By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo
Kaduna — The Chairman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Prof. Ango Abdullahi, has declared that 80 percent of Nigeria’s out-of-school children are from the North, warning that the alarming statistics reflect deep-rooted marginalisation and neglect of the region by successive administrations.
Speaking in Kaduna on Tuesday during the Government-Citizens Engagement Forum organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Prof. Abdullahi described the situation as a national emergency that poses grave dangers to Nigeria’s unity and stability.
“We have 20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria—80 percent of them are from Northern Nigeria,” he said. “If just half of the N15 trillion national budget were allocated to education, we would have no child out of school.”
He lamented that despite the scale of the problem, the North continues to receive a disproportionately low share of education funding, adding that inadequate investment in schools, teachers, and learning materials has worsened the crisis.
“This is not just a Northern problem. It is a national disaster. An uneducated population is a threat to all,” the former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, stated.
The elder statesman, who recently toured parts of the Northeast, also described the region’s road infrastructure as the worst in the country, noting that entire communities remain disconnected due to non-existent or dilapidated roads.
“Some of the roads are not just bad—they don’t even exist,” he said. “You can’t talk about national development when a whole region remains disconnected.”
He proposed a bold reallocation of national resources to address two critical challenges, suggesting that if N7.5 trillion were invested in education and another N7.5 trillion in road infrastructure in the North, “we’d solve two of our biggest problems.”
On policy decisions by the current administration, Prof. Abdullahi criticised the recent relocation of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) departments from Abuja to Lagos and questioned the fairness of recent federal appointments.
“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 queried.
He warned that such moves send a dangerous signal to Northern communities already feeling marginalised.
“These are not coincidences. They are decisions with consequences, and the North is watching,” he said, adding that the NEF will formally write to President Bola Tinubu to demand explanations on these developments.
Turning to solutions, Prof. Abdullahi advocated for the decentralisation of industrial growth, saying that Northern Nigeria must be industrialised in line with its natural strengths.
“If we truly want to develop Nigeria, then Northern Nigeria must be industrialised—especially through agriculture,” he said, urging the Federal Government to establish agro-allied processing zones across the region.
“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 stressed.
He concluded with a strong call to action, urging Northerners to demand accountability and speak up against perceived injustice.
“We must be proactive. We will be asking questions. And this time, we expect answers,” he declared. “If we do not speak up and insist on fairness, the marginalisation will continue, and our children will inherit a more broken and divided nation.”
The forum was attended by political leaders, academics, and civil society representatives from across the North.
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