The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal has said that the North must reassert and reclaim its dominance of the Nigerian economy.
He spoke during the inauguration of the new leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum which took place at Murtala Square, Kaduna.
Tambuwal identified corruption and Boko Haram’s destructive terror attacks as factors militating against the development of the North.
He said Northern leaders would have attracted more development to the region of they had made judicious use of the resources given to them by the Federal Government.
He also noted that more than any other region of the federation, northern leaders have a moral obligation to show greater commitment to probity and prudent management of resources because they have a lot more catching up to do.
“Above all, we must find ways of ending this reckless killing of innocent people in the region. Unless we can secure human life in every part of the north, we cannot hope to develop an economy that can withstand the loss of oil revenue.
“Sixty years since the first oil rig was drilled at Oloibiri in 1953, the time has come for the north to take back its leadership of the Nigerian economy.
“I believe that with the right commitment, focus and hard work, we can do it again,” Tambuwal stated.
According to the speaker, nothing stops any region from developing at its own pace by choosing its areas of expertise and doing all it can in the pursuit of same.
While acknowledging that the entire nation, especially the north, as prodigiously blessed, he said it is a shame that all attempts to develop other sectors apart from oil, had failed.
He maintained: “The time has come to look inwards and to go back to our roots. First we must stop playing lip service to agriculture.
“I know that our dear governors complain of dwindling resources from the federation account but that is the more reason why we must avoid frivolity and focus only on the things that will impact on the majority of our people.
“There is also the need to make quality education a priority. This is the region with over 10 million children out of school.
“There is no way we can contemplate the future of the northern economy free of oil revenue without first making sure our people get the kind of first class education that is needed to provide the kind of expertise that such a future demands”.
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