North-west Zone Governors Discuss Economic Integration to Tackle Challenges

John Shiklam in Kaduna

Governors of the seven states in the North-west zone are set to work together for the economic integration of the zone to address the economic and social problems  facing area.

Speaking during a plenary session at the Kaduna Investment forum thursday, the governors of Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara and the deputy governor of Jigawa State said economic integration among the seven states – Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa and Zamfara woud go a long way in addressing the challenges facing the states.

Contributing to the discussions, the Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, said the  seven states should  identify economic advantages that can move the  region forward.

He noted that this  is the first time, since the inception of this democracy in 1999, when the seven governors (of the North-west zone ) decided to come together to form a forum.

“We even went to the extent of employing a consultant who is giving us  the green light on various issues on economic development,” he said.

He said the zone is the most populous geopolitical zone, constituting 25 per cent of the population of Nigeria and occupying 23 per cent of the land mass in Nigeria.

Ganduje said: “What is required is  the political will to come together and be fully integrated – socio economic integration beyond paper integration, integration that will bring development in terms of institutions and in terms of programmes that will improve the quality of lives of our people.”

He advocated  the establishment of an integration commission which will look into the capacity of  institutions, noting that if  institutions are not developed, it will be impossible to achieve set goals.

Also contributing to the discussions, the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, said for  the state, regional integration is inevitable.

He said unless  the north west zone  recognises  its problems  and come together to address the common challenges, the zone will continue  to pull Nigeria backward.

Speaking further, he noted that on Wednesday, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, made certain observations about the state of northern Nigeria within the larger Nigeria context, stressing that “the truth of the matter is that when you look at human development in the indices of Nigeria, they hide alot of information, they saw us as middle income country, they saw  that we are making progress in terms of education and health care.”

El-Rufai said:  “When you disaggregate this number and look at them from zone to zone, from state  to state, it is very revealing, it shows for, instance, that some states in Nigeria are as backward as Afghanistan in terms of education, health care and opportunities. And many of the states  in the north west are afflicted with these challenges, so unless we recognise that within the larger Nigerian context, we have some common problems in this region.

“We have the largest number of out-of-school children, we have the largest number of girls not completing basic education, we have the lowest levels of women giving birth in hospitals and health clinics, we have the highest infant mortality rate, we have the highest maternity mortality and morbidity rate”

“He said “unless we recognise that and come together, and address our common challenges, we will continue to pull Nigeria backward, in my opinion, and that is the last thing we want.

“And this is why, very early in the administration, we approached Arewa Research and Development Programme (ARDP ) to help us put together a group of thinkers, experienced technocrats to think through these problems and help us map out an agenda.

El-Rufai said  by constructing dams and focusing on agriculture, the zone  will be able to feed, not only Nigeria, but most of the sub-regions.

According to him, every day, between 12 and 20 trucks come from Niger Republic to buy maize and soya beans in Kaduna state, for instance.

He said “Dauna market in Kano is the largest grains market in the West Africa sub-region, attracting traders from 4-5 countries.

“So we have an opportunity to build on the long gesture of history of Kano as a commercial centre, Sokoto Caliphate as the centre of learning and many other natural and artificial endowments to create a viable and sustainable economic area in the north west” he added.

Both the governor of Zamfara, Abdulhazeez Yari and the deputy governor of Jigawa state who participated in the plenary session spoke in similar vein.