Borno In Dangerous Situation Like Ethiopia-Emir Of Kano

“In the next few months, if we are not careful, the way we saw pictures of children dying of hunger in Ethiopia, we are going to see children in Borno State on the ground on the streets.”
These were the words of the Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi Lamido, when he was painting a deplorable state of living in Borno State, on Sunday, in Lagos, in a remark while chairing the grand finale of the University of Lagos Muslim Alumni (UMA’s) 30th anniversary.
He emphasised the need to rebuild Borno State after the devastation done to it by the menace of Boko Haram and equally underlined the need for Nigeria to get its priority straight and determine whom development is actually meant for between the elite class and the masses.
According to him, there had been no farming in Borno State for three years because of Boko Haram, just as industries had closed down, as well as fishing by the people.
 “I came in last night from Maiduguri. The governor of Borno State was speaking at a public event and he broke down in tears and everybody was crying.
“You know, we are all in Lagos in this fantastic hotel and we are probably going to have a very lavish meal. In the next few months, if we are not careful, the way we saw pictures of children dying of hunger in Ethiopia, we are going to see children in Borno State on the ground on the streets.
“There has been no farming in Borno State for three years because of Boko Haram. Industries have closed down for three years.
“The vast majority of the people in Borno State wake up and if they have breakfast, they don’t know if they are going to have lunch. That is how bad it is. There is a commissioner in Borno State today who has 370 internally displaced persons in his house. Do we know this? Does the Federal Government know this?
“So, if you want sustainability, you have to ask those questions, otherwise Boko Haram is just one manifestation of reaction to this lifestyle. It can happen in different parts of the country.
“So, whom is development for? Whom is infrastructure for? Whom is housing for? Ministry of Works, Housing and... housing for whom? For people like me or for those who live with no roof over their heads?
“We all have a responsibility to talk about this, to ask what should be our priority. Should we be building large, sophisticated, Information Technology (IT-enabled infrastructure for us to go for our urban class diseases, you know, like stress and depression.
“Or are we looking at basic primary healthcare facilities that allow babies to be born safely, to get vaccination, to get primary education? What is development?” he said.
Also, the Emir argued that the problem with Nigeria very often is that people are entrusted with responsibilities they are not capable of handling, “and that is the worst form of corruption.”
According to him, it is good to look for honest people for appointment but they must first of all, be competent.
“When you are consulting on the economy, you consult people who understand the economy. We spend too much time looking at where this minister comes from, whether he is a nice man and too little time looking at the capacity of the person entrusted with a particular public role.
“If we want change, it is not enough to talk about it; we have to actually change the way we look at merit and public office in this country,” he said.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, who was represented by Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, delivered a keynote address on the topic “Nigeria: Strategies for a sustainable economy,” at the event.