By Ibrahim Hassan-Wuyo
Elder statesman and former Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello llo University, ABU, Professor Ango Abdullahi; political economist, Professor Usman Bugaje; former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, retd, and other prominent Northern leaders, yesterday, expressed deep concern over what they described as the erosion of values, leadership and direction in Northern Nigeria.
They blamed the region’s worsening socio-economic and security challenges on the abandonment of the ideals that shaped its founding leaders, and linked the Boko Haram and other security threats in parts of the North-East to the environmental and economic consequences of the shrinking Lake Chad.
They spoke at the third edition of the Late Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina Memorial Conference held at Arewa House, Kaduna, themed: ‘From Sacrifice to Strategy: Rekindling Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina’s Vision for a Prosperous Northern Nigeria’.
Prof Abdullahi said the North’s greatest challenge was not a lack of infrastructure but the steady erosion of the moral values that once distinguished the region.
