Arewa New Agenda (ANA) is set to engage the Federal Government with proposals on how to curb insecurity and poverty ravaging the region.
According to the elders, the proposal, if considered and implemented, promises to pave the way for lasting prosperity for the North and, by extension, the country.
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Yayale Ahmed, disclosed that as elders, ANA would engage the Federal Government to implement the proposals for enduring solutions to the poverty question in the North.
He spoke while declaring open the Follow-on Conference Tackling Poverty in Northern Nigeria convened by ANA, in Abuja, at the weekend.
Also present at the event were former Governors Isa Yuguda and Sani Yerima, Senator Jonathan Zwingina and Babangida Ngoruje.
Others are the former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Danladi Kifasi; Chairman, National Hajj Commission (NAHCOM), Jalal Arabi and Fatima Adams.
Ahmed said: “As elders, we agreed and submitted to the service of Nigeria and the uplift of the northern part; not because we are broken, but because we are realists.”
“We want to change our style and strategies in dealing with the issues and problems of northern Nigeria. Our responsibility is not to just say the government is not working; the government must work through our contributions. The government must be responsible through our being responsible. It must be committed through our commitment.”
ANA Convener, Sen Ahmad MoAllahyidi, while presenting the proposal, explained that it was the outcome of the first ANA dialogue in November 2023 that the concerns of the elders about the northern youth restiveness, crime and criminality ravaging the region were reviewed to chart a way forward.
