By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, CON, Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Governor of Gombe State, has advocated for intensified efforts in education, healthcare, and human capital development through entrepreneurship and skill acquisition in advancing the living standards and prosperity of the region.
The Governor made the call while receiving members of the 19 Northern Governors’ Wives Forum, NGWF on a courtesy visit at the Government House, Gombe.
He acknowledged the numerous challenges facing the northern region which hinder its progress, stressing the importance of collaboration between NSGF and NGWF in overcoming these challenges.
Governor Inuwa expressed specific concern about the alarming rate of out-of-school children in the North and its negative impact on socioeconomic development.
“It is unfortunate that our region has the highest rate of out-of-school children. Our people are yet to embrace the global development agenda”, he lamented, emphasizing the critical role of education in fostering the needed change.
“Nothing happens without education; no development occurs without it. Education brings development, changes the tide, and improves lives. It even helps feed people through modernization and allows us to understand the dictates of our religion.”, he noted.
Shifting the focus to national stability, the NSGF Chairman pointed out that Northern Nigeria’s size and population make it crucial for national peace. He warned that insecurity and other problems in the North are capable of destabilising the entire country and spreading turmoil throughout West Africa.
Governor Inuwa also highlighted the threats posed by drug and narcotic abuse, illegal arms possession, and the specific security challenges faced by different states which include insurgency, banditry and kidnapping, and ethno-religious crises.
He urged leaders at all levels and stakeholders to confront these challenges head-on.
The Gombe Governor noted the important role the Governors’ spouses can play in uplifting the lives of the people especially in the areas of women empowerment and fostering good governance, assuring them of his support in that regard.
“As Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, I assure you of my support and that of other Governors, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Through Mr. President’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’, we are reviving hope and encouraging collaboration for a better Nigeria.
Earlier speaking, Hajiya Asma’u Inuwa Yahaya, Gombe States First Lady, who doubled as the Chairperson of the Northern Governors’ Wives Forum said the governor’s wives were in Gombe for their quarterly meeting in their efforts to complement their husbands in promoting socio-economic development in their respective states and the northern region in general.
Dr Asma’u Yahaya explained that their engagement in Gombe will focus on women empowerment, drug and substance abuse and the menace of out-of-school-children which are among the major issues stunting development in the region.
She commended the support they get from the Northern Governors’ under the leadership of Governor Inuwa Yahaya.
