‘North still divided’

Dipo Laleye, Minna - 06.01.2008

Chairman of the Northern Union , a political pressure group for the Northern part of the country ,Senator Abubakar Olusola Saraki, has said that the region has remained divided for so long because of the selfish interest of some of the political leaders.

Senator Saraki told newsmen in Minna on Friday that the North had also lost focus in virtually everything for a very long time. The Northern Union leader said with the demise of the Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (A C F), Chief Sunday Awoniyi ,it had become imperative for the northern part of the country to come together for the socio- economic development of the entire region.

“We have to move forward, the North has lost so much ground“ Alhaji Saraki declared. Dr Saraki said as a first step towards re- uniting the North, he had started talking to the governors in the region to abandon their personal interests and pursue the general things that concerned the whole North.

On how to immortalise the late A C F leader, Chief Sunday Awoniyi, Dr Saraki said though the ACF was making arrangement for such a thing the Northern Union would also find means of keeping the memory of late Chief Awoniyi alive.

He said the Northern Union and the entire people of the North would continue to lend their support to President Umar Yar’Adua because “ it a government we made, it is a government we fought for.”

In answer to another question ,Dr Saraki said the redeployment of the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, to the classroom was in order because “ Nuhu is a civil servant, his employers know what is best for him.”

Dr. Saraki was in Minna to condole with the government and people of Niger state on the death in a motor accident of some prominent traditional title holders who were on the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar’s entourage.

The incident happened along the Okene-Abuja road on the 29th of last month.