Former Secretary General of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Anthony Sani, has said that the 19 Northern governors must pull resources together to tame the vulnerability of out-of-school children and save them from becoming future Boko Haram members.

Sani, in this interview with Sunday Sun, noted that it would be very difficult for Northern Nigeria to catch up with educational development in the Southern part of the country because of early arrival and embracement of formal education by the southern people.

Sunday Sun investigation revealed that as at June 2022, 60 per cent out-of-school children are in the North.

The former ACF scribe also spoke about taking out ASUU salary from IPPIS, error bombing in Tudun Biri community of Kaduna State, and the recent removal of the Forum’s chairman, Gabriel Aduku. Excerpts:

How do you see the removal of tertiary institutions from IPPIS salary payment by the Federal Government?

The removal of tertiary institutions from IPPIS in salary payment is to meet the demands of Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) which believes the processes and bureaucracy in the application of IPPIS do not make for effective and efficient administration of tertiary institutions. As a result, they believe IPPIS is unhelpful in tertiary institutions. And because President Bola Tinubu knows that in matter of public affairs, there is time to stay the course, there is time to make compromises and there is time to let go, the regime has pandered to ASUU. It is now left for the tertiary institutions to prove to Nigerians that the removal of tertiary institutions was not a mistake.

The rate of out-of-school children particularly in the North is appalling. What should be the way out?

The rate of out-of-school children in the North is more than those in the South because western education reached the South many decades before it arrived in the North where it met stiff opposition from Muslims who saw it as ploy to convert the children from Islam to Christianity, given the route of missionaries through the western education landed in the country.

What is more, there is paucity of funds needed for massive and compulsory education of the children especially when regard is paid to the competing demands on the limited resources at the disposal of the government. What the governors should do is to prioritize its policies and programmes in favour of education and health both of which bring about improvement in human capital and thus improve the Human Development Index. You would recall I had posited that any saving from removal of fuel subsidy be used for exclusive development of education and health across the nation This is because the out-of-school children will be Boko Haram of tomorrow.

One expected the 19 Northern states governors, and bodies like Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), and Northern Elders Council ( NEF) to make strong case for children out-of-school in the region. Don’t you think so?

Governors, different groups and even international communities have voiced their concerns about out-of-school children out of fear that such children are the nation’s future’s Boko Haram. But the reality is that there is no enough resources. And we tend not to make a clear distinction between power of government and the claims we make on behalf of such power. Government power is not of limitless fungibility. The best the government can do is to struggle and increase the yield of limited resources at its disposal in favour of education and health.

Few days ago, the ACF removed its Chairman, Gabriel Aduku, no reason was given other than that he was not elected and inaugurated in the first place. But there are allegations that the Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello was behind the removal of Aduku over Kogi politics during the off-season election in the state. As an insider, was it in order for ACF to replace a sitting chairman when his tenure has not elapsed?

ACF did not remove a sitting chairman. This is because the chairman had not been inaugurated. At best he could be called chairman-elect.

The reasons for his replacement bordered not only on complaince by Governor Yahaya Bello, but also because the Kogi State chapter of ACF is complaint about his political activities.The replaced chairman has accepted the change in good faith with equanimity for larger interest of ACF and the North. Hence the peaceful conduct of the meeting of the General Assembly which ratified the decision on the 12^th December, 2023.

Independent bodies like Kogi East Elders and Arewa Youth Vanguard said ACF played into the hands of Yahaya Bello for selfish and sectional interests instead of regional interest. What is your take on this?

I told you that ACF pandered to the complaince by the Kogi State chapter which represents the whole Kogi State in ACF.

Other stakeholders even opined that with the removal of Aduku the ACF is now polarised and divided along ethno-religious sentiments. Don’t you think so?

The peaceful manner the General Assembly was conducted puts a lie to any claim of polarization.

ACF has had situations where some leaders’ second tenure were denied them, yet the platform was not polarized. Yes the North is divided on grounds of ethnicity and religion. But so far, ACF has not experienced such tendencies within its folds.

Where is the unity of the North with emergence of Middle Belt Forum and Northern Elders Forum, aside similar groups claiming to be fighting for the interest of the North on a parrellel line?

I am happy you mentioned the fact that all the different platforms in the North claim to fight for the same one North. I think it is a matter of approach. It may interest you to note that except Middle Belt Forum, all other groups are members of ACF generally regarded as the umbrella parent body. As to the Middle Belt Forum, we have said over and over again the creation of states have made the agitations by Middle Belt Forum to be rooted in what no longer exist.

The Incident at Tudun Biri almost caused ethno-religious crisis in Kaduna State when some people began to give it a religious colouration that the erroneous bombing by the Army was targeted at one faith that dominated the community. What is your comment on this?

There have been many mistakes in bombing by the Air Force which suggest the training of the personnel may not be adequate. If errors in the past bombing in Borno, Nasarawa, Niger and Zamfara states were not given ethnic and religious colouration, there is no reason for such profiling now. We better concentrate on how best the Airforce personnel should procure the correct equipment and personnel well trained to handle them. (Sunday Sun)

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