North Can Overcome Its Challenges—Gov Uba Tells ACF

Kaduna State Governor Senator Uba Sani says the North has sufficient human resources to address its development challenges if its elites unite and take decisive action.

The governor stated this on Sunday when the leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum, led by its Board of Trustees Chairman, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu (Wazirin Dutse), paid him a courtesy visit.

He noted that the forum’s renewed leadership focus has created an opportunity for the region to move beyond complaints and take concrete steps toward development.

“For years, we have repeatedly spoken about our challenges — poverty, education gaps, healthcare deficits, and other development issues. I believe we have reached a point where we must stop complaining and start acting,” he said.

According to the governor, the north has successful professionals and businessmen in every field of human endeavour, whose expertise can be harnessed for the benefit of the area.

“We have many successful Northern professionals across different fields — business, academia, entrepreneurship, medicine, and others. The missing link is bringing everyone together.

“The ACF can help bridge that gap by enabling us to benefit from their collective experience, achievements and resources to benefit our people,” he added.

Sani commended ACF’s plans to establish a Central Endowment Fund, advising that it should emphasise skills acquisition to “make our people self-reliant.”

The governor lamented that there are too many northerners who are financially excluded because they don’t have bank accounts and so cannot benefit from the government’s social intervention programmes.

Sani recalled that one of the first decisions he took when he assumed office was to sign the First Executive Order on Financial Inclusion, and within one year, over 2.1 million poor people were onboarded onto the financial system.

He also advised northern businessmen to invest in the financial sector, which will greatly assist small and medium enterprises in the north, revealing that more than 60 per cent of local governments in the area lack a single bank branch.

“Today, as we are speaking, there are over 4,000 branches of national banks in Nigeria. But only Kaduna and Kano states have about 100 branches. But if you go to some states in the south that are not even up to 20% of the population of Kano State, they have more bank branches than Kano State, which has 44 local governments.

According to him, ACF remains one of the key platforms that is capable of addressing these challenges confronting the north because it is a neutral body without political bias.

The Governor pointed out that the lack of synergy between ACF and the states, as well as political office holders of the northern region, had hampered the forum’s activities in the past, adding that the new leadership is charting a new course.

Sani also commended the leadership of the organisation for reaching out to similar regional bodies like the Afenifere and Ohaneze Ndigbo to build bridges of trust and understanding.

Earlier, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu said that the ACF delegation was at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House to formally notify Governor Uba Sani of its forthcoming 25th Anniversary celebrations, which will be held in Kaduna from 20th to 22nd November.

The BoT Chairman thanked the Governor for all the support that he has been extending to the pan-northern socio-cultural group since he assumed office more than two years ago.

“Since its establishment, the ACF has operated from offices belonging to the Kaduna State Government. When you assumed office, you graciously allocated the property to us permanently. We sincerely appreciate this generosity. For the first time, we are operating from premises we can call our own,’’ he added.

The Chairman disclosed that Vice President Kashim Shettima will serve as Special Guest at the occasion, adding that he promised that all ministers of northern extraction will attend.

“As Chief Host, Your Excellency, we also seek your support in inviting your colleagues to give the celebration greater weight, productivity, and opportunities for meaningful exchange of ideas,” he told the Governor.

According to him, ACF has also “reached out to socio-cultural groups in both the North and the South. We invited respected independent personalities to join us, exchange ideas, and—perhaps for the first time—open new avenues for building stronger national cohesion.

‘’We want to begin sustained dialogue with our brothers and sisters in the South, to share experiences and learn from each other, all in the spirit of promoting a strong, united Nigeria,’’ he added.

Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, who is also a former Minister of Steel Development, disclosed that ACF has visited His Eminence the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, who promised to invite emirs from across the northern states.

“We have engaged the leadership of Jumma’at mosques, the Deputy President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and other officials. We have circulated notices to state chapters across the region,’’ he added.

According to him, the Guest Speaker will be Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who has been given the option to speak on any topic or even about himself, reminding that ‘his life story—marked by resilience and the overcoming of great obstacles—will be a source of inspiration to many.’

“We have also resolved to establish an endowment fund. For 25 years, ACF has spoken on behalf of the North. We believe the time has come to move beyond advocacy and begin implementing tangible community-based projects. This endowment will help us initiate programmes that provide social and economic upliftment,’’ he disclosed.