According to Usman Okai-Austin, a political activist and young leader, the North needs development more than merely retaining political power.
In an interview with Okai-Austin, the PDP’s candidate for the Dekina/Bassa Federal Constituency in the 2023 elections, disclosed this.
He maintained that despite being in power for a long time, northern authorities have not addressed issues such as poverty, instability, and the rising number of children who are not attending school.
“The North wants development, not empty political power. What is the use of political power when you don’t alleviate the poverty of your people?
“Do we have good hospitals in the North today? Do we have well-planned schools for our children?”
He noted that in order to modernize the system and take children off the streets, former President Goodluck Jonathan, who was from the South-South, constructed Almajiri schools throughout the North.
However, the political analyst claims that the program was not maintained by the succeeding administration.
He stated, “Jonathan was a Christian from Bayelsa, but he introduced a program that directly addressed unemployment and the out-of-school children in the North.”
In the north, Jonathan established what is known as the contemporary Almajiri educational system. “During his administration, 157 Almajiri schools were built,” he stated.
“When Buhari came, those schools were destroyed. Can anybody be more northern than Buhari? A muslim from Katsina, and a former military president. Yet, what did he do for the North?” Okai-Austin asked.
The activist also denied that some politicians were pushing for northern marginalization.
He claimed that people who recently stepped down from office, including former ministers and state lead representative, had the opportunity to make changes but were unable to do so.
“People like El-Rufai, Babachir Lawal, and Malami were in power. Malami was as powerful as the president for eight years. What did they do? Now they are crying marginalization,” he remarked.
He claims that people who are legitimately marginalized are not included in decision-making processes.
The real marginalized people, according to Okai-Austin, are young people without jobs, women without access to healthcare, farmers unable to travel securely to their crops, and kids who stay on the streets rather than in school.
He called for a new generation of northern leaders.
“The younger generation of the North should take over leadership. Those who have been in power have failed. They only use the North as a bargaining chip for their personal interest,” he continued.
