CDA presidential candidate blames North's backwardness on poor governance

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu, has blamed poor governance as the root of northern Nigeria's backwardness.

Speaking at a consultative meeting with ADC North West Zone leaders yesterday at the party headquarters in Abuja, he said the development had a direct bearing on the overall progress of the country.

Dumebi, who recalled his childhood in the Bompai axis of the Kano metropolis, said he was ready to work with party actors, mainly from academia, to meet the multi-faceted challenges that attack the North.

He said: "The North West I knew as a child is not what we have today. It has been decimated beyond our imagination. Too long we have been silent, probably because we no longer trusted each other. Our people there felt betrayed because there are those who do not speak for them, for the simple reason that they want to protect their selfish interests.

"The North is the key to Nigeria's survival. If the North fails, Nigeria fails. There are people who feel like what happens in the North is none of their business But that's everybody's problem. Let's put our minds together and make Nigeria work again."