Arewa Youths decry antics of Northern Governors

The Arewa Youths Forum (AYF) has sharply rebuked the 19
governors who are members of the Northern Governors
Forum for the current woeful condition of the region.
In a statement issued in Abuja earlier today, the AYF
called on the chairman of the Northern Governors Forum,
Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, to step
aside and allow a more progressive and serious governor
to take over the leadership of the forum.
The AYF’s blistering statement came after the youth
group’s emergency meeting in Abuja. The group
bemoaned the economic collapse in the region, blaming it
and other crises on incompetence by the governors.
Gambo Ibrahim Gujungu, who chaired the meeting,
stated: “The North is deteriorating in all ramifications due
to the guerrilla warfare and maladministration. Since the
crisis began and has continued unabated, thousands have
lost their lives while property of inestimable value have
been destroyed, leaving the North unattractive for local
and foreign investment. Businessmen of Northern
extraction now prefer to invest and establish businesses
elsewhere instead of the North as was recently
exemplified by [Aliyu] Dangote.”
Mr. Gujungu expressed dismay that the governors’ group,
led by Mr. Babangida Aliyu, has chosen to be nonchalant
as the crisis in the region continues to unfold. “The best
thing is for Governor Aliyu to give way to a much more
robust and proactive person who can pave the way for a
genuine dialogue so that peace may reign in the region.”
Continuing, the youth leader said, “Look at the New
Nigerian newspaper established by Sir Ahmadu Bello. For
over three months now, it has been out of circulation. No
one cares.”
Mr. Gujungu decried the fact that “Maiduguri is now a no-
go area. Nothing is going on there and nobody wants to
go there because of the atmosphere of uncertainty. Kano
is in the headlines on a daily basis and can be described
as a theater of guerrilla warfare. In Yobe, even animals
are not spared as over a hundred were recently
ambushed and massacred. Kaduna is not free despite
been fortified by all kinds of security. In the southern part
of Kaduna, innocent persons have been killed by unknown
gunmen. Plateau is now a case study of sectarian violence.
And yet Governor Babangida Aliyu is there taking pride in
what he could not accomplish while things are going on
smoothly in other parts of the country. It’s high time he
allowed others with foresight to be at the helms of affair
in the Northern Governors’ Forum because Northerners
and other Nigerians are tired of empty rhetoric laced with
deceit and half truths.”

#CONSENSUS 2015