The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar on Thursday in Kaduna asked northern leaders to stop hiding under the shadow of of the late Premier of the defunct Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, and move to work as visionary leaders for the development of the North and its people.
The Sultan said that the late Sardauna carved a niche for himself as a committed, detribalised, selfless and visionary leader whose interest was mainly for the progress and development of the North.
Speaking while delivering his speech during the 50th commemoration of the demise of Sir Ahmadu Bello organized by the Memorial Foundation, Sultan Abubakar said it was time the present crop of leaders put hands on deck to reverse the socio-economic backwardness facing the North.
While emphasizing that northern leaders needed to be focused and committed to tackling problems such as illiteracy, poverty and unemployment, he noted that the time to work is now.
“Fifty years after Sardauna’s death, let’s work with his blue prints and the ethics he left for us, let us avoid all forms of religious bigotry and rivalry,” he noted.
The Sultan who is also the President, Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs of Nigeria as well as Chairman Northern Council of Chiefs, tasked northern governors and other leaders to especially find solutions to the lingering unemployment problem in the region.
He stated that “unemployed youths are like time bomb waiting to explode. Whoever has nothing to do will do anything available. Therefore find a way to engage our jobless youths and get our children off the streets and make them useful to the society.”
As a means of tackling part of the unemployment problem, the Sultan urged the northern governors to see to the resuscitation of the Ajaokuta steel company and other comatose industries in the region.
He also advised the northern governors to find a way of diversifying the economy of the north from being oil dependent to agriculture-based, noting that “If we face these issues of Ajaokuta revival, employment creation and diversification from oil to agriculture squarely, in the next four to five years, the north will be better for it.”
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