Emir of Kano Sanusi Lamido Sanusi ll said there will be no peace in the North as long as the people continue to wallow in poverty. He expressed sadness that elites from the region seem comfortable with the situation as though they derive joy from the sufferings of the poor masses.
The Emir who said about 87 per cent of poverty in Nigeria is in the North, said he will remain a sad man until the region is freed from the chains of poverty.
The emir made the remark while speaking at the 60th birthday of Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-rufai.
He said, “When we talk about birthday, we talk about happiness. Just last week, someone asked me, are you happy? And I said I am not. And the person was surprised.
“Nobody who is a leader in the Northern Nigeria today can afford to be happy. You cannot be happy with about 87 per cent of poverty in Nigeria being in the north.
“You can’t be happy with millions of Northern children out of school. You can’t be happy with nine states in the North contributing almost 50 per cent of the entire malnutrition burden in the country.
“You can’t be happy with the drug problem, you can’t be happy with the Boko Haram problem. You can’t be happy with political thuggery. You can’t be happy with all the issues; the Almajiri problem that we have.
“We have been saying this for 20 to 30 years. If the North does not change, the North will destroy itself. The country is moving on. Quota system that everybody talks about must have a sunset clause. “
