Northern Leaders Shun Ahmadu Bello’s Memorial Lecture
- As Ex-IGP Charges FG, States on Herdsmen Killings
BY AMOS TAUNA, KADUNA – Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, an annual lecture that usually attracts people from all walks of life is fast becoming a shadow of itself.
This year’s conference on, “The North and the challenge of leadership”, recorded an attendance that could barely filled a quarter of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation main hall in Kaduna.
An occasion that annually plays host to former Heads of State, Presidents, serving and former governors, lawmakers, captains of industry and notable personalities failed to draw the society’s crème de la crème this year.
However, poor attendance by political leaders at the event did not stop participants and key speakers from focusing on disturbing cases of herdsmen killings, the north’s poor economic base, lack of lack transparency and integrity in political leadership among others.
In his remarks, Chairman of the occasion and former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim A. Coomassie urged the federal and state governments to urgently evolve ways of bringing to an end the incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers in parts of the country.
He said the clashes, which have assumed frightening and most destabilizing dimension, if not properly managed could plunge the nation, especially the northern region into internecine conflicts the likes of which have never been seen before.
Coomasie observed that thousands of innocent lives and property are continually and senselessly lost due to the herdsmen and farmers clashes, even as he enjoined the north to urgently seek lasting solutions and ways of the political mess the region has found itself.
The ex-police boss said serious planning played a central role in the smooth administration of the then northern Nigeria, stressing that; “The northern Nigeria, before January 15th, 1966, was a territory characterized by visionary leadership and tireless dedication to duty and the community. Leaders were known for their integrity, their sincerity and their humility.”
According to him, present day political office holders only pay lip service and scant attention to the needs of the populace, adding that corrupt practices have become endemic with the provision of social amenities being relegated to the background.
Coomassie also chided some State governors for engaging in frivolities such as building billion Naira airports; government houses; and other white elephant projects while their people live in abject poverty and squalor.
The former police chief, who also lamented that most youths go through schools and graduate with no jobs available or means to start something on their own; adding that; “This deplorable situation has made them vulnerable as tools of the political class to use to foment political violence or foot soldiers of ethnic or religious bigots and extremists to destroy the peace and serenity the north has been known for.”
He drew the attention of participants at the lecture to a roadmap of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) drawn by experts and submitted to Northern governors, towards achieving harmony, peace and progress.
For the keynote speaker at the event, Professor Alkasum Abba of the department of History, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the north has been left behind by other states in the country due largely to the inability of northerners to talk to each other and agree on the way forward for their region.
The university don noted that the region’s founding fathers were outstanding and committed to improved living standards for the people, and expressed disappointment that the new breed politicians lack transparency, integrity and wisdom to carry the people along in all spheres of life.
He blamed military interventions in the politics for the politicians’ inability to learn from the old breed politicians the art of selfless service that should be integral and uppermost in the life of any dedicated office holder.
