by ongoing violence.

Governor Sani urged Northern leaders to move beyond “toxic politics” and “opposition for opposition’s sake,” calling for a united front to address these challenges. He stressed the need for introspection and collective action to confront the criminals destabilizing the region and to develop a strategy to reverse the negative trends.

He concluded by calling on the Arewa Consultative Forum to play a pivotal role in fostering this consensus, focusing on development over politics, and mobilizing all available resources to tackle the region’s multifaceted challenges.