The Chairman of Northern States
Governors’ Forum, Governor
Kashim Shettima of Borno State,
speaks on the mission of 10
northern governors to Washington,
United States (US), last week.

The nine other governors who attended
a three-day symposium for the
northern states’ chief helmsmen
organised by the United States
Institute of Peace include the
governors of Plateau, Sokoto,
Taraba, Zamfara, Adamawa, Bauchi,
Kwara and Niger. The governor of
Kano State was represented by his
deputy. When I arrived at the
entrance of the United States
Institute of Peace a short while ago,
I recalled the last time I was here in
March 2014, when the Institute
organized a security symposium for
members of our forum. Since my
last visit here, I can point to many
benefits that my primary
constituents—the people of Borno
State— have derived, since they
sponsored my trip here. The 2014
symposium was dominated by
issues of security and the Boko
Haram insurgency, of which Borno
State was the epicenter. Shettima
The discussions we had then must
have contributed in many different
ways to the commitment and
responses of the United States
Government and the international
community in helping Nigeria to
fight the insurgency. Our visit here
in 2014 proved to be highly
beneficial in the fight against Boko
Haram, which affected Borno State
the most but also had a
destabilizing effect on nearly every
other state in northern Nigeria and
the country at large. Soon after that
symposium, the United States
government increased
humanitarian and development
support for Borno State through the
United States Agency for
International Development,
USAID. But then, my visit today for
the 2016 symposium is not just
about Borno State. My colleagues
and I are here to seek benefits that
should accrue to all the 19 northern
states of Nigeria. We look forward
to many more benefits that will
accrue to our region after this
important symposium. Ongoing
economic recession in Nigeria has
made life very challenging for our
citizens but the Federal and state
governments are tackling it in many
different ways. As you would
shortly see in a 14-minute
documentary, the North of Nigeria
is grappling with all kinds of
problems. This is no jamboree Your
excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
by the time we wake up tomorrow,
print, online and broadcast media
houses in Nigeria would have
screaming headlines, that “Ten
Northern Governors Storm
Washington” in the midst of
economic recession, when our
national currency, the Naira, has
sharply depreciated against the U.S
Dollar. 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 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. 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. 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. We in the Northern States
Governors Forum recognize that our
partnership with USIP is strategic.
Some of the benefits we derive
from this partnership include
deepening cooperation towards
eliminating conflicts. We may not
be able to point this benefit
tangibly to our people but we know
for instance, that the United States
is the world’s pre-eminent
agricultural power and the number
one food exporter. On the other
hand, No land in the world is better
suited for agricultural cooperation
than Northern Nigeria. Girl-child
education Your highly adored and
respected first lady Mrs. Michelle
Obama has a program for
intervention on girl-child education
in Africa. We eagerly look forward
to benefit from this program as well
as many other areas in which we
can partner with our American
friends to tackle our under-
development and weak
infrastructure. What is needed is
the will and I can assure you that
all the Governors of the Northern
States here and those at home, are
irrevocably committed to these
partnerships in the service of our
people. The Northern Nigeria
provides a good eco-system for all
developments and development
partners. What we need is sincere
will from our development partners
and I am sure that our development
partners have the will. Finally, on
behalf of my colleagues, let me
express our profound gratitude to
the American Government, to the
Board and officials of the United
States Institute of Peace, to the
United States Agency for
International Development, to the
European Union and to all partners
who have stood in solidarity with us
through development support in
different parts of Northern Nigeria.
We are also grateful to USIP for
organizing this symposium that
once again, brings the
underdevelopment in Northern
Nigeria to the front burner of
discussion. But even as we discuss,
we cannot ignore the fact that the
outcome of the U.S election in 21
days to come, may affect the full
implementation of our goals after
this symposium. Favorably, our
country is not as close as Mexico
for us to worry about a ‘wall’ that
could come between our forum and
the United States after January
20th. ladies and gentlemen, what
works in today’s world is coming
together with sincerity because like
the American Henry Ford said,
COMING TOGETHER IS A
BEGINNING, KEEPING TOGETHER IS
PROGRESS AND WORKING
TOGETHER IS SUCCESS. We look
forward to successful partnerships.
Shettima, Governor of Borno State
and Chairman of Northern States
Governors’ Forum, delivered these
remarks on Tuesday, October 18,
2016, at the opening of a 3-day
symposium for Northern Governors
in Nigeria organized by the U.S
Government hosted by the United
States Institute of Peace in
Washington that was attended by
Governors of Plateau, Sokoto,
Taraba, Zamfara, Adamawa, Bauchi,
Kwara, Niger, Borno and Deputy
Governor of Kano State.

Source: Vanguard