By
Ayodele Adio
Northern elders and
the elite class have been quite vocal in the last couple of years, giving a
louder voice to national issues, particularly that which affects their region.
However, the sad reality is that they have focused on issues that massage
the ego of the elite class and deepen the pockets of a selected few turning a
blind eye on the more threatening issues eating up the region.
President Buhari and VP Osinbajo |
The dominant lexicon, Revenue allocation, as to who gets a better share
from the national purse seems to take a sizable share of their mind thereby
ignoring the bigger elephant in the room. If increase in allocation translates
to better distribution of wealth across the social strata and an improved
living standard of the average northerner, then they stand on holy ground but
the evidence proves otherwise. The lack of regional purpose, poorly articulated
vision, an incoherent strategy and a continuous mismanagement of resources is
the cradle upon which the parlous situation of today’s north was bred.
The huge textile industries in Kano and Kaduna that employed thousands of young
northerners gradually slid into extinction without any of our leaders
attempting to thrown in a rescue rope. There is no doubt that the north is home
to the richest man in Africa and a couple of other billionaires, what logical
explanation could one then give to the widespread poverty of the larger
populace rather than the earlier assertion on the north’s focus on building
strong individuals at the expense of stronger communities.
It is this widening gap between the rich and poor that has
gradually metamorphosed to the insecurity we are experiencing today. How could
we not have known that economic repression breeds strife and contempt. The
north is today making the headline for all the wrong things. The challenges in
the north and its opportunities are tied to a single yet critical word,
Education. It is the level of awareness of a people, their skills and cerebral
sophistication that determine the kind of community they build. There is a
strong relationship between education and economic prosperity. When Egypt became the centre for global
education, she consequently became an economic world power.
This trend extended to Greece , Rome , Britain and today the United States where seven of the top ten
universities in the world are resident. The north accounts for the highest rate
of illiteracy in the country, way below the national average and worst
ratios for girl child education in the country. The national demographic
and health survey puts the illiteracy rate for women at 21% in the north west compare to a national rate of 50%, the
10 states with the highest number of girls out of secondary school are also
found in the north.