Former Senate President and Acting National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, has declared that the socio-economic and political challenges confronting Northern Nigeria are self-inflicted and must be addressed through a deliberate return to unity and shared purpose.

Delivering the keynote address at the third plenary session of the Northern Political Consultative Group held at the weekend in Abuja, Senator Mark said the North must reclaim its lost glory by embracing the values that once made it a model of peace, development and justice in the country.

“The North must return to the path of oneness,” he said, warning that the current challenges facing the region, ranging from insecurity to economic stagnation are rooted in internal division, indifference, and neglect of shared values.

“The North, as we know, is a land of rich history and mineral resources, fertile land for agriculture, diverse cultures, and immense potential. In spite of these blessings, we are confronted with deep-seated challenges of insecurity, poverty, ethnic and religious tensions, political fragmentation, social and economic stagnation. These challenges did not develop overnight, nor will they disappear until we resolve to take deliberate, collective and decisive action.”

“We must first admit that we are the architects of our problems. We must stop the blame game if we truly and genuinely want to find a lasting solution,” he added.

The former Senate President identified division and inertia as key forces fuelling the region’s backwardness. “Division has cost us progress, while indifference and inaction have continued to deepen our division,” he lamented.

“If we are to overcome our present travails, we must return to the principles of justice, equity, mutual respect, and shared purpose that once made Northern Nigeria a beacon of hope, peace, unity and development.”

To regain lost ground in national politics and development, Mark cautioned that the North must jettison divisive politics, inflammatory rhetoric, and ethno-religious sentiment. He urged a return to the values of the First Republic, when leaders were blind to tribal or religious affiliations and united in purpose.

“The challenges facing Northern Nigeria are intricately interconnected. Insecurity scares away investors, which in turn deepens poverty. Poverty fuels desperation and crime. Ethnic divisions weaken our collective resolve to demand good governance. Political fragmentation ensures that no meaningful development takes root in our region. This is not the North that we inherited.”

“But there is a path that could lead to a better future for Northern Nigeria,” he continued. “And this path begins with our collective decision to abandon division and embrace unity. We must tone down our inflammable statements and return to that golden era when we used to have genuine and deep respect for each other. After all, not long ago we treated each other, first and foremost, as brothers and sisters; when the appellation ‘Northerner’ captured our collective essence before our ethnic, sectional and religious affiliations.”

Mark then appealed to the audience’s sense of history, recalling the leadership of the late Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, under whose guidance the region flourished.

“Some of you in the audience may still remember, with nostalgia, the old Northern Region, under the leadership of Sir Ahmadu Bello (Sardauna of Sokoto), when the North actually thrived because it was built on equity and justice. The Sardauna did not see Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri, Igala, Tiv, Idoma, Nupe, Okun and others. The only citizens he saw were Northerners. He invested in education, agriculture, and infrastructure, not for one group, but for the collective.”

He ended his address with a reflective question to the audience: “Today, we must ask ourselves, ‘Where did we go wrong? When did we abandon the philosophy of ‘One North, One People’? When did tribalism and religious bigotry begin to define our essence and identity?” (Nigerian Tribune)