A delegate at the ongoing National Conference and the Lamido of Adamawa,Alhaji Muhammadu Barkindo Aliyu Mustapha, has described Northerners as a lazy lot whose over reliance on oil had beclouded their sense of exploring other avenues that could bring economic prosperity to the North.
“Just as I have said earlier, these people who come from oil producing states are looking at us as if we are beggars, gold diggers who have nothing to do. That is why I said the non oil producing states are not cowards, they don’t fear anybody. Everybody is contributing his quota to make Nigeria great, but these people from oil producing states think that if what they want is not given to them, they have been wronged and they would even prefer to stay out of Nigeria,”he said.
Barkindo Mustapha spoke in an interview with the BBC Hausa monitored in Kaduna on Saturday, saying “that is why I said, we too…even the expanse of land is a natural endowment. I said if that is the case we have agreed they should go with oil money,100 per cent and the other part of the country, all the non oil producing states in Nigeria not only the Northern states, there are non oil producing states in the South-West and in the South-East, also in the North, between 28 to over 30 states have no oil but are blessed with land.”
“That is why I said the oil producing states should go with their oil a hundred per cent and we, the others should keep our land. The larger percentage of the land belongs to us including Abuja, and what also is on the land belongs to us. So also, the states and the traditionally acquired land. So, if they want to use the land and what is on the land, including the federal authorities, it will become a must for them to pay tax to these states before they make use of them.”
Commenting on whether the North could be able to stand on its own without oil,he said “but what money do we get from oil which is used to run the states? Just one state in the Niger Delta, what it gets in a month it will take Adamawa state ten years to get the equivalent. So what are we getting? If not for the laziness on the part of Northerners, agriculture is a big business, look at all these advanced countries of the world, these countries that have progressed like Japan, they don’t have oil.”
