A UNICEF report puts the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria at 18.3 million, with about 70% from the North.
Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani holds an emergency security meeting at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna, on Tuesday, August 29, 2023. (Photo: Facebook/Uba Sani)
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has raised serious concerns about the escalating number of out-of-school children, widespread poverty, and other socioeconomic challenges in Northern Nigeria, warning that the region is nearing collapse if urgent solutions are not implemented.
During a courtesy visit by the National Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Mamman Osuman, Sani highlighted the severity of the situation. He stated, “This new executive committee has emerged at a time of great challenges. We are confronted with difficult developmental and security questions. Criminal elements have been laying siege to communities in the North and reversing our progress on multiple fronts. Our development deficits are scary and require urgent attention.”
In 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that 63% of Nigerians (approximately 133 million people) are multidimensionally poor, with 65% of this population (86 million people) residing in the North. Sani also pointed out that the region faces significant educational challenges, citing a UNICEF report that indicates 18.3 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, with about 70% in the North.
“Insecurity in the North has retarded developments in critical sectors. Many farmers cannot access their farms, leading to food insecurity. Child and maternal mortality rates are increasing, and our infrastructure has decayed. Efforts to address these issues are threatened by insecurity,” Sani explained.
Sani criticized the prevailing political climate in the North, saying, “What we see in the North is the promotion of toxic politics, opposition for opposition’s sake, and the ‘pull him down syndrome.’ We indulge in endless blame games, devoid of attempts at soul searching or introspection. We have failed to ask ourselves some vital questions. Where did the rain start beating the North? Who are those complicit in the underdevelopment of the North?”
He urged Northern leaders to collaborate and develop a common strategy to address the region’s developmental challenges and confront the criminals making life unbearable for the people.
News Editor