'Babangida Aliyu, Others Responsible For North’s Ruins, Woes’

The Coalition of Northern Professionals and Rights Groups has said past governors in the North, especially under the leadership of former Niger State governor Babangida Aliyu are to blame for the woes bedevilling the region.

A statement jointly issued by its national coordinator and national secretary, Dr. Muhammed Ibrahim and Comrade Yohanna Kabir, noted that the dwindling fortunes of the North and the altitude of its past and present leaders forced the coalition to take a cursory look at the root causes of the problems of the region.



The statement disclosed that the discovery of the coalition was shocking and disappointing, adding that it would expose those who contributed to ruining the fortunes of the North.

“As a coalition made up of Northern professionals, civil right groups, non governmental organisations and community-based associations, we are pained by the situation.

“We have discovered in the course of our investigation that Northern governors under the leadership of Babangida Aliyu of Niger State did not only mismanage the legacies of the North such as the New Nigerian Newspapers and others, but also supervised the ‘destruction’ of the legacies of the Late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello.

“We have facts of how under the supervision and watch of Babangida Aliyu, shares and equities belonging to the region were sold or fraudulently taken over by these so-called leaders.

“We, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC), other ant-corruption agencies in the country, as well as the international community to come to the aid of the North and probe past and present leaders of questionable character from the region,” the statement said.

The coalition also said it planned to hold world press conferences in the three geopolitical zones that make up the North; North-East, North West and North Central to expose those who have sucked the region dry.