The Borno state governor, Mr. Kashim Shettima says poverty in Nigeria now boldly wears a Northern face. He said this at the Northern Governors Forum meeting which held in Kaduna state yesterday.
“Things have become so bad, so much so that we can say without fear of contradiction that in Nigeria today, poverty glaringly wears a bold northern face. We have turned our region into a laughing stock, derided by friends and foes alike, and, not without justification, as having dragged the rest of the country down with us. Regrettably today, our region has become a thriving nest for war, terrorism, deep seated social divisions, senseless violence, mind-boggling intolerance, injustice, destitution, joblessness, and all manners of other social vices, the height of which is the madness called Boko Haram. No amount of lamentation will, of course, solve our many problems. We need to act, and fast too. This generation of Northern leaders, led by us the Governors, have both a moral and constitutional responsibility as well as a historic opportunity to reverse the negative fortunes of our people.
We must do everything in our power to restore and entrench the lofty values of unity, understanding, tolerance, mutual respect, empathy, justice and mutual coexistence in the minds of our people and region. We must firmly and decisively commit ourselves to fighting poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, terrorism and other forms violent crimes in the north.” he said.