Were I one of the presidential aspirants asked to address the Arewa Joint Committee, these would have been the proposals I would have presented on how to develop northern Nigeria
by Ayo Akinfe
[1] I would make sure that by 2027, every one of the 19 states in Northern Nigeria generates enough revenue to at least meet its running costs
[2] Every state in northern Nigeria must be twinned with a state in the south as part of our education policy. By 2027, every northern state must match its southern twin in terms of literacy, secondary school leavers, graduates and post-graduates
[3] Every local government across northern Nigeria must have at least one technical college. We must aim for a 100% vocational skills target by 2030
[4] I will meet with the Arewa Consultative Forum regularly and press it to use its influence to facilitate the construction of five mega cattle ranches in Borno, Kano, Adamawa, Niger and Zamfara States. The aim is to make Nigeria the world’s leading leather goods producer
[5] By 2027, I will make sure every state in northern Nigeria dismantles its sharia laws. These religious restrictions are very off-putting to foreign investors and only serve to perpetuate the economic gulf between the north and south of the country. No foreign investor is keen on going to a state where its male and female staff cannot associate freely
[6] An automatic and statutory fatwah will be placed on any state governor, commissioner, or public servant across northern Nigeria who appropriates a sum of N10m or more while in office. I will maintain Sharia-like punishments for corruption offences
[7] Every state governor must attract a minimum of $1bn in Islamic finance investment a year. To facilitate this, an Arewa Sukuk Bank will be opened with its headquarters in Abuja
[8] Taraba State will be designated as Nigeria’s wildlife state. The aim is to make the state the world’s largest wildlife sanctuary that attracts as many tourist as say the Taj Mahal, the Giza Pyramid, Eiffel Tower or Niagara Falls
[9] My government will commit to developing the economies of our 19 northern states and would like our politicians to follow suit. At the moment, our politicians appear distracted by the lure of Abuja but all evidence shows that the more this happens, the more impoverished northern Nigeria becomes. Ideally we would advice placing a moratorium on northern Nigerians running for president until we bridge the economic gulf
[10] Every state across northern Nigeria must specialise in one area of economic activity, be it tourism, power generation, manufacturing, food processing, etc. The aim is to ensure northern Nigeria matches the south in terms of generated revenue by 2030
