The Northern Women and Youth Leadership Foundation has thrown its weight behind the presidential bid of the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, saying if given a chance at the presidency in 2023, he would secure the country and turn its fortunes around for good of the masses.
The leader of the group, Hon. Aisha Ibrahim who was a former Minister for Women Affairs said this when she led a delegation on a visit to governor Yahaya Bello at the weekend.
She said there was a demand for power shift for young people to take over the reigns of leadership in the country from the older generation, adding that only a generation of a time fits that time.
The groups during a courtesy and advocacy visit on the governor lauded his achievements in securing and uniting the people of Kogi State noting that the governor has adopted a result proven model which according to her, other Northern governors should adopt to achieve similar feet.
“Your Excellency, we are impressed with what you have done in terms of security in Kogi State. You have chased away those bad elements. We feel other Northern governors should copy your model.
We can say this, if we make you the president of Nigeria, you can can secure Nigeria. We pray and hope this is the time we will get it right”, she said.
She noted that the NGO was partnering with the public and private organisations to intervene in various crises in the North.
According to her, topmost on its agenda include solving the challenge of-out-of-school children, reviving the economic activities of the Local Government Areas as well as galvanizing the region’s manufacturing ability from what is produced.
The former minister noted that the group was comprised of individuals with past government experiences to adequately advise those in government, adding that they were merging the power of women and the youth to facilitate solutions to these challenges facing the region.
She emphasised the need for governors of the North Central states to harness all abundant mineral and natural resources in their various states for the development of the zone, adding that the Northern region can become a major contributor to the country’s GDP if the right things are done.
Governor Bello in his response called for a leadership renaissance in the Northern region nothing that until the North is secured, prosperity and development there can’t be absolute.
The governor noted that the current events in the North were strange as travelling to every part of the state of the region used to be peaceful and smooth unlike the current experiences
He recalled that insecurity, mutual suspicion, intra ethnic attacks, religious crisis and several events used to be the order of the day in Kogi State but five years down the line, the story had changed, simply because they were confronted head-on by his administration.
He maintained that President Muhammadu Buhari inherited a precarious situation and that only an ingrate would not appreciate the President’s efforts in securing Nigeria, adding that “the situation we are currently faced with was that those entrusted with leadership have betrayed the trust reposed in them by the people and even the president.”
“The problem is that of failure of leadership at all levels and we must speak truth to those in authorities who have failed in their responsibilities”, Governor Bello reiterated.
He noted that against the ideals of the founding fathers who advocated for one Northern region, issues of separation along ethnic and religious lines have continued to plague the unity and security of the region as most leaders refused to put the mechanisms in place to ensure the economic growth of the region.
Governor Bello asserted that with the group’s experiences, they were in the right position to advocate current leaders in the North to put their house in order while they should extend a hand of fellowship across the Niger.
“If the world is advancing and we are not doing same as a nation in terms of leadership we would experience a reversal, as a generation that jeopardized itself, also do same to the one behind them”, he stated.
