At the ACF’s 25th anniversary dinner in Kaduna, Atiku Abubakar and Aliko Dangote warned that the North faces worsening insecurity and economic decline unless leaders urgently realign development priorities and commit to long-term reforms.
At the Arewa Consultative Forum’s 25th anniversary dinner in Kaduna, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and industrialist Aliko Dangote delivered strong warnings that the North risks deeper insecurity, economic failure and social breakdown unless leaders urgently rethink priorities and rebuild unity.
Atiku cautioned that without a clear vision the region would “stagnate and sink deeper into insecurity,” urging a return to Sir Ahmadu Bello’s pillars of education, agriculture and industry, while citing stalled reforms such as the Northern Education Project and Northern Development Project. He stressed that diversity was being weaponized, adding, “If ever there was a moment for the North to come together, that time is now.”
Dangote connected the North’s slow growth to policy inconsistency and chronic electricity shortages, noting that industries collapsed because policies “kept shifting the goalpost,” and warning, “Without electricity, you cannot have growth, no matter how hard you try.” He added that today’s insecurity stems from long-term neglect and cautioned that the crises confronting the region “will consume everyone, whether guilty or not.” Both leaders insisted the ACF’s jubilee should serve as a wake-up call for urgent, strategic action.
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