Northern Nigerian Leaders: Mission Accomplished

You've managed to reduce the work and sacrifice of Sir Ahmadu Bello and Tafawa Balewa with your poor leadership, lack of vision, greed and selfishness. You've managed to render the vibrant youths of the north incapacitated. As leaders, you've looted and squandered funds meant to develop the people and the region. As elders, you've managed to allow your greed and selfishness to overpower you. Not only have you failed as leaders and elders, but you have failed your children and the entire future generation of the north. Over 60 percent of the population in the region is under age 25, yet this group barely have any working experience to develop and compete with the rest of Nigeria. Northern Nigeria not only have the lowest literacy rate in the country, it is also regarded as one of the worst places on earth for the girl child to be born. The region is not only affected by poverty, but also ravaged with incessant killings and attacks by extremist groups like Boko Haram. Nigeria is a blessed land. It's endowed with abundant natural resources and human capital. It is a country with a young population and democracy. It is undeniably a growing economy. A simple walk through Lagos and you'll be in awe of the amazing innovation and creativity that is oozing from highly driven and determined youths. However, there's a stark difference as you move up north of the country. Here, you'll find vibrant, hopeless youths begging instead of coding. You'll find both young and old waiting for their daily bread from the leaders that have made promises but choose to ignore. Congratulations, Northern Elites, because the youths believe in you. They respect you and honor you. You've managed to create a blind- following that's void of critical reasoning. They buy in the us vs. them narrative that you created for your convenience during elections. They're regarded as nuisance in their own land. While you occupy places and positions of power in their names, you forget them. You ignore them. They are left to fend for themselves in this age of knowledge- based economy with inadequate tools to stand on their own. As Nigeria becomes more technologically advanced, Northern Nigeria simply consumes rather than produce. Were you surprised by the outrage of Ese Oruru? The entire country went crazy of the alleged kidnapping and unverified story, yet no one cares to speak up for the northern child. Is Yinusa not someone's child? Is his life as a northern boy not equal to Ese's? What happened to being innocent until proven guilty? Are you proud of yourselves when your story is crafted by others? Why are you against the development and progress of your own people? Why would you rather remain status quo? What do you think will happen in the next 10-20 years? Do you think your children, those that you have pampered and educated and placed in positions of power, will replace you? Are you aware that the system has changed, and the world is a global village? While you are busy trying to hold on to power, ignoring to invest in the development of your region and people, the rest of Nigeria has moved on. Nigerians are writing codes and creating websites and using big data to find loopholes in your padded national budget. They're analyzing your tweets and Facebook posts to craft your story, true or false. While you treat northern youths like pests, and ignore to invest in the their progress and development, you're providing a breeding ground for miscreants and egregious behaviour. Do you think Boko Haram is the worst it could get? Boko Haram is ruthless for directing their attacks on the poor and innocent. Can you imagine if it directed its anger towards you and your interests? What do you think is going to happen if you continue to turn the blind eye against your own people? What is the future of a society filled with massive uneducated, unemployed, disgruntled and drug addicted youths? As a famous Hausa proverb says "in zaka gina ramin mugunta, ka gina shi daidai kwabrinka."