By Bode Olagoke Abuja–
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has advised the people of North-east faced with challenges of poverty and hunger due to destructions caused by Boko Haram insurgency to see education and agriculture as the way to open doors of opportunities for them.
Adamawa as well as other states in the North-east zone has suff ered a setback in the fi eld of education and commerce due to insurgency in the area.
Atiku, who spoke at the reception organised in his honour by the Adamawa state community in Abuja to mark his elevation to the position of the 7th Waziri Adamawa, implored politicians and the elite from the state to avoid unnecessary in-fi ghting that might aff ect development of the area.
He said the state should move away from dependence on oil and federal handouts and build an economy in the state that would be a model for the whole country.
On how to deal with the present challenges facing his people, Atiku said in the past, education had opened doors for him and other prominent sons of Adamawa state.
Speaking on ways which the state can pull through the current economic challenges, Atiku said there is a need for the state to uphold and deepen the legacy by fi xing our educational system and other aspects of human development.
“If there is one other thing that unifi es the Adamawa elite, it is that they obtained good education.
Education helped to open doors for them in the various professions where they have distinguished themselves and in their service to our country,” he said Atiku who said he was humbled by his elevation to the position of Waziri Adamawa, expressed the belief that the future of the state lies in the hands of its young people.
He said the state should do everything possible to invest in education for the young people of the state, adding that “there is no reason for any Adamawa child to be out of school.
“Let us, as a state and as a people, begin to plan our future without thinking that the federal government will be our saviour.
“Let us think of how we can build up our State: let us continue to encourage our State and Local Governments to repair and expand our schools, to repair our roads, and help our students to learn.
“Let us also improve our agriculture by industrialising it.
We need modern tools and modern methods of farming.
Th ere is no reason why we can’t be a major supplier of grains, meat, tea and coff ee to the rest of the country and beyond”, he said.
