Help us develop our region, Bauchi gov appeals to Afro Americans

NIGERIANS in the Diaspora, international donor agencies and development partners have been appealed upon to contribute to the development of the post-insurgency North-East in Nigeria.The appeal was made by Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar when he received a group of 18 Afro-Americans on a courtesy call at the Government House in Bauchi on Monday.

The Governor further said that the North-Eastern region, which has suffered the activities of Boko Haram insurgency more than any part of the country is “disadvantaged, and has higher infant/maternal mortality rates and higher out-of-school children.”

The Governor also said that “the recent World Bank report says Bauchi tops the list of out-of-school children in the country but, I challenge those figures. What the World Bank didn’t consider is that Bauchi state has accommodated higher internally displaced persons (IDPs) than any state of the federation, and the data the World Bank relies on to pass this verdict was generated long time ago.”

He added that “The entire North-East requires urgent world attention in terms of reconstruction, rehabilitation and reintegration of the internally displaced people. In healthcare delivery, there is a deficit. There is a paucity of healthcare facilities especially in rural areas where many could not quickly access health centres and the services they render.”

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Mohammed Abubakar further explained that Bauchi state government is are making efforts to turn around “this very important sector and make healthcare available and affordable to the common man.”

“We, therefore, welcome any form of assistance from you, Nigerians in the Diaspora, donor organizations and development partners, especially now that the country is coming out of recession,” the Governor stressed.

The Governor then lamented the poor state of infrastructure, which he said informed his administration’s decision to embark on deliberate road construction to open up the state and assured of the state government’s readiness to do business with anybody wishing to invest in the state, saying enabling laws to ease doing business passed and assented to by the state.

While speaking earlier, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora, Abike Debiri-Erewa explained that the group of Afro-Americans was in Nigeria to re-engage the country because of the group’s belief that only Africans could develop the continent.

Abike Debiri-Eruwa stated that it was a great experience for the Afro-Americans to put their feet on their ancestral land, saying they made a stopover at Badagry to, “have a glimpse of the channel through which African slaves were taken to the United States of America.”

The group of 18 Afro-Americans which was led by Mr David Anderson had passed a night at the famous Yankari Games Reserve and Safari.