…Says, “Successive govts failed to address North’s out-of-school children’s growing population.”
by Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Northern Elders Forum Chairman, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, has asserted that, “If half of the N15 trillion national budget was allocated to education, the north would have no child out of school.”
Prof. Ango, who was speaking against the alleged ‘over-growing marginalization of Northern Nigeria,’ warned that the continued sidelining of the region in federal budgeting and infrastructural development posed grave dangers to national unity and progress.
He also said “The growing marginalization is not just a Northern problem,” stressing that “An uneducated population is also a national disaster and threat to all.”
Speaking during the Government-Citizens Engagement Forum organized by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation in Kaduna on Tuesday, the elder statesman described the region’s situation as nothing short of a national emergency, particularly in the areas of education, infrastructure, and economic inclusion.
Ango, who is former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, lamented the failure of successive administrations to address the North’s growing population of out-of-school children.
He blamed the crises on inadequate funding and what he termed as, “misplaced national priorities,” adding that out of 20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, 80 percent of them are from Northern Nigeria.
“If just half of the N15 trillion national budget was allocated to education, we would have no child out of school. That money would provide schools, teachers, and equipment,” he said.
He said, despite the magnitude of the crises, the North continues to receive a disproportionately low share of education funding.
“This is not just a Northern problem. It is a national disaster. An uneducated population is a threat to all,” he warned.
The NEF chairman, who recently toured parts of the Northeast, also described the region’s road infrastructure as “the worst in the country.”
“Some of the roads are not just bad – they don’t even exist. You can’t talk about national development when a whole region remains disconnected. There must be an intentional drive to fix our roads, if we are serious about equity,” he said.
He proposed a simple yet, bold solution, stating, “Let’s be serious. If we use N7.5 trillion for education and N7.5 trillion for roads in the North, we would solve two of our biggest problems.”
Abdullahi also expressed strong reservations about the recent relocation of key departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria, from Abuja to Lagos, describing the move as “suspicious and divisive.”
“Why the sudden relocation of CBN departments? Why the mass retirements? And why were 15 new directors recently employed – with only four from Northern Nigeria,”? he asked.
He said the decision sends a troubling message to Northern Nigerians, many of whom already feel marginalized under the current administration, saying, “These are not coincidences. They are decisions with consequences, and the North is watching.”
According to him, the Northern Elders’ Forum will be formally writing to President Bola Tinubu to demand clarification on the recent appointments and policy decisions, which, he said, appear designed to weaken Northern participation in the federal structure.
Abdullahi did not stop at criticism. He also laid out a roadmap for equitable development, starting with the decentralization of industrial growth.
“If we truly want to develop Nigeria, then Northern Nigeria must be industrialized, in line with its natural strengths – agriculture being one,” he said.
He urged the Federal Government to set up agro-allied processing zones across Northern states, arguing that industrialization anchored on agriculture would lift millions out of poverty and stabilize the region’s economy.
“It is time to spread development. Northern Nigeria cannot continue to serve only as a food basket without also being a value-adding zone,” he declared.
The NEF chairman ended on a strong note of civic engagement, urging Northerners to move from silence to active demand for their rights, saying, “We must be proactive. We will be asking questions; and this time, we expect answers.”
Prof. Ango called on political leaders, community organizations, and civil society groups to join in demanding accountability from federal policymakers.
According to him, north can no longer afford to be passive, saying, “If North did not speak up and insisted on fairness, the marginalization will continue, and their children would inherit a more broken and divided nation.”