The northern elites, have offered lip service to the issues surrounding the development of the region, since the death of Sokoto, Sir Kashim and Tafawa Balewa.
Majority of the culprits are the military politicians over the years, and their civilian collaborators, some of whom are criminally minded and are among us today.
They had the uppurtunities to turn things around as regards policies and their implementations, yet they chose the inglorious Parth to curruption and mismanagement and destruction.
Many ministers, governors, heads of parastals, academics and business men, as well as traditional rulers, were among such collaborators.
The name arewa, which only exist for the convenience of debates among interest groups, died, long ago. Can you imagine a self sufficient region like this, been destroyed by bandits, religious activists, curruption, bad governance and mismanagement?
The non Hausa and Fulani among us no longer feel safe and sense of belonging like the Sardauna era?
Going back to the drawing board always matters. But who would be the champions, with political office holders at all levels from the region, hardly bring about policies that would change the fortune of the region in education, health care, human capital development, women and youths empowerment, urban and rural renewal and so on.
Energy crisis has destroyed the northern industries. What are we doing with national grid, when we can harvest clean energy from solar?
Our hospitals have become mere consulting clinics, while elites travel abroad for medical service at every excuse. Women and children continue to die during child birth. Public schools are in a sorry state as elites send their kids to private schools including universities in Nigeria and other countries.
Security challenge has taken over the region and the elites think living in high end Abuja secured property and estates can guarantee their safety, unfortunately, they are never safe.
Just look at the convoys of your governors, the amount invested in such SUVs.
Sponsoring several political thugs and hangers on to go on Hajj trips and Jerusalem. While such people still remain poor on return. Even Islam which provides for Hajj, did not say is meant for the poor. Religious leaders are also enmeshed indeep curruption. That is the reason for their deep silence.
Sardauna of Sokoto and others of blessed memory have given the North more, when the resources ware scarce. The same generation who enjoyed free schools, feeding, uniform, books and scholarship, are the same people who destroyed the very system that helped them get to were they are.
Drug abuse by women and youths, lack of skills and jobs, thousands in IDP camps and Prostitution are a culture, now. Many young kids of the so called elites from the North, are all over private drug and substance rehabilitation centers around Abuja, Lagos and Mararraba. What do you expect when they are jobless and have a lot of the stolen money to spend at night clubs with girls and drugs? Even their mothers are on hard drugs, now. Many of them drive around in expensive vehicles they have never worked for. In fact, they organise car race using those cars from stolen wealth.
Some of the daughters of these elites are also on drugs and jobless. They are usually all over restaurants, supermarkets, cinemas and Suya joints. Looking forward to relate with men. They neither have skills, nor are they employable. Even as women, they can not make good house wives. They can’t go beyond boiling tea or making noodles. Just think, if they can bring up a kid…
Some of these girls have taken over most hotels around Abuja city center with seven and eight girls and women per room. While women and girls from other regions are involved in economic activities. Of course, the Once from Benue have also become so notorious that prostitution is their second names, with recent findings revealing that they are all over the hotels in the North central.
Under PMB, the North had the uppurtunities to reinvent it self. The leaders threw away the uppurtunities to the dogs.
Now, they turn around to blame BAT. Sadly, charity begins at home. Many elutes can no longer drive in the I ter state highways, or visit their home towns. Time would come, when they would follow the elites to Abuja, Lagos and PH to make mince meat of them.
The list in the EFCC continue to grow. But mostly, it is the northern elites.
I write this with deep concern and sadness, that our region which happens to be a prosperous and almost self sufficient in the first republic, is now in a very sorry state.
Mustapha Mohammed
A political analyst and social commentator
Writes from Abuja