Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, has expressed concern over the slow pace of development in Northern Nigeria despite its wealth of skilled and accomplished professionals. He said the region continues to lag because its elites have failed to unite and harness available human resources for meaningful progress.
The governor made the remarks when the leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), led by its Board of Trustees Chairman, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, paid him a courtesy visit in Kaduna.
“For years, we have repeatedly spoken about our challenges — poverty, education gaps, healthcare deficits, and other development issues. I believe we have reached a point where we must stop complaining and start acting,” Governor Sani said.
He noted that the North is blessed with capable individuals across business, academia, medicine, and entrepreneurship, yet lacks the coordination needed to translate these strengths into real development. “The missing link is bringing everyone together. The ACF can help bridge that gap by enabling us to benefit from their collective experience, achievements, and resources,” he added.
Sani commended the ACF’s plan to establish a Central Endowment Fund and urged the group to prioritise skills acquisition programmes that can make Northern youths self-reliant. He also raised concerns over high financial exclusion in the region, revealing that many vulnerable residents still have no access to bank accounts or financial services.
The governor recalled signing his First Executive Order on Financial Inclusion upon assuming office—an initiative that, according to him, brought over 2.1 million vulnerable people into the financial system within one year.
He further urged Northern businessmen to strengthen the region’s financial ecosystem by investing in the sector, lamenting that over 60% of Northern local governments do not have a single bank branch. “Some Southern states with far smaller populations have more bank branches than Kano, which has 44 local governments,” he said.
Governor Sani also praised ACF’s renewed efforts to build bridges with Afenifere, Ohaneze Ndigbo, and other regional groups, describing the forum as “a neutral body without political bias” capable of uniting the North behind a common development agenda.
Earlier, ACF Chairman Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu briefed the governor on the forum’s upcoming 25th anniversary slated for November 20–22 in Kaduna. He thanked the governor for permanently allocating office property to the forum, noting that it was the first time ACF would operate from a permanent office.
Dalhatu announced that Vice President Kashim Shettima would serve as Special Guest of Honour, while Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, would deliver the keynote address. He added that the ACF was moving beyond advocacy by establishing an endowment fund to support community-based development initiatives.
He also highlighted ACF’s engagements with traditional rulers, lawmakers, religious groups, and socio-cultural organisations across the country, stressing the need to foster national cohesion. “We want to begin sustained dialogue with our brothers and sisters in the South… all in the spirit of promoting a strong, united Nigeria,” he said.
