Skip to main content


 Lamido of Adamawa, Alhaji Muhammadu Mustapha.

A delegate to the  National Conference and the  Lamido of Adamawa,  Alhaji Muhammadu Mustapha, has said that the North can survive  economically without proceeds from petroleum resources.

The controversial monarch noted that but for the laziness on the part of the people of the region, the proceeds from agricultural produce would have made the region less dependent on oil.

He argued that while a litre of palm oil is sold for N300, the same measurement is sold for N97 per litre when it is petroleum.

He said if the North could harness its natural resources (agriculture), the region would have survived oil (petroleum), which had turned the people of the North to beggars in the eyes of those from the oil-producing states (petroleum).

Mustapha, who spoke on the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, monitored in Kaduna on Saturday, also noted with regrets how those from the oil producing states speak with impunity. He called on the people of the region to wake up from their slumber to develop agriculture.

He explained that some notable countries of the world, such as Japan and Germany, had no oil (petrol) but they were able to harness resources endowed to them by God to make their nations great.

The Lamido Adamawa  noted that the region could come out of the current overdependence of oil, if it could shake off laziness and turned to agriculture for the development of the region.

He said, “Just as I have said earlier, these people who come from oil producing states are looking at us (northerners)as if we are beggars and 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.

“Japan and Germany have no oil. But we have lazy people here (in the North). These advanced countries utilised what they were naturally endowed with to develop; they don’t envy each other, they don’t have such thing. Whatever you want in this world, you get it in these countries.

“A  litre of palm oil is sold for N300, while one litre of petrol is sold for N97. If not because we are a lazy people and we hold on to agriculture, who knows the quantity of groundnuts and cotton that we can produce in the North?
“I am saying this so that our people could wake up from their slumber: they should stand up.”

The monarch  also stressed the need for delegates to discuss frankly on the challenges confronting the country, rather than politicising issues.

“Since they brought me here (to the confab), I will tell the truth.  I will say the fact anywhere and in front of anybody. It is sad that the people of Nigeria don’t like the truth: once you are saying the truth, they brand you in English.. ”controversial.”  Okay, we must say the truth. 

They brought me here and I will talk because of my people, to protect their integrity and make sure that they get what they suppose to get.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Inside Africa

August 20,2013 Divided Egyptians united in grief Many people across Egypt have been burying their dead following the violence of recent weeks The recent violence in Egypt has claimed the lives of people on both sides of the country's political divide. But while the bloodshed is polarising the country further, grief is one thing uniting them, says the BBC's Ahmed Maher. Here in Alexandria, Egypt's second largest city, it was a tragedy that left the family of Ahmed Qadri devastated. Mr Qadri was shot twice in his chest and abdomen as security forces launched a brutal crackdown on the Brotherhood supporters camping outside Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo on 14 August. A senior Muslim Brotherhood leader in his hometown, Mr Qadri is survived by a wife and three children. His 22-year-old eldest son, Fidaa, says he will not get over the death of his father for the rest of his life. Fighting back tears, Fidaa said he mad...
Post a Comment
Read more

News

August 19, 2013 We heard fire victims cry for help –Residents   Ekene   Neighbours of a family that perished in an inferno in a building located in Shagari Estate, Lagos State, said they heard the victims’ cries for help. PUNCH Metro had reported last week Thursday that a family of five lost their lives after  fire engulfed their three-bedroom apartment in the early hours of Wednesday. The victims of the fire were the mother, Mrs Anwuzia, the children, Ekene 16, and Emeka 17, an aunt, identified only as Philomena, and another yet-to-be- identified man. It was learnt that the father was not at home when the incident occurred. A friend of the children, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said he was talking to one of the victims when the incident happened. He said, “Around 11.30pm that day, I was chatting with Ekene on the telephone and after sometime, she stopped responding. I was later told by another fr...
Post a Comment
Read more
My Level Has Changed. Ace comic actor, Hafiz Oyetoro spoke with GBENRO ADESINA about the challenges he faced before his breakthrough. How far have you gone with your Ph.D programme at the University of Ibadan (UI)? I am still on it. This is my second year. I am currently doing some field work. I hope to round off the field work by the end of this year. Afterwards, I will start writing. How are you combining it with your tight schedule? Everybody knows what he wants in life. You have to create time to do all the things you want to do and that is why everyone must be good in managing his or her time. Definitely, scale of preference will come in. No one has time to combine many necessary and important things but one has to create time to achieve one’s dream. You did an advert for Etisalat and all of a sudden, you switched over to MTN. Why did you switch from Etisalat to MTN? I will not want to say anything about that for now. Please, do not let us go there. It is no go ...
Post a Comment
Read more