A coalition of Northern groups and institutions has expressed concern that 60 years after the death of the Premier of Northern region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, the North has no credible successors and has failed to sustain its incredible records.

Bashir M. Dalhatu, representing the coalition in a statement, said, “We are having to deal with the unbearable cost of governance, deeply worrying and complex inter-communal relations, conflicts that take lives daily, and fights which serve as evidence of poor standards of leadership and management of public affairs.

“When our young ones hear of the Sardauna leaving behind one personal house, they find it difficult to believe it in the face of contemporary narratives.”

The groups comprising the Arewa Consultative Forum, Northern Elders Forum, Sir Ahmadu Bello Foundation, Arewa House, and others intend to organize a major Conference under the theme “Sixty Years Without the Sardaunaп” meant to engage in consoling nostalgia, to place the past in a position where it genuinely influences the present and the future of people of the Northern Region.

It is planned to look critically at the region, its strengths and weaknesses, and the trajectories of its developments, designed and driven by its basic interests, adding that it will bring together leaders, elders, intellectuals, the clergy, entrepreneurs, women and
youth.

He said the people of the region needed to be reminded of their past without the severe challenges that hold it down today, and to rekindle the spirit of hard-working people living in peace with respect for the values of the good citizen and responsible leaders.

According to him, “The North will assess itself as a key player in the growth and development of the democratic system in Nigeria.”