Presidential candidate of Young Progressive Party (YPP) in the 2019 presidential election, Prof Kingsley Moghalu on Sunday in Kano accused northern elite and politicians of encouraging poverty among the masses for self- aggrandizement.
According to Moghalu, the selfishness of the northern political class remains the major cause of poverty and under-development in the region.
Moghalu, who was the guest speaker during the Ra’ayi Initiative for Human Development (RIHD) annual lecture, wondered why the North could hold power at the centre for 42 years and remains, “the headquarters of poverty in Nigeria.”
The former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spoke on “Northern Nigeria’s prosperity in the 21st Century: The imperative of social and economic transformation.”
He said solutions for repositioning the North are based on re-setting of the people’s mindset and worldview, insisting that, “the problem with the North is the North versus itself.
Moghalu, however, urged northerners to make human development their priorities, adding that there was a nagging need to fight youth unemployment, drug abuse and upgrade the status of women in the region.
He pointed out the almajiri system of education should be supported with Western education, pointing out there need to increase the enrollment of women in schools, “because if you educate a woman, you have educated a village.
“The north must be modern. Nigeria and the northern Nigeria will not make progress until Nigeria is constitutionally re-structured.”
He noted that re-structuring Nigeria along regional line will favour the north, adding it will encourage economic development of the regions which will in turn build a more sronger and stable Nigeria.
According to him, Nigeria cannot develop on “feeding bottle federalism,” noting what Nigeria needs at this point in time remains true federalism that will encourage fiscal independence of the regions.
He called on northern elite to put heads together in revitalizing Kano’s industrial prowess, as well as making huge investment in mechanized and value-chain agriculture.
Moghalu also charged traditional rulers and religious leaders in the north to play major roles in re-setting the worldview of northerners to tally with development agenda of the 21st century.
Chairman of the occasion and former Kano state Commissioner of Finance, Prof. Kabiru Isa Dandago, said: “Our leaders don’t take seriously how to harness our natural resources for the development of the North.
“Our youths are downgraded to hopeless beings. We have not set the ball rolling on how to develop the North.
“The north should know what we need. We have versed population, versed natural resources, we should know what we need as northerners.”