North has lost its values – Ango Abdullahi
Elder statesman and former Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Prof. Ango Abdullahi, has expressed concern over what he described as the erosion of values and leadership in Northern Nigeria, saying the region’s current challenges stem largely from abandoning the principles of its founding leaders. He spoke at the third edition of the Late Gen. […]
Elder statesman and former Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Prof. Ango Abdullahi, has expressed concern over what he described as the erosion of values and leadership in Northern Nigeria, saying the region’s current challenges stem largely from abandoning the principles of its founding leaders.
He spoke at the third edition of the Late Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina Memorial Conference held at Arewa House, Kaduna, on Saturday.
The programme had as its theme: “From Sacrifice to Strategy: Rekindling Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina’s Vision for a Prosperous Northern Nigeria.”
He said the North had departed from the values handed down by its parents and pioneer leaders, insisting that the region’s stagnation was a consequence of moral and leadership failure rather than a lack of physical development.
“The North has lost its values. You may not want to hear this, but that is the case today. If we have not lost the values we inherited from our parents, from our pioneer leaders, the North will not be where it is today,” he said.
He noted that while many Northern cities had expanded physically, the virtues of discipline, honesty, sacrifice and selfless leadership that once defined the region had steadily declined.
“The North is in a pathetic situation. For me, that is the only reason why the North has stagnated. Don’t worry about the buildings you see. The basic issue concerning where the North finds itself today is the loss of our values,” he said.
Abdullahi urged leaders in the region to emulate the late Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina, whom he described as a symbol of integrity, accountability and selfless service.
“If we can go back to those values, particularly by remembering those who inherited them and practised them, there is no doubt in my mind that the North would have been different today,” he added.
Delivering the keynote address, Bugaje said the North had witnessed decades of economic decline, worsening insecurity and institutional decay because it had drifted from the leadership ideals exemplified by leaders such as Gen. Hassan Katsina.
“The troubles of the North are many and varied. Food production is going down daily, hundreds of thousands are being displaced from their homes, the economy has been shrinking, poverty has nearly tripled, education and healthcare have collapsed, and our human capital has been depleted,” he said.
According to him, insecurity has continued to undermine agriculture, commerce and social life across the region.
“It is indeed time to ask how much of the North still remains. Or better still, how much of the sanity of the elite, especially those in government, still remains? Today, who is there to go to? Where are the General Hassans to complain to? Where exactly is the leadership? Where is the direction?” he asked.
Bugaje also faulted what he described as the complacency of sections of the Northern elite, saying many had become content with lamenting the region’s challenges without offering practical solutions.
“It has become the pastime of the elite to sit in the comfort of their homes and say that the North is in trouble. Some even scream that the North is finished. These comments only betray the complacency or even the complicity of the northern elite,” he said.
Recalling an encounter with the late Gen. Hassan Katsina, Bugaje narrated how the former military governor encouraged him after the then American ambassador complained about an article he wrote criticising Western imperialism.
“The American ambassador came all the way to Kaduna to complain about the article. General Hassan read it himself and called me. Instead of asking me to stop, he told me to write more of such articles. That was the kind of leader they were. When they knew what was being done was right, they encouraged it,” he said.
Bugaje described leaders of Hassan Katsina’s generation as men who combined modern education with deeply rooted Northern values of discipline, modesty, justice and commitment to community service.
“General Hassan’s generation had an infusion of a high dose of our value system. We saw it in their contentment, commitment to their communities, respect for rules and procedures, modesty and decorum, and their vision of a prosperous North where every Northerner became his brother’s keeper,” he said.
He urged today’s leaders to return to those ideals to address the region’s mounting social, economic and security challenges.
The annual memorial conference was organised to honour the legacy of the late Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina and promote discussions on leadership, governance and the future of Northern Nigeria.