“We Intend To Get The North Back On Track, We Know We Would Hurt People” – Al-Mustapha Declares

Former Chief Security Officer to the late General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, has declared that it is time to save the North from decay and unite the region.

According to him, the process would hurt some persons and disturb segments of leadership but it is a necessary step for the healing of the North.

Naija News understands Al-Mustapha made the declaration in Kaduna State on the sidelines of an event in memory of the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sardauna Ahmadu Bello.

He stressed that getting the North back on track would not benefit the region alone, but also benefit Nigeria as a nation.

The former military officer lamented that the institutions in the North are weak, which has become responsible for the various ills bedelliving the region and its people.

In his words, “It is better to hurt people and get it back on course for us to achieve what we desire, so that the country at the final end, would be the beneficiary of the unity in the North.

“Institutions that are in the 19 Northern states, are either weak or not there at all. We are seeing gaps that are responsible for the social ills bedevilling the North.

“Therefore, identifying the problems and rather than seeing succour, we would always continue to see crime rate been on the increase which is a capital shame.

“We cannot sit and say, we are from the North and continue to see institutions decay, crime rate on the increase, leaders indifferent, younger ones in disarray, and we believe that is the right environment to be.

“That’s why when you allow wounds to get bad, definitely in the process of healing, there must be pains.

“So without mincing words, we are calling for processes of healing. Not only calling, we are part and parcel of it.We may say one or two things, that may disturb segments of leadership, old and young, it matters not.

“We intend to get the North back on track and to get it unified. To do so, we know we would hurt people. It is better to hurt people and get it back on course for us to achieve what we desire, so that the country at the end, would be the beneficiary of the unity in the North.

‘If there is, the economy would be affected, security, social problems, the politics in itself, politics and polity, democracy would be healthier, and then I can see other parts of the country would also copy.

“So we are starting here, not only to speak, the speaking is to get the leaders and the younger ones awakened, for us to now march forward, outline plans. I learned by February 22nd, that there is another meeting coming up in Bauchi, I deliberately intend to be there, identifying some of the vibrant associations, what is left for us is to garner what’s necessary to get them involved.”

Northern Governors Have Failed

Speaking further, Al-Mustapha accused the Governors of the 19 northern states of failing to promote the interest of the region and its people.

He added that it is shameful that poverty has become so prevalent in the North and no plan is in place to make things better.

“When it comes to sitting as 19 Northern Governors, to chart a course where they can have think tanks, on social development, developmental programmes, education, security, welfare, the wellbeing of the citizenry, we don’t see any of such been at the centre,” he alleged.

“There is today not a single joint central fund in developing educational development in the North. There is no programme as such. Power, industrial growth, loans to the poor,and poverty if we see from whichever direction, you look at the North. The most unfortunate thing is that you see everywhere are traces of poverty, shamefully. I’m a Northerner, that’s most shameful,” he said.

Abacha’s former CSO recalled that the Kaduna meeting coincided with the unfortunate assassination of Sardauna Ahmadu Bello on January 15th,1966, and called on the current leadership not to allow things to deteriorate further.

“There are people whom we believe, steps like these are hurting them because they enjoy if everybody is in a directionless attitude within the environment. But unifying the North is all that matters.

“It may be bitter for them to hear, but that is the fact,” he said.