"The most unfortunate thing is that we are in the 21st Century, but we are yet to key into the development agenda of the world."
Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State and Chairperson of the Northern Governors' Forum has said that the out-of-school syndrome among children in the region poses a great challenge to the forum.
Mr Yahaya said this on Tuesday when the Northern Governors' Wives' Forum paid him a courtesy call at the Government House in Gombe.
According to him, Northern Nigeria has the highest number of "almajiri syndrome and out-of-school children".
He argued that although the world was going through various challenges, "Nigeria is not an exception, but that of the North is the worst.
"The most unfortunate thing is that we are in the 21st Century, but we are yet to key into the development agenda of the world," Mr Yahaya said.
He said that nothing ever happens without education because it brings development.
"It changes the world and brings a good life.
"Above all, it helps us to modernise.
"It is education that even makes us understand the dictate of Allah because if you are not educated, you will not worship God well. Therefore, we have an enormous task ahead," he said.
He underscored the need for the north to double its efforts to overcome the challenges facing education, healthcare and socio-economic development of the region by empowering people with entrepreneurship and skills.
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"Also, the northern part of the country is bedevilled with kidnapping and, banditry and other criminal activities.
"The northern part of Nigeria constitutes about three-quarters of Nigeria's landmass, maybe about 60 per cent of the country's population.
"If that big portion of the country is not in peace, it means the country and the whole of West Africa is not in peace," Mr Yahaya said.
He also decried the menace of drug abuse in the region, adding that the phenomenon was becoming more alarming.
He said the governors needed to come together to overcome the challenges.
"About 75 per cent to 80 per cent of our population are farmers, and they engage in substance abuse to give them extra power to till their farms.
"This trend gradually escalates the crisis of drug abuse and proliferation of arms and ammunition in the region.
"If we do not check these problems, there would be no northern Nigeria," the governor further said.
Speaking earlier, his wife and Chairperson of the forum, Asama'u Yahaya, said they were in Gombe for their quarterly meeting and to hold a seminar on drug abuse.
She said the forum was carrying out advocacy on drug abuse and almajiri syndrome.
"We are looking for a way to help our spouses as well as empower the people in Northern Nigeria through our projects," she said.
(NAN)
