Northerners Should Blame Selves For Region’s Backwardness – Prof. Usman

A former executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (now NHIA), Professor Usman Yusuf, has said northerners should stop apportioning blames but take full responsibility for the region’s current socio-economic backwardness and apparent failure.

Speaking during the launch of the Northern Youths Movement in Bauchi yesterday, Prof. Usman said nobody was obliged to oversee the growth and development of the region other than its people.

He noted that the North in the era of Sir Ahmadu Bello and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa remained elusive years after their deaths.

“We should have ourselves to blame, not the government. Out people have held different positions but have nothing to show. Muhammadu Buhari was president of the country for eight years but failed to complete the Abuja-Kano expressway. The road project lingers for years.

“President Bola Tinubu in less than two years of being in office approved N15trn for the construction of the Lagos-Calabar costal road,” he said.

Prof. Usman noted that in 2023, people of the North voted Tinubu to power, giving him over five million votes to become president.

“Why do you continue to cry over poor performance of a government you voted in with your hands?” he asked.

He urged youths of northern extraction to rise to the occasion to champion socio-economic development of the region, harnessing the numerous resources the region is endowed with.