From David Onuoja, Abuja
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central at the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, has called on Northern Nigerians to revitalize their socio-economic and cultural heritage, just like Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, who led the region to prosperit in 1950s.
Speaking at the Sardauna Memorial day in Kaduna, Senator Natasha highlighted the importance of education and cultural preservation.
She noted that, in 1959, Nigeria’s groundnut export to the UK was valued at £27 million, equivalent to ₦3.6 trillion today, while current groundnut exports are only $3 million.
According to her, “In the year 1959, Nigeria groundnut export to United Kingdom alone stood at £27m which has an equivalent purchasing power of ₦3.6 trillion naira. The residue from the groundnuts’ oil extraction was also exported to the UK as livestock feeds. Today, Nigeria’s groundnut exports sits at distant $3m,”.
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“The Northern cotton industry, once vital to the UK market, has also diminished, as it had previously generated significant revenue and employment.
“The Northern Nigeria’s cotton industry shaped the Liverpool cloth market in London, UK. between the 50s and 70s while the Kaduna Textile Mill flourished creating thousands of jobs. Today, the cotton industry in Nigeria is pretty much non existent while this same industry generates $21 billion annually. That’s the thriving economy Sardauna helped create and left for us to improve upon.”
The Senator therefore, stressed the need for a developmental mindset among leaders to revive the economy and strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems.
“The only reason why the North is jittering about the Tax Reform Bills is because we are ill-prepared. If we were generating 3.6 trillion from one agricultural product, would we be bothered about the reforms? Hence, We must task our leaders with developmental mindsets to stir up the entrepreneurial ecosystems so our lands and factories can be productive once again. Let’s act from a position of economic abundance for our region and country at large,” she added.
She urged collaboration among northern leaders and civil society to achieve these goals.
The event was attended by dignitaries including the Governor of Kaduna state, Senator Uba Sani, represented by his Special Assistant on Internal Party Affairs, Abdulazeez Ishak, Chairman of Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Prof. Ango Abdullahi, and Major Hamza Al-Mustapha among others.
