Despite leading Nigeria for over 40 years, northern leaders destroyed, impoverished region –Dogara

• Dogara also admonished northerners to refrain from blaming President Tinubu for the North’s current plight

A former Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has blamed the backwardness, underdevelopment and poverty in the North on its leaders.

Speaking as a guest speaker at a town hall meeting for Christian leaders in northern Nigeria, he asserted that that Arewa political leaders led Nigeria for over 40 years and the north is worse off for it.

The event, themed “Church and Society: Tax Reforms and Matters Arising”, addressed issues surrounding governance and development.

He urged Nigerians to support President Bola Tinubu in transforming the nation through the tax reform bills currently awaiting the endorsement of the National Assembly.

Dogara also admonished northerners to refrain from blaming President Tinubu for the North’s current plight, stressing the need to unite in supporting the tax reform bills, which he said were designed to bring transformation to the North and Nigeria as a whole.

“We are all northerners, and it should be made clear that President Tinubu or the South is not our problem. They have not come to cheat the North. That is out of the question. Some are claiming that Yoruba people are getting appointments, but let’s reflect. We ruled this country for over 40 years when northerners were in power. What did we achieve? The North remains the same, impoverished by our own leaders,” Dogara said.

Speaking on Value Added Tax (VAT) and federal allocations received by states, Dogara asked, “We have had so much, but what did our governors do with the resources? They squandered them instead of investing in meaningful development.”

He also cited the Ajaokuta Steel Industry, initiated by the Shagari administration, which was 98 per cent completed but was later allowed to deteriorate.

“The project was almost finished, yet it was left to rot,” he said.

Dogara urged northerners to support President Tinubu’s efforts to transform the country through the tax reform bills currently in the National Assembly.