Blaming the region’s security crisis on unchecked corruption, Vice President Kashim Shettima offered a stark assessment of Northern Nigeria’s plight at Saturday’s Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Lecture in Maiduguri.
Corruption, Shettima declared, has “defied” the legacy of accountability and probity championed by the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, the region’s revered Premier.
“The leader cannot engage in corruption if he wants to stand above the common thief, the bandit and the kidnapper,” he warned, echoing Governor Babagana Zulum’s call for good governance as the antidote to the country’s ills.
Shettima, represented by his political advisor, Hakeem-Baba Ahmed, lamented the stark contrast between Bello’s era and the present. “Sardauna,” he said, “left a legacy of teamwork, resilience, and commitment to education, agriculture, and infrastructure development.” The vice president implied these areas now suffer from systemic rot.
Other attendees echoed the theme of leadership failure. UN Ambassador Tijjani Muhammad-Bande pointed to unchecked power abuse as a factor in the country’s insecurity woes, while Northern Governors Forum chair Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya declared good governance the “only way out.”
The lecture, hosted by Borno State, also saw awards bestowed upon academics and civil society figures like Umaru Shehu, Aisha Muhammed Nahuce, Deborah Eniho, and Adams David Baiki.
The event concluded with Bauchi State accepting the mantle of hosting the 2025 lecture, leaving observers to ponder whether the next gathering will witness progress in tackling the issues so starkly laid bare on this occasion.
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