“86 million Northerners Living in Poverty, Governor Yahaya Warns
By Auwal Abdullah
The Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has raised alarm over the scale of poverty in Northern Nigeria, revealing that about 86 million people in the region are living in multidimensional poverty.
Governor Yahaya disclosed this on Monday while delivering a goodwill message at the meeting of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council held in Dutse, Jigawa State.
The meeting brought together governors, traditional rulers, security chiefs and representatives of the Federal Government to deliberate on the theme, “Peace, Unity and Development of Northern Nigeria.”
Speaking on the challenges confronting the region, the NSGF chairman said poverty, illiteracy and unemployment remained among the major factors fueling insecurity and underdevelopment across Northern Nigeria.
According to him, the region bears the burden of widespread socio-economic deprivation, with millions of people lacking access to quality education, healthcare, decent livelihoods and other basic necessities.
Governor Yahaya noted that Northern Nigeria also accounted for the vast majority of the country’s out-of-school children, warning that the situation posed serious risks to the region’s future stability and prosperity.
He explained that the combination of poverty, poor educational outcomes and youth unemployment had created a fertile ground for criminal groups, bandits and violent extremists to recruit vulnerable young people.
The governor linked the worsening security situation in the North to decades of socio-economic neglect, stressing that sustainable peace cannot be achieved without addressing the root causes of poverty and exclusion.
He called for coordinated interventions focused on education, skills acquisition, job creation and agricultural revitalisation to reverse the trend.
Governor Yahaya also advocated greater investment in human capital development and economic empowerment programmes to provide opportunities for young people and reduce their vulnerability to criminal activities.
He urged leaders across the region to work together in tackling poverty and insecurity, describing both challenges as interconnected threats to the North’s development.
The NSGF chairman maintained that meaningful progress would require bold policies, effective implementation and sustained collaboration among governments, traditional institutions and development partners.
He expressed confidence that with the right investments and commitment, Northern Nigeria could unlock its vast human and economic potential and build a more secure and prosperous future for its people.
