Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu said yesterday that the North will survive in case of a breakup of the country.

The region, he declared, is not afraid of being on its own as he warned against statements that suggest that the country is heading for a breakup.

“If Nigeria splits, the north can still survive on its own contrary to the belief of some people in other regions that the north cannot survive if the nation disintegrates,” the Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF), stated yesterday.

He spoke during a meeting in Minna with members of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) in his office.

Aliyu cited some countries in Africa that had disintegrated in recent past, noting that such countries have not gone into extinction rather they have survived and are waxing stronger.

“No community in Nigeria should be afraid of separation. If some people want to go, they should go, we will survive. We are not scared of separation,” he said

“The same was said of Niger Republic. Niger was the poorest country in the world but today, if you see oil in Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto and Maiduguri, it would have come from Niger Republic.

“There is no way Niger and Chad can have oil and improve their economy and the north will not be able to do the same”, Aliyu boasted.

Although he did not say so, it was believed that Aliyu was responding to threats by ex-militant and South-south leader, Alhaji Asari Dokubo that the nation would disintegrate in 2015 if President Goodluck Jonathan is not re-elected.