, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has called for stronger collaboration){kind=link}
By Aliyu Bala Gerengi, Gombe
Gombe State Governor and Chairman of the Northern Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NNGF), Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has called for stronger collaboration between government, academics and women Islamic scholars in finding knowledge driven solutions to the challenges confronting Northern Nigeria.
Governor Inuwa made the call at separate stakeholders’ engagements with senior academics and women Ulamas from across Northern Nigeria held in Abuja at the weekend.
The engagements, organised by the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Political and Other Matters, Hon. Ibrahim Kabir Masari, were held under the theme: “Consolidating the Renewed Hope Agenda: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Achievements and the Road to 2027.”
The meetings brought together hundreds of academics and women Islamic scholars to deliberate on critical challenges facing Northern Nigeria and assess the policies and interventions of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Governor Inuwa Yahaya, who is also the Secretary of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, said the North could not effectively address its multifaceted challenges without drawing on the knowledge, experience and expertise of its intellectual community.
He identified insecurity, the rising number of out-of-school children, food security, vocational education, peaceful coexistence and farmer-herder conflicts as some of the critical areas requiring sustained attention and collective action.
On insecurity, the Governor acknowledged the enormous challenges facing the region but noted that there had been gradual improvement since the advent of the Tinubu administration.
He urged stakeholders to build on the progress through stronger collaboration with the government to consolidate the gains and achieve lasting peace in the region.
Speaking on the challenge of out-of-school children, Governor Inuwa called on academics and other experts to deploy their research and professional expertise towards developing sustainable solutions.
“We need to join our understanding with your perspective to deal with this situation,” he told the academics, stressing the importance of evidence-based interventions.
The Governor also advocated renewed emphasis on vocational and skills-based education, describing it as a critical component of development that had been neglected for too long.
He said expanding vocational education would equip young people with practical skills, enhance employability and create opportunities for self-reliance.
On peaceful coexistence, Governor Inuwa noted that Northern Nigeria was inherently diverse and urged stakeholders to see the region’s diversity as a source of strength rather than division.
He also called for greater commitment to preventing and resolving farmer-herder conflicts, stressing that peaceful coexistence was essential to agricultural productivity, economic development and social stability.
Governor Inuwa particularly commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for establishing a dedicated Ministry of Livestock Development, describing the initiative as a bold and unprecedented policy direction capable of transforming the livestock sector and addressing longstanding farmer-herder challenges.
He urged stakeholders to support the policy and contribute ideas towards ensuring its success.
Addressing the academics, the Governor said the government needed their intellectual contributions to tackle the complex challenges facing Nigeria.
“We need to benefit from your knowledge,” he said, urging scholars to deploy their research, expertise and institutional experience in support of national development.
At the separate engagement with women Ulamas, organised in collaboration with the Muslim Intellectual Forum, Governor Inuwa commended the participants for their contributions to family values, faith propagation and community development.
He said women Islamic scholars had an important role to play in promoting peaceful coexistence, responsible parenting, moral values and social cohesion, particularly at a time when families and communities were facing multiple pressures.
Governor Inuwa assured the participants that the consultations would be sustained and extended to other states across Northern Nigeria to deepen understanding, strengthen communication and ensure effective mobilisation around the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Earlier, the Convener of the engagements and Special Adviser to the President on Political and Other Matters, Hon. Ibrahim Kabir Masari, said the initiative was designed to provide a structured platform for government to continuously consult critical stakeholders.
Hon. Masari explained that the engagement with academics was not primarily political but aimed at harnessing knowledge, expertise and experience to find solutions to the country’s numerous challenges.
He said the government needed the knowledge, expertise, research and other academic contributions of scholars to help Nigeria overcome its current difficulties and chart a sustainable development path.
According to him, the initiative would be sustained, with mechanisms being developed to ensure that academics are regularly consulted on policy and national development matters.
The engagements were attended by political and government leaders, including the Governors of Kaduna, Borno and Yobe States, former Governors of Katsina and Zamfara States, serving Ministers and other senior government officials.
At the conclusion of the two sessions, communiqués were presented, outlining the resolutions reached by the participants.
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