Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State said northern leaders have failed woefully to address and implement programmes to tackle the infrastructure gap, poverty and insecurity bedevilling the region.
This is as he called for the strategic involvement of youths in the fight against insecurity in the north.
Sani made this call on Wednesday at the ‘Stakeholders Roundtable on Northern Nigeria Youth Development’ organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation.
He said youths have been affected by banditry and insurgency, noting that it has left the region underdeveloped.
“In the development of Marshal Plans, security plans, or frameworks, northern states governments and stakeholders must strategically engage the youths.
“Their full involvement will surely be a game-changer in our fight against insecurity and tackling of our developmental challenges.
“While other regions are busy addressing developmental challenges and making life better for their people, terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, insurgency, and communal conflicts have left northern communities desolate.
“Our youths have been terribly impacted by the activities of non-state actors,” he said.
According to him, before 2016, people could travel freely in the north without fear of being attacked by criminal elements, except for occasional ethno-religious conflicts.
He, therefore, urged past and present leaders from the north to come up with a plan for youth development to make progress in the region’s rescue mission.
