NEF Chair Ango Abdullahi warns of growing northern neglect in budget, education, and infrastructure.
He urges urgent reforms and calls on Northerners to demand fairness and national inclusion.
Professor Ango Abdullahi, Chairman of the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), has raised strong concerns about the continued neglect of Northern Nigeria in national development.
Speaking at a forum in Kaduna on Tuesday, he said the region is being left out of federal budgets and infrastructure plans, warning that this could threaten Nigeria’s unity and future growth.
Abdullahi, who is a former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, described the region’s situation as a national emergency, especially in the areas of education, infrastructure, and economic inclusion. He criticized successive governments for failing to address the region’s growing social and economic challenges, particularly the crisis of out-of-school children.
“Nigeria has over 20 million children out of school, and 80 percent of them are from the North,” Abdullahi said. “If even half of the N15 trillion national budget were allocated to education, no child would be out of school. That amount would be enough to build schools, train teachers, and provide learning materials.”
He added that the North continues to receive less funding for education despite the scale of the crisis, warning that the consequences go beyond the region.
“This is not just a Northern problem it’s a national disaster. A population that is uneducated is a threat to everyone,” he said.
Professor Abdullahi also lamented the poor state of road infrastructure in the Northeast, saying many roads in the region are either in terrible condition or do not exist at all. He noted that meaningful development cannot take place when a large part of the country is disconnected from essential infrastructure.
“You cannot speak of national development while a whole region remains cut off. There must be a deliberate effort to improve road access in the North. If N7.5 trillion were used for education and another N7.5 trillion for roads, we could address two of our biggest challenges,” he stated.
He further criticized the recent relocation of key departments of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from Abuja to Lagos, calling the move suspicious and divisive. Abdullahi questioned the mass retirements at the bank and the recent hiring of 15 new directors, only four of whom are from the North.
“These actions are not random. They are decisions with far-reaching effects, and people in the North are paying attention. The Northern Elders’ Forum will formally write to President Bola Tinubu to demand explanations on these appointments and policies,” he revealed.
Despite his criticism, Abdullahi also proposed concrete solutions. He urged the Federal Government to invest in industrial development in the North, especially through agriculture. According to him, establishing agro-processing zones across Northern states would create jobs, reduce poverty, and boost the regional economy.
“We must go beyond being the food basket of the nation. Northern Nigeria must also become a hub for adding value to agricultural products,” he said.
He called on Northerners to stop being silent and begin to actively demand their rights. He also urged political leaders, civil society organizations, and community groups to hold the government accountable.
“If we continue to keep quiet, the marginalization will worsen. We must speak up and insist on fairness, not just for ourselves, but for the future of our children,” he concluded.
