Before the adoption of Federal system of government in 1966, the present area known as the Northern Nigeria was under one political entity called 'the Northern Region'.
Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto was the first and the last Premier of Northern Regional Government who possessed large span of control, high population and wide area of land demarcated to be part of his region. Kaduna was the regional seat of government and the nerve centre of the region, where representatives of people from different part meet to examine and addresses the issues concerning the region generally.
It is much important to look back and assess the status of the North when the region was one administratively and see the glory it possesses especially the legacies left behind for its people and compare it with present nineteen States. As earlier pointed out, the whole Northern Nigeria was led by the Premier Sir Ahmadu Bello and his team of experienced and dedicated compatriots who served the region with absolute heart of honesty, patriotism and commitments in making it great in various area such as administration, socio-economic and political aspects and we also need to refresh our mind and appreciate the improvements the region registered then, which up to present time people are benefiting immensely from. For instance, if we look at the educational sector, even though, before the coming of colonial masters to Nigeria, already Northern region has standard and well define system of authority and leadership with proper channel of communication through reading and writing in Hausa using Arabic Alpha- Numeric figures known as Ajami. But in respect to western education it was the effort of our past leaders that made the establishment of more schools possible. Initially the number of Elementary/primary and secondary schools were insignificant in the North but with the determination to uplift the region and its people more schools were built including the provision of higher institutions of learning like the famous Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria with its wings in some parts of the region, eg Abdullahi Bayero College (now Bayero University Kano), Sir Kashim Ibrahim College of Education Maiduguri. This has no doubt equipped the region a little bid capable in competing with its counterparts the Eastern and Western regions of the country despite the fact that both were far ahead in term of acquisition of western education. Economically, Farming is the primary occupation in northern part with support of other menial craft works which served as the main activities for economic survival, these activities includes weaving, blacksmithing, dyeing, sewing of clothes e.t.c, however modernization effort was made toward repositioning and transforming these local industries operating then into standard manufacturing companies in order to take the comprehensive and standard trend of modern industries. At that time various manufacturing industries were set proxy to the peculiar sources of raw materials such as Textile companies in Kaduna, Funtua and Gusau, Groundnut Oil Mills and processing companies in Kano and Nguru, Northern Nigeria Milk Company, Wheat processing Company, the Northern Nigeria Flour Mills (Kano), Arewa Metal and Containers (ARMECO) Kaduna and many more, even though some of these companies are not belong to the government but quite rightly they have done well in the provision of job opportunities to Northerners which drastically reduced the rate of unemployment in the region.
More importantly however, the establishment of Bank of the North (BON) which shamelessly the 19 Governors and other well to do people of the north failed to save it from liquidating in 2003, Northern Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) served as another effort which accelerated investment and commercial activities in the region where soft loan were granted by BON for the purpose of improving entrepreneurial skills in the area of agriculture, commerce, industry, environmental and societal welfare maximization.
More so, our assessments of the legacies left behind by our founding fathers are incomplete pending to mention out some efforts made in other non economic but social sectors. In the area of public enlightenment, Newspaper and publishing companies were set for the benefit of the general public. New Nigerian Newspaper, ‘Gaskiya ta fi Kobo ‘, Northern Nigeria Publishing Company (NNPC), the Broadcasting Company of Northern Nigeria (BCNN) comprising of Radio and Television (RTV) Kaduna, Radio Kano and other media outfits whose efforts reached the highest extent in impacting knowledge and enlighten the public on education, culture, religion, politics, health and prevention of diseases e.t.c. but all these are now made to suffer as present government failed boldly in sustaining and enhancing such ventures as for now many of them are not working completely.
Considering the progressive efforts provided by the stakeholders of the then northern region even the government of Eastern and Western regions drew some important policies and plans designed purposely for Northern region for their regional development respectively. Therefore, it is agreed unanimously that Sardauna and his colleagues were committed towards salvaging the region to attain greatness and development.
In addition to this, according to Ambassador, Dr Yusuf Maitama Sule (Danmasanin Kano), when asked to give an insight about the past and present Northern Nigeria in an interactive TV programme with NTA Headquarters, has this to say:
“..........Today we are no longer what we were, what is happening today is not in our character, the norms and values left by sardauna and our founding fathers are no longer with us, as I have often describe the situation the intution of family has broken down, respect for elders and constituted authority which used to be our cardinal principle in our society is now a disloyal to ape, in short there is meaninglessness in philosophy, insecurity in polity, chaos in politics, immorality in society, corruption in economy, frustration in odds and lack of creativity in literature. This is not what the north used to be or Nigeria as the whole. Ours was a decent country, whose leaders respected one another irrespective of their political differences we are all 'YAN AREWA. Ours was a society that was morally sound, it was a society in which all of us were brothers keepers, it is not the same today. As I have said we are no longer ourselves our cultural values has been thrown over board......"
Today is 51 years (1966 – 2017) with the demise of Sardauna, and the area is demarcated into Nineteen (19) entities called the State of the federation with full autonomy to preside over any issue within it geographical boundary with a Governor as overall head, but I wonder why despite narrowing and compressing the area but the standard of living is always deteriorating with abject poverty in control of the significant percentage of the people as against during the regional government when the province was very wide, the population was so large and the whole of the present 19 northern states were controlled and managed by single head, i.e. the Premier. Nowadays, apart from poverty strength, insecurity, insurgency and extra judicious killing of innocent souls are the order of the day, today northerners are forced to become refugees in their own land, likewise epidemics and diseases were statistically shown to be high in the region and the number of school drop out mostly between the age of 9 – 15 is very large in the region, this brought intense child abuse which compells many children to be part of work force in such a way that they become housemaid, farm labourers, market porters, street wanderers, scavengers etc at a time when they ought to be in schools learning for their future brightness. All these come to light for the fact that many state governments does not provide free primary education to their people the way regional government did before, and most of the parents can not cater for educational responsibilities because of high poverty rate.
If I may ask, what is the genesis of all these backwardness and suffering in the present north? Inspite all the improvements in terms of education, economy and technology what makes the present leaders abandoned the legacies left behind by our patriotic leaders? To me the answer is that, the origin must have found it root from some negligence, nonchalant attitudes, selfish/personal idiosyncratic interest and irresponsible acts of the present ruling class, the so called northern elders /elites.
I pray that 19 governments of the present north will wake up and realise the detrimental condition of the north and work to solve the problems. I am sure the task to regain the lost glory of the north would be very simple compared to the previous time when the region was not segregated into different states; this is because the area that was effectively managed and controlled by a single political head with small group of interlectuals would be extra ordinarily easy to command and effect development when it falls under the hands of 19 executive chiefs with number of legislatives, commissioners and advicers so far there is honesty and transperancy.
I believe the northern status would be revived if ‘Yan Arewa’ (Northerners) will determine and contribute positively toward salvaging the region. Ethnic/tribal and religious bigotries must be set aside in actualizing the one north one people as Sardauna always emphasized during his lifetime. our leaders should apply true concept of patriotism, transparency, honesty, dedication, sympathy as well as fear of God in the course of discharging their leadership responsibilities. At the same time followers alike should give their supports, contributions and accept any critical but temporary circumstance that may eventually lead to the overall development of the region in particular and the country at large. I suggest that Northern Governors should retrieve the blueprint of Sir Ahmadu Bello’s policies and programmes in the process of transforming and the provision of societal welfare in their respective states.
Sardauna was assassinated on January 15, 1966 (51 years ago) at a time when his people and his region are in great need of his wealth of experience and service to humanity.
Mudassir write from NTA Zaria Channel 32
mudassiray@gmail.com
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