Malam Ahmad Sajo, former Commissioner of Media Information Bauchi State
Northerners are not beggars, stop embarrassing us, Ahmad Sajo tells governors
A former Commissioner of Media Information Bauchi State, Malam Ahmad Sajo, said some Northern governors are disgracing the region, arguing that the people are not beggars.
In an interview conducted in Hausa, but translated to English, Sajo said, “Our governors are neither fair nor just to us here in Northern Nigeria. They seek to turn us into beggars, despite the fact that our region is the richest in the country.
According to him, “Allah has blessed our region with abundant resources, yet our governors rely solely on Federal allocations. We passed a time in this country when northern states used to supply the Federal Government, not receive from it. Yet now, they lament like beggars, claiming we can not survive in the North without Federal allocations.
“The governors are responsible for the hardships we face. They have destroyed our education sector to the point where we have more out-of-school children than any other region in the country.”
The former commissioner lamented that the governors have also “undermined our agricultural sector. They should have invested more in this area, but instead, they continue to blame the federal government for their poor service to the people.”
He said the governors often hide behind insecurity to divert people’s resources and shift the blame to the Federal Government.
“Our governors should understand that the economic policies our president is striving to improve aim to elevate the lives of our people to their highest potential.
“The tax bill should not be feared; rather, we should see it as an opportunity to boost the northern economy,” he stated.
He recalled that former military governor, Audu Bako, during his tenure in Kano State, improved the state without blaming the Federal Government for any misfortunes or problems.
“Why do we allow the North-East to remain in such a dilemma? Are the governors waiting for the president or presidential allocations?” he asked.
He stressed that, “Our governors need to come to their senses. They are making our southern brothers view us as beggars, leading them to believe we are dependent on them, which is a blatant lie. We have all the resources to feed the nation if only our governors would rise to the challenge.”