After taking a holistic look at recent events in the Northern part of the country, Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, yesterday concluded that, “Fire is on the roof of northern Nigeria and the implication is that poverty will be on the increase.”
The minister who made the observation yesterday in Kaduna at a round table discussion organised by the Kaduna State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), as part of activities to mark the 2011 Press Week, said it was shameful that northern leaders allowed the situation to degenerate to such a level.
He urged them to redefine their values and allow justice to reign in the area.
He said “The north is marching backwards and the current developments will take the north 50 years back. If this situation is not arrested within the next two years, nobody will go to certain parts of the north and if we do not put out this fire, it will spread to other parts of the country.
“What is happening today in the North calls for greater responsibility because we have sinned and must return to the right path, otherwise, we will continue to have crises in the North.
“Killing of fellow human beings has become a norm in our communities and our religious beliefs have been turned upside down. We just have to stop playing games.
“Religion is subject to quick abuse and that is why there should be standards before anybody becomes a preacher or religious leaders, in any of the religions.”
Speaking on the Federal Government’s plan to restore peace to the country, Maku said government had taken some steps and is still exploiting all possible avenues towards the restoration of peace in all parts of the country. He noted that government had already taken steps to address unemployment in the country.
“The Federal Government has set aside N45 billion to promote the development of agriculture, especially in the North, as the area has been segmented to produce certain agricultural crops, not only for local consumption but also for export and we estimate that this will create about two million new jobs in the North.
“Very soon, government will ban the importation of rice into this country because there is no reason why we should continue to import rice,” the minister added.
He added that government has equally embarked on the building of a total of 37 special schools across the northern states, to tackle the menace of the Almajiranci in the area.