Ben Barde Kure, Kaduna
Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, says rising insecurity and systemic decay in the education sector are major obstacles to socio-economic development in the North-West.
Speaking on Saturday at the maiden North-West Stakeholders Development Summit held at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Conference Centre, Kaduna, Governor Yusuf, represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Umar Ibrahim, described the region’s challenges as “twin and intertwined” problems of insecurity and weak human capital development.
“Banditry, kidnappings, and cattle rustling have displaced thousands of residents, destroyed farmlands, and disrupted markets, thereby deepening poverty across the sub-region,” Yusuf said.
He further lamented the state of public education, citing overcrowded classrooms, dilapidated infrastructure, a shortage of qualified teachers, and lack of basic learning materials. “These conditions have crippled our ability to turn young people into productive human capital,” he added.
To address these challenges, Governor Yusuf proposed the creation of a sub-regional education transformation body under the North-West Development Commission (NWDC) to coordinate reforms, innovation, and improved service delivery across North-West states.
He also called for a sub-regional security collaboration framework to strengthen cross-border intelligence sharing and support the rehabilitation of displaced persons and affected communities.
The summit, organised by the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committees on the NWDC, brought together governors, policymakers, and stakeholders from the region.
Governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani, represented by his deputy, Dr Hadiza Balarabe, said the challenges facing the North-West had outgrown the capacity of individual states and required coordinated regional action.
“The establishment of the North-West Development Commission by President Bola Tinubu was a deliberate effort to tackle long-standing regional disparities through an institution with a clear developmental mandate,” she said.
Dr Balarabe added that with a population of over 50 million, largely composed of young people, the North-West stood at a crossroads. “This youth bulge can either become a demographic dividend or a destabilising burden, depending on how we invest in education, skills, and jobs,” she said.
Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, traced the region’s decline to the collapse of industries that once thrived in cities such as Kaduna and Kano in the 1970s and 1980s.
“The North has shifted from being a production hub to largely a consumer region. This transition is dangerous for our future if not urgently reversed,” Pantami warned.
He attributed the growing skills gap to poor curriculum alignment and the neglect of technical and vocational education, advocating the adoption of a dual education system combining classroom instruction with hands-on vocational training, similar to models used in Germany and Switzerland.
Pantami also expressed concern over the rising number of out-of-school children in Northern Nigeria, noting the trend poses serious long-term risks to national stability and competitiveness.
