For over 40 years since Nigeria attained its political independence from the British colonial authorities, the northern region comprising the present 19 States of the federation is yet to catch up developmentally, with its counterparts regions that make up the present day modern Nigeria. This piece is not going to discuss the reasons why this is so. A lot of books had been published and conferences, workshops and seminars had been organized over the years for that purpose. However, the main purpose of this piece is to contribute to the search for the way forward for the present leaderships – the State Governors of the 19 States of northern Nigeria and their respective States Houses of Assemblies, Senators and Hon. Members of the Federal House of Representatives (i.e. National Assembly) to chart a new course for accelerated development of the region.

The encouraging signal that necessitated my advocating for a minimum development framework (charter) for rapid development of the region at this particular point in time comes from the recent turnover of leaderships in the region; following the 2007 general elections. Take it or leave it, the outcomes of the 2007 general elections, flawed as confirmed by all voices of reason, still  brought better leadership materials than what the region had in the immediate past eight years (1999-2007) – the years of locust and missed opportunities!

These crops of new leaders are generally from the class of well educated and experienced former civil servants. They are coming into political leadership positions with clear goals and objectives of what it means to serve and not to loot public treasuries for personal aggrandisements as witnessed in the immediate dispensation.

It is for this singular reason that I am very optimistic that all things being equal, the dreams of our leaders past will not be in vain. For example, the “Chief Servant” Dr. Mua’azu Babangida Aliyu (Talban Minna), Niger State Governor and current Chairman, Northern Governors’ Forum is leading by example and others are following him. Therefore, for his laudable and timely initiatives (particularly in providing exemplary leadership style and vision) to be sustained and translate into meaningful results for the betterment of the good peoples in these areas and beyond, I hereby recommend to the 19 northern states Governors a minimum development framework or charter for the next coming three years as follows:

Cardinal Principles

Entrenchment of people-centred democratic governance and leadership in all the 19 States in the north; where the spirit of transparency and accountability in the conduct of governmental affairs is the norm rather than an exception. Where the electorate have the right to know how their resources are being spent and for what purposes, and also be informed from time to time about the general state of affairs in governance of their respective states through institutionalised consultative process via their elected representatives at all levels of governance and the mass media.

Vision

To make all the 19 States in the north strong and viable political, economic and socio-cultural hubs for humanity and become competitive with all other States of the federation.

Mission

To uplift all the 19 States in the north and develop their great human, economic and natural resources potentials and deepen their political, economic and socio-cultural developments for the benefit of all

Objective

To provide enabling environments for the implementation and achievement of the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy as contained in Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the African Union’s (AU) New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) objectives in all the 19 States in the north through:

1.) Policies, programmes and projects targeting eradications of extreme poverty and hunger;

2.) Policies, programmes and projects targeting total elimination of illiteracy and

3.) Policies, programmes and projects for accelerated sustainable agro-industrial and rural development

Prayer

The respective administrations of the northern states governors should adopt and implement the United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in their respective States as the minimum base for meeting the Constitutional requirements of the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy enshrined in Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Therefore, the status of implementation of the MDGs in the northern States by 2010 should put more emphasis on the following key development issues and areas:

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger:

· Reduce drastically the percentage of population living in relative poverty.

· Reduce drastically the percentage of population living in extreme poverty (i.e., those that cannot afford 2900 calories per day).

· Drastically reduce all types of unemployment in all the 19 States in the north.

· Drastically reduce the percentage of underweight children.

These will be achieved through:

1. Provision of logistical, financial and training assistance to individuals, families and communities to engage in small and medium agricultural production (such as crop farming, fisheries and livestock and animal husbandry); commerce, service and industrial enterprises.

2. Provision of nutritional support and advisory services to the needy families.

3. Establish a state-wide food security and nutrition programme

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education - Key messages:

1.) Primary education is a right and should be made available to everyone.

2.) Good quality education is essential for enabling all the 19 States in the north to achieve the level of economic growth needed to tackle poverty and make sustainable development a reality. It enables people to transform their own lives and the society in which they live.

3.) Quality education is crucial to the achievement of all MDGs, particularly the health and economic MDGs.

Therefore, Northern Governors should:

· Accelerate Primary school enrolment through the implementation of Universal Access to Primary Education Policy, programmes and projects.

· Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education at all levels of education.

· Improve completion rates of primary six grades for both boys and girls respectively.

· Enhance literacy rate among people within the age group of 15 and 24.

These will be achieved through:

1. Rehabilitation and construction of additional primary and secondary schools, teacher training colleges, vocational training and technical education colleges etc

2. Re-training of existing teachers and recruitment and training new teachers.

3. Enhancement of teaching and learning facilities and provision of state of the arts equipments (computers, internet connectivity, modern libraries and laboratory etc)

4. Improvement of condition of service for teachers and educational administrators

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women - Therefore, Northern Governors should:

· Eliminate the pronounced imbalance between male and female enrolment in primary, secondary and tertiary education through provision of adequate incentives and facilities

· Aggressively promote the importance of girl-child education in the rural communities through provision of necessary incentives and facilities.

· Promote and encourage female adult home studies through provision of necessary incentives and facilities.

· Promote women’s political participation at all levels of governance: decision- making processes and socio-economic advancement.

These will be achieved through:

1. Expansion and modernisation of existing girls’ secondary schools and construction of new ones.

2. Establishment of special public enlightenment programmes for promotion of girl child education and participation in development processes through mass media, local languages etc

3. Provision of scholarships for female students to further their studies up to tertiary level

Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality - Therefore, Northern Governors should:

· Drastically reduce infant mortality at birth (per 1000 births).

· Drastically reduce Under-five child mortality rate (per 1000 live births).

· Accelerate the proportion one-year-old children immunisation against measles, polio and other preventable diseases.

These will be achieved through:

1. Improve the existing primary child care and maternity facilities

2. Accelerate the pace of child immunisation programmes

3. Improve access to clean water, personal hygiene and shelter

Goal 5: Improve Maternal Health - Therefore, Northern Governors should:

· Drastically reduce maternal mortality ratio per 100,000.

· Accelerate the training of birth attendants/health-care personnel (mid-wives and nurses etc)

These will be achieved through:

1. Revamp and modernise existing primary health centres and establish new community heath centres and maternity clinics

2. Improve the condition of service of primary health care workers

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases - Therefore, Northern Governors should:

· Drastically reduce HIV prevalence among 15 - 24 years olds through HIV education and enlightenment programmes and projects.

· Drastically reduce deaths resulting from malaria, tuberculosis and other preventable diseases.

These will be achieved through:

1. Establishment of special public enlightenment and awareness programmes

2. Provide medical health and welfare assistance to AIDS-Orphans and people living with HIV/AIDS.

Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability - Key messages:

1.) Environmental resources such as forests, water and a consistent climate have a vital role to play in boosting economic growth and reducing poverty. That’s why we need to look after our environment and make sure it’s being used in a sensible and sustainable way.

2.) Many of the world’s poorest people depend on natural resources for a healthy diet, clean water, shelter, energy, and medicines. What’s more, these people are often most vulnerable to disasters and hazards such as flooding, landslides and pollution brought about or exacerbated by environmental degradation

3.) Environmental sustainability is essential for meeting all the Millennium Development Goals. Environmental objectives should be part and parcel of development, to avoid environmental risks and promote environmental opportunities for enhancing development.

Therefore, Northern Governors should:

· Include the principles of sustainable development in policies, programmes and projects and reverse the loss of environmental resources.

· Promote sustainable use of land resources and land area covered by trees, forest and water. This will include:

1. Policy on Erosion and Flood Control

2. Policy on Drought and Desertification Mitigation

3. Policy on Soil Conservation and Watershed Management

4. Policy on Drought Preparedness, Management and Strategy

· Promote the use of alternative energy sources, particularly modern conventional renewable energy sources.

· Aggressively enlighten the public against deforestation and unsustainable methods of crop production.

· Increase the proportion of households with access to safe drinking water.

· Increase the proportion of households with access to basic sanitation.

Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development - Therefore, Northern Governors should:

· Forge mutual partnerships with bilateral/donor community and multilateral development partners domiciled in Nigeria and abroad towards achieving the MDGs.

· Appoint and train appropriate specialised Desk Officers to supervise, monitor and evaluate progress of implementation of MDGs - policies, programmes and projects in all the ministries and parastatals involved in the implementation of MDGs in their respective states.

· Appoint and train appropriate specialised Desk Officers to liaise with country offices of the following bilateral and multilateral development partners/donor community with assistance of the Ministries of National Planning and Finance: The World Bank (WB); African Development Bank (AfDB); Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD); European Union/Commission (EU); Commonwealth of Nations; United States of America’s Agency for International Development (USAID); United States of America’s Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA); United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DfID), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); German and French International Cooperation Agencies etc. These organizations/agencies spend billions of development assistance Naira yearly in Nigeria. However, only the States that show preparedness and capacity to meet their requirements can access these “free” funds from them.

· Appoint Special Assistants to liaise with the sister states from the Niger Delta region for the purpose of mobilising support and solidarity for the state governments and good peoples of these states in the quest for finding permanent solutions to the social, economic and environmental problems of the region in the interest of national cohesion, unity and mutual understanding.

· All the 19 States in the north should build human resources capacities in the following areas: public finance economists, national accounts statisticians, and industry analysts responsible for producing and documenting socio-economic data and information, financial accounts and statements that serve as primary sources of records. These include the people who produce published government budgets as well as those in academic institutions, intergovernmental organisations (IGOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who then rework the data for their own particular purposes.

In a nutshell, the above issues are just a broad bird’s eyes view and snapshots of what I think are reasonable issues the 19 northern State Governors should consider in their respective domains in the next coming three years in addition to other development agendas they might have for their constituents.

Abubakar Atiku Nuhu-Koko

Monday, 16 June 2008

Robot  # 1 | 16.06.2008 23:06

Introduction For over 40 years since Nigeria attained its political independenc...Read the full article.

anonimi  # 2 | 17.06.2008 08:33

It might be useful to ask the northern elders why there part of the country is still comparative underdeveloped despite the greater allocation of national resources, including VAT, which they contribute very little to. Do they practice a different brand of Islam than Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain or even Saudi Arabia where they take care of their masses:confused1

philipikita  # 3 | 17.06.2008 11:11

Nice charter. But I'm afraid, PDP members are after getting their own dividends first...

Godwin Bassey  # 4 | 17.06.2008 18:52

GOOD WRITE-UP. I THINK THE GOAL NO. 1, SHOULD BE THE NEED FOR RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC TOLERANCE BY THE FAR NORTHERNERS. OPEN-UP THE AREA LET PEOPLE LIVE, WORK AND WORSHIP THEIR GOD FREELY, NOT THE RESTRICTED AND KILL STYLE U GUYS ARE DOING THERE

emj  # 5 | 17.06.2008 20:02

The encouraging signal that necessitated my advocating for a minimum development framework (charter) for rapid development of the region at this particular point in time comes from the recent turnover of leaderships in the region; following the 2007 general elections. Take it or leave it, the outcomes of the 2007 general elections, flawed as confirmed by all voices of reason, still brought better leadership materials than what the region had in the immediate past eight years (1999-2007) – the years of locust and missed opportunities! Nuhu....Yet to see if they are really better leadership materials...we were this optmistic too in 1999. These crops of new leaders are generally from the class of well educated and experienced former civil servants. They are coming into political leadership positions with clear goals and objectives of what it means to serve and not to loot public treasuries for personal aggrandisements as witnessed in the immediate dispensation. Hmmm...tell me what i don't know......we are watching anywaz. It is for this singular reason that I am very optimistic that all things being equal, the dreams of our leaders past will not be in vain. For example, the “Chief Servant” Dr. Mua’azu Babangida Aliyu (Talban Minna), Niger State Governor and current Chairman, Northern Governors’ Forum is leading by example and others are following him. Therefore, for his laudable and timely initiatives (particularly in providing exemplary leadership style and vision) to be sustained and translate into meaningful results for the betterment of the good peoples in these areas and beyond, I hereby recommend to the 19 northern states Governors a minimum development framework or charter for the next coming three years as follows: Haba, Nuhu, ka rege...da trumpet wey u dey blow for this man get as e be o... Chief Servant, Talban...lets see them/him deliver da ideas he's pregnant with first...it all looks doable, but some obstacle courses has to be crossed first. Cardinal Principles Entrenchment of people-centred democratic governance and leadership in all the 19 States in the north; where the spirit of transparency and accountability in the conduct of governmental affairs is the norm rather than an exception. Where the electorate have the right to know how their resources are being spent and for what purposes, and also be informed from time to time about the general state of affairs in governance of their respective states through institutionalised consultative process via their elected representatives at all levels of governance and the mass media. And in addition the re-orientation of our people to be bold enough to ask questions, speak up always, and never tolerate volte-faced robbery of the state treasury. All in all i like the Charter on paper....implementation is where the real deal is...you said 2010...remember Nigerian Government announced formation of a 170-member committee set up to raise the living standards of Nigerians(some yonk yrs back). The program, known as Vision 2010, was first announced at a conference in the capital, Abuja when Abacha was in power.The chairman was Ernest Shonekan, head of the short-lived interim Government of 1993 that gave way to the military rulers.

tonsoyo  # 6 | 17.06.2008 21:55

In my own judgment the writer failed when he wrote inter alia: "For over 40 years since Nigeria attained its political independence from the British colonial authorities, the northern region comprising the present 19 States of the federation is yet to catch up developmentally, with its counterparts regions that make up the present day modern Nigeria. This piece is not going to discuss the reasons why this is so. " How do you hope to to proffer solution to an ailment wihtout first diagnosing it? I do not care if the present crops of Northern leadership are imported from al janna or heaven, they will go the way of the rest, except a proper examination is carried out on why others failed. If many conferences, workshops and books have been written on that and yet the same problem persists, what gave this writer that his own suggestions as laid out here, even as good as they maybe, carried the magic wand of implementation? The reason why the North is the most backward region of a very backward nation lies in their cultural and religious orientation. That culture that permits several thousands to be contended with penurious living and look up to one rich man to feed them on daily basis is inherently backward and un-enterprising. The Northerners need complete re-orientation on what the yardsticks of development are unhindered by some religious dogmatism.

Khalil  # 7 | 18.06.2008 06:38

=tonsoyo;4295056769> The reason why the North is the most backward region of a very backward nation lies in their cultural and religious orientation. That culture that permits several thousands to be contended with penurious living and look up to one rich man to feed them on daily basis is inherently backward and un-enterprising. The Northerners need complete re-orientation on what the yardsticks of development are unhindered by some religious dogmatism. This appears to be wrong on several counts as the culture of the people of Northern Nigeria have proven to be a catalyst for development even in the centuries past. The mechanism of progress that made the Hausa the most vibrant and enterprising nation in the whole of West Africa of the past is still there. It is also not laziness as nobody comes from any region to farm for them the food they survive on daily, in this century. Anybody seeking for an answer to why the Northern Nigeria is in its state now despite the fact of its elite holding power in the composition of the present Nigerian nation-state for over 40 years, should try some reading in classical power and relational politics and its implication on socio-economic development. In this, one will see that the North is where it is today only in respect to the popular saying that one cannot eat their cake and still have it as it is with all natural phenomena. Its elite got power in the late 1960s and in order to keep to it they had no option than to eliminate the middle class among them, because the likely thing to happen is the middle class, if allowed, might grow in economy, influence and strength enough to wrench power from the upper class. This is what happened when Shagari in the late 70s, allowed his own to grow in the military. They just did away with him and clung to power making sure they did not make the same mistake he made. They continued the practice of axing their own economically , intellectually and otherwise. On the other side, the other regions where not faced with anything of political control of Nigeria and as such they continued to strengthen their middle class as the upper class realized the need to empower their own as a comprehensive defense against the onslaught of Northern upper class elite. The middle class served as an armory to the upper class. They continued the battle for them until the early nineties when IBB annulled the popular June 12 election. Then came the climaxes where the South West had a good number of media outfits and middle class individuals with the right education and economic resources to sustain the fight while in the North of early nineties, very few among the middle class could do well in countering the others in the intellectual fight at the level of resources. At the end of the day after the demise of Abacha the Northern elite where confronted with no option than to dash power to the South West in 1999. They have won the fight. When Obasanjo realized his bearing and started targeting these Northern elites it still remained that they had none to defend them save the few middle class created during Abacha regime under the Buhari PTF. Many young Northerners have done contracts and gotten alot of millions. They established media houses and started getting back at OBJ and his policies. And of course, the era of OBJ was the era of South West participating in national politics. Even though they already have a vibrant middle class, and sound economic structure that benefited from the regime's economic considerations at the center, it is evident that they also suffered from what the North earlier on suffered from as their elite started a war of control of the region's social and cultural resources. This war recorded many casualties as even people like Bola Ige had to take exit, brutally killed. Also the control politics did not allow their governors to work in unison with progress of the region. In fact they were rated among the worst in performance. In fact OBJ had to seek for his loyalist outside his own region because trusting and elevating his regional man in the center may lead to excessive ambition which in turn will result in a palace coup akin to what happened to Shagari and his people whom he trusted with the leadership of the military. Yes, this is about the story of Northerners in Nigeria and what came up in their economic development. It is also the reason why there was no time when Northerners talked much about their economy more than the time of OBJ's leadership, being it they left the leadership and the upper class were being attacked by OBJ mercilessly. Of course, it is also then that its leadership achieved most more than the many years it clung to power at the center. This is why some of us think the North can have meaningful economic development only if power is made to stay away from them for several years while others and probably the writer of the article under discussion, think, Northerners may have learnt their lessons and will now work assiduously to develop the region. This is it please, not anything about culture and religion. This is an era of cultural relativism and since other cultures are seen to be good and making progress in the world's socio-politico-economic equations, nothing can stop the Hausa-Muslim culture of Northern Nigeria from achieving the same feat. It is only a problem of structural economy and political dynamics that is cancerous to development when ever it is not properly placed. Khalilurrahman

Dr. S Adetunji  # 8 | 18.06.2008 10:08

=Khalil;4295056893>This appears to be wrong on several counts as the culture of the people of Northern Nigeria have proven to be a catalyst for development even in the centuries past. The mechanism of progress that made the Hausa the most vibrant and enterprising nation in the whole of West Africa of the past is still there. It is also not laziness as nobody comes from any region to farm for them the food they survive on daily, in this century. Anybody seeking for an answer to why the Northern Nigeria is in its state now despite the fact of its elite holding power in the composition of the present Nigerian nation-state for over 40 years, should try some reading in classical power and relational politics and its implication on socio-economic development. In this, one will see that the North is where it is today only in respect to the popular saying that one cannot eat their cake and still have it as it is with all natural phenomena. Its elite got power in the late 1960s and in order to keep to it they had no option than to eliminate the middle class among them, because the likely thing to happen is the middle class, if allowed, might grow in economy, influence and strength enough to wrench power from the upper class. This is what happened when Shagari in the late 70s, allowed his own to grow in the military. They just did away with him and clung to power making sure they did not make the same mistake he made. They continued the practice of axing their own economically , intellectually and otherwise. On the other side, the other regions where not faced with anything of political control of Nigeria and as such they continued to strengthen their middle class as the upper class realized the need to empower their own as a comprehensive defense against the onslaught of Northern upper class elite. The middle class served as an armory to the upper class. They continued the battle for them until the early nineties when IBB annulled the popular June 12 election. Then came the climaxes where the South West had a good number of media outfits and middle class individuals with the right education and economic resources to sustain the fight while in the North of early nineties, very few among the middle class could do well in countering the others in the intellectual fight at the level of resources. At the end of the day after the demise of Abacha the Northern elite where confronted with no option than to dash power to the South West in 1999. They have won the fight. When Obasanjo realized his bearing and started targeting these Northern elites it still remained that they had none to defend them save the few middle class created during Abacha regime under the Buhari PTF. Many young Northerners have done contracts and gotten alot of millions. They established media houses and started getting back at OBJ and his policies. And of course, the era of OBJ was the era of South West participating in national politics. Even though they already have a vibrant middle class, and sound economic structure that benefited from the regime's economic considerations at the center, it is evident that they also suffered from what the North earlier on suffered from as their elite started a war of control of the region's social and cultural resources. This war recorded many casualties as even people like Bola Ige had to take exit, brutally killed. Also the control politics did not allow their governors to work in unison with progress of the region. In fact they were rated among the worst in performance. In fact OBJ had to seek for his loyalist outside his own region because trusting and elevating his regional man in the center may lead to excessive ambition which in turn will result in a palace coup akin to what happened to Shagari and his people whom he trusted with the leadership of the military. Yes, this is about the story of Northerners in Nigeria and what came up in their economic development. It is also the reason why there was no time when Northerners talked much about their economy more than the time of OBJ's leadership, being it they left the leadership and the upper class were being attacked by OBJ mercilessly. Of course, it is also then that its leadership achieved most more than the many years it clung to power at the center. This is why some of us think the North can have meaningful economic development only if power is made to stay away from them for several years while others and probably the writer of the article under discussion, think, Northerners may have learnt their lessons and will now work assiduously to develop the region. This is it please, not anything about culture and religion. This is an era of cultural relativism and since other cultures are seen to be good and making progress in the world's socio-politico-economic equations, nothing can stop the Hausa-Muslim culture of Northern Nigeria from achieving the same feat. It is only a problem of structural economy and political dynamics that is cancerous to development when ever it is not properly placed. Khalilurrahman This argument sounds logical to me, as no one culture can really be said to be superior to the other. Now, Khalil, I ask you, will the north be willing to hand power to the south (south east or south south) next time, so that they (north) can have the time, as you have argued logically, to concentrate on developing their region?

Khalil  # 9 | 18.06.2008 11:24

=Dr. S Adetunji;4295057003>This argument sounds logical to me, as no one culture can really be said to be superior to the other. Now, Khalil, I ask you, will the north be willing to hand power to the south (south east or south south) next time, so that they (north) can have the time, as you have argued logically, to concentrate on developing their region? Actually, I cannot say, for I do not know what the future will look like for all my analysis was based on trying to dispassionately understand what happened in the past that led to what is happening now and the implications and explications of some actions and reactions. The whole Nigeria, in its economy and politics is a system, even if not a very functional one, and if judging the future can be precise and correct if based on the past and present coupled by fair understanding of human nature, then we can conveniently say it is not likely for Northern elite to agree and give power to the South South or South East elite in the near future. The fact is they gave out power to South West not because they wanted to give but rather because the South West was able to fight to take it. And now that the Northern elite have it back, it certainly not because the South West wanted to give it to the North but rather cos they realized they had to. So in the recent future the South South or South East elite can have power from the Northern elite only if they can take it from them. If not, I think they should just forget it. The Northern elite will keep to power at the expense of everything, even the happiness and economic well being of their children and great grand children. It's human nature and elites from each region will do the same at an opportunity. This is the way this world is designed to work. It is unfortunate! Khalilurrahman

Bode Eluyera  # 10 | 18.06.2008 12:39

=tonsoyo;4295056769>In my own judgment the writer failed when he wrote inter alia: "For over 40 years since Nigeria attained its political independence from the British colonial authorities, the northern region comprising the present 19 States of the federation is yet to catch up developmentally, with its counterparts regions that make up the present day modern Nigeria. This piece is not going to discuss the reasons why this is so. " Egbon, Thank you jare for your post. You have hit the nail on the head. This is another reason why WE NEED TO BREAK UP THAT COUNTRY. THE SOUTH AND THE NORTH ARE JUST INCOMPACTIBLE IN EVERYTHING!!! I will throw more light on this in one of the parts of my article (most likely part 7) "One Niggeria: To be or not to be?" But I am afraid to say that we are wasting our time by pointing out the problems with them. Let them solve their problems themselves. We are not obliged to them. We don't owe them anything. Moreover, those people will not change. They are CONTENTED with their way of life. How do you hope to to proffer solution to an ailment wihtout first diagnosing it? I do not care if the present crops of Northern leadership are imported from al janna or heaven, they will go the way of the rest, except a proper examination is carried out on why others failed. If many conferences, workshops and books have been written on that and yet the same problem persists, what gave this writer that his own suggestions as laid out here, even as good as they maybe, carried the magic wand of implementation? The reason why the North is the most backward region of a very backward nation lies in their cultural and religious orientation. That culture that permits several thousands to be contended with penurious living and look up to one rich man to feed them on daily basis is inherently backward and un-enterprising. The Northerners need complete re-orientation on what the yardsticks of development are unhindered by some religious dogmatism. How can they be effective when practically ALL of them are products of ALHAJI ALMIGHTY QUOTA SYSTEM? The quota system has produced an ARMY of CORRUPT, INCOMPETENT, VISIONLESS AND MORALLY BANKRUPT NORTHERN LEADERS who have ruled Niggeria since independence. Despite the fact that you have ruled Niggeria for almost 50 years, you are STILL POORER THAN THE CHURCH'S RATS. You people have no where to go, and YOU ARE HOLDING US DOWN. These people have brought so much tears, pain and poverty to the south. Khali, as far as I am concerned "I don't give a damn what those 19 northern governors do" as far as you people cease to be part of Niggeria. You are contributing practically NOTHING to Niggeria's economy. The contribution of the whole of the north to Niggeria's economy is less than 10%. All you people are capable of doing is to STEAL NIGER DELTA OIL MONEY, CARRY OUT COUPS, EAT TUWO FROM MORNING TILL EVENING, POGROMS AND BEGGING FOR ALMS ALL OVER NIGGERIA. You don't have THE BRAINS for any other thing than REARING CATTLES. If not for quota system, all of you would have still remained ILLITERATES till today. THE MOST INTELLIGENT AMONG YOU, ALHAJI YARADUA, ALIAS MR GO-SLOW/IJAPA CAN NOT EVEN BUILD A SINGLE HOSPITAL TO TREAT HIMSELF FOR GOOD 9 YEARS. You are the only people interested in the integrity of Niggeria because YOU CAN'T SUSTAIN YOURSELF. YOU NEED THE SOUTH TO SURVIVE, OTHERWISE, YOU WOULD HAVE LEFT LONG TIME AGO. YOU ARE FORCING US TO LIVE IN THE SAME COUNTRY WITH YOU GUYS. YOU ARE FORCING YOURSELVES ON US. YOU ARE HOLDING ON TO THE SOUTH AT ANY COST. YOU PEOPLE HAVE BECOME PERPETUAL LIABILITY, PARASITE AND BURDEN ON US. YOU ARE CLOGGS IN THE WHEEL OF PROGRESS. We have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN COMMON with you guys. Your brothers and sisters are in SOMALI, SUDAN, CHAD AND NIGGER REPUBLICS, but not in the south. By the way, I was just wondering if you included Kwara and Kogi states in the 19 states. Your people have fractionalised the south into different states in order to steal our land, mineral resources and set different southern ethnic groups against one another. Division of former Kwara state, which undoubtedly is a 100% Yoruba territory, into the present Kwara and Kogi states is a very good example. But, I can assure you that you guys have failed in your mission because we, including the Kwara and Kogi people, are very much aware of this plot. LAAFIA ALHAJI KHALI.

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