Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has stated that there can be no peace and security in the state if 80% of the inhabitants, particularly in rural areas, live in poverty.
The governor spoke yesterday at Kaduna’s Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Hall, where he launched the Kaduna State Inter-Religious Harmony Committee.
He stated that the state’s roughly 600,000 out-of-school youngsters must return to school in order for peace to rule.
Governor Sani said his administration will engage with religious leaders to ensure Kaduna State’s peace and prosperity, and he urged Muslim and Christian religious leaders to help the government by preaching peace to their followers.
In response to the state’s social challenges, he stated that his government will implement a number of social interventions including religious leaders due to their proximity to the people at the grassroots level.
According to him:
“We are having problems. That is why I told you that there is poverty crisis in the rural areas; 80 per cent of our people there are living below the poverty line. That is the fact of the matter.
”Last month, we started construction of 32 road across the state, most of which are in the rural areas. Again, next week, we will start building 100 schools to take care of our of school children in Kaduna State, because this is the way to address the problem of out of school children.
“Children of the poor who are supposed to be in the classroom are roaming the streets and we say we want to solve the problem of insecurity? It cannot happen. Therefore, we must take them back to school or we forget it.
“Again, our research has shown that majority of this children are at home because of poverty. People in the rural areas don’t send their children to school because they want them to go to farm or go to hawk. ”So, if we don’t reduce the poverty rate from 80 per cent to at least 30 per cent in the next few years, we will never be able to address the problem of out of school children.
“So, we must revitalize the economy of the rural areas through job creation to end poverty, and that is the only way we can develop Kaduna State. We must work collectively with all stakeholders, including the religious leaders to achieve this.”
cc: Vanguard Ng
