Gombe State Governor Muhammadu Yahaya, who also chairs the Northern States Governors’ Forum, warned that the rising number of out‑of‑school children in northern Nigeria poses a serious threat to the region’s future. He called on his fellow northern governors to adopt a coordinated regional strategy to reverse the trend.
Speaking at a recent forum, Yahaya said the growing pool of children not attending school could undermine socio‑economic development and stability across the north. He stressed that the problem is widening and requires immediate, collective action.
The governor urged the eight northern state leaders to harmonise policies, pool resources and engage local communities to bring out‑of‑school children back into classrooms. He suggested that a unified approach would be more effective than isolated state‑level efforts.
Yahaya noted that northern Nigeria already faces challenges such as higher poverty rates, security concerns and historically lower school enrolment compared with the south, factors that compound the education gap.
He appealed for support from the federal government and development partners, emphasizing that expanding access to quality education is essential for peace, prosperity and the long‑term growth of the region.
<small>Source: Punch Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>