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10 Northern Governors In Washington, Demand Practical Benefits Of Talks

October 18, 2016

Ten Northern governors have headed out to Washington for a three-day symposium arranged by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), which began on Monday.

Worried that their trip to the U.S.  might be perceived by Nigerians as a jamboree amidst the biting economic recession back home, the governors are demanding from their host's practical benefits of the symposium as would make positive impacts on the majority of citizens across the 19 Northern States. 

USIP, the organizer of the symposium, is an agency established and funded by the U.S.  Government.

Delivering an address on behalf of the Northern Governors' Forum (NGF) at the opening of the symposium, NGF chairman and Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, said traveling down to Washington at a time of economic recession was likely to attract condemnation for the Governors; but they defied the anticipated criticisms with expectations of benefits for their citizens. 

A statement by Shettima's spokesman, Isa Gusau, said the Washington symposium followed up on another one hosted in March 2014, under the former Goodluck Jonathan administration when the U. S. invited Northern ‎governors for a security symposium aimed at finding solutions to the Boko Haram insurgency. 

The Borno Governor said: "We believe that our hosts, USIP, and officials of the U.S. Government will work with us with the utmost sincerity of purpose to guarantee quick benefits that will improve the living conditions of our people.

“As Governors of the 19 Northern States, we hope to secure tangible benefits that we can point to our people as proof, that our visit here is not a jamboree as they would assume.  By the time we wake up tomorrow, print, online and broadcast media houses in Nigeria would have screaming headlines that ‘Twelve Northern Governors storm Washington’ in the midst of economic recession, when our national currency, the Naira, has sharply depreciated against the U.S Dollar. The majority of our citizens will quickly conclude that we are here on a jamboree. Well, leadership isn't only about popular decisions; leadership is about doing what is right at a time that is right. 

“Our visit to Washington is an opportunity to re-engage with our American partners on the most vital issues that can help us to quickly make a transition from volatility to a phase of peace and development in the Northern states of Nigeria. Over the past few years, we have realized that the indices of development in our region have not only been some of the most damning in our country, they have also been the background against which the problems in our region have manifested. These range from the deepening problems of Boko Haram, rural banditry, spontaneous religious and inter-tribal violence, deadly clashes between pastoralists and farmers, cattle rustling as well as the mother of them all, which is pervasive poverty that gives birth to the many forms of crime.”

He added: “The emergence or the re-surfacing of insurgencies are not episodic events. They manifest through lingering processes, which eventually symptomatized into aprons like Boko Haram and ISIS.‎ We have the greatest respect and admiration for the American Government, and we hold the United States Institute of Peace in very high esteem due to its track record. It is for these reasons that even though we anticipate criticism at home for this visit, we came here with high expectations.” 

According to Governor Shettima, the North benefited from the 2014 symposium through deepening cooperation between Nigeria and institutions in the U.S., which not only strengthened the fight against insurgency but also increased humanitarian support from the U.S. Government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for victims of the Boko Haram insurgency. 

U.S Deputy Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken delivered a keynote address at the opening of the symposium, saying Washington keenly interested in working with the Northern Governors to address challenges in the region, especially the pervasive poverty.

The symposium, which ends on Wednesday, has Governors Shettima (Borno), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Darius Ishaku (Taraba), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara), AbdulAziz Yari (Zamfara), Bindo Jibrilla (Adamawa), Muhammad Abubakar (Bauchi), Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger) and Deputy Governor of Kano State, Professor Hafiz Abubakar, representing Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, in attendance.

Governors of Plateau, Zamfara, Adamawa and Borno states, as well as Interior Minister, Major-Gen. AbdulRahman Dambazzau took part in panel discussions that also featured U.S. Government officials.

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