Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna has urged Northern leaders and stakeholders to take responsibility and stop blaming other regions for the predicament bedevilling the region.
Mr Sani challenged northern leaders who had political positions in the past to give account of their contributions to the development of the region.
Mr Sani, who stated this while speaking as a panellist at the Stakeholders’ Roundtable on Northern Nigeria Youth Development, organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, accused all past political officers of failing woefully to chart a development course for the region.
He said, before 2016 the north was largely peaceful, and that ‘’there were only occasional ethno-religious conflicts”.
“People could travel freely around the North without fear of being attacked by criminal elements. Then came terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and insurgency.
“We folded our arms and failed to address the underlying causes of these threats to our collective existence,’’ he argued.
Mr Sani pointed out that northerners have been holding key positions in successive administrations but have, “failed woefully to fashion and implement programs to address the infrastructure gap, tackle poverty, and unify our people’.
He argued that the people’s patience is running out because, “they are beginning to question our actions”.
“They are saying NO to our self-centred politics. They are demanding answers. And answers we must give them.’
“Our people want to know why the North is backward despite the humongous amount sank into its development.
“They want to know why the Northern Elite who have for years been in control of the levers of power failed to develop the North.
“They want to know why there are thriving Southern-owned industries and banks, while very few are owned by people from the North,’’ he said.
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