Northern Nigeria: Surfacing Poverty On Un Tapped Wealth

By

Auwal Shehu

alwaaj@yahoo.com

A traditional axiom has it that, education/ knowledge is only useful when is put to use. Not only does this formed part of daily expression but it have gone far to form part of some institution of learning’s identified logo. Without knowledge man would have been reduced to a docile animal but our early species struggled to master their environments in an effort to elude poverty and existed at relative level of happiness.

The evil associated with poverty predated our contemporary analysis hence it was largely accountable to major of the problems between man and his surroundings ever since. It is a situation where a living man and his family are confronted with lack, lack and lack reflected in a vicious circle. Internationally it is adjudged to be a lamentable living style below what 2 American dollars can buy.  Poverty is as dynamic as its hydra headed products. Our present problems linked to poverty are beyond expression and comprehension with unimaginable deviancies among young and adult, women and men, strong and weak.

Despite the fact that associated poverty carried some associated similarities locally and internationally there existed a differing measure of yard stick. Internationally the combinations of major African nations are rated as most devastated while part of Asia and North American countries follows. Locally in Nigeria Northern region is characterized as more ravaged compared to the other parts of the country. Even though this statistic remain a subject to academic discuss the surfacing facts indicated that majority of the street beggars in all nook and cranny of the country hailed from that unfortunate part. Another fact to angle this analysis is the fact that other parts of the country especially the West and South cashed immensely from water ways activities on one hand and derived an advantage super-proportionally from natural deposit of Oil in their places.

The administration of knowledge in tapping the benefit of both Oil and water ways in the West & South is what sustained their usage to both individuals and the nation at large, to the extent that it is safe to declare that the two economic sectors contributed for the fiscal survival of the country. In spite of their natural deposition within these regions both Oil and Water ways are subject to pollution and extinction due to over consumption. Even though this is yet, but the over bearing concentration on these economic outlets without planning for alternatives is the most dangerous aspect of our leaders often blinded in the present, caring less to what the future holds.

Not only will the alternative outlets like farming, soil minerals and other Oil deposits now buried in the North help the fiscal level of the country but will equally help in addressing the local yet daily problems of those people settled near such deposits as expressed in other parts of the country. This is how the belligerence grip of poverty can be assuaged.

Based on these potentials that are found in the Northern Part of this country and what they portends to yield it is imperative on the regional Governors to devise a collective measure in making sure that the art of governance is  beyond over invoicing on supplies and buildings. They should spear head a move that will compel the central government to explore such deposit. That can as well boost their morale and give them the power of negotiation on issues like zoning and resources distribution. The expectation of democracy from the voters is a chance in living style, a change that will enriches them with tools to fight poverty.

 Amongst many of the 19 northern states few governors understood the unequal approach to fight poverty as necessary. This includes the introduction of a mechanized farming in Kwara state and the Soil mineral exploration in part of Kebbi. The northern region’s poverty is such unattended to that even with PhD’s, some governors discharges in similar fashion (what otherwise would have been a case-to-copy), reducing the art of governance only beneficial to their kin and associates. But modern governing deserves dynamic approach away from the old attitudinal discharges that are limited to constructions and party domination. It should be an all encompassing administration with attainable goals to create economic opening for all and sundry.

My geopolitical exposure within the Northern part of the country is not rich to equip me with what a particular governor suppose to encourage in respect of what nature has endowed his state with but all the northern State governors are either devoid of any idea to transform the economic activities and usher in measures to guarantee sustainable earnings for the people or they are too engaged in fighting unpopular war against the collective voice of the Northern People on the apparent marginalization visited unto them by the present crop of leaders in the centre and the P.D.P.

They suppose to employ the service of experts to ascertain the potentials of their respective state. This remains the only solution to the teeming masses that were schemed out by pockets of blind followers sticking to the governors. The experts can consult, experiment, explore, and device a profitable way out in reducing poverty from the untapped resources abound yet buried.