Northern children now live on violence –ACF

Umbrella Northern socio-political group, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has bemoaned worsening violence in the region.

The ACF Chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said this, yesterday, when he led a delegation to Maiduguri on a visit to Borno Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum.

In a statement titled, ‘Arewa Consultative Forum visits Zulum, Ogbeh, who described the security situation as depressing,’ said the ACF delegation was in Borno on Sunday to empathise over Boko Haram’s serial killings, particularly, the most recent, which was the beheading of over 43 farmers of Zabarmari community in Jere Local Government Area.

Ogbeh said: “We are depressed, very depressed. And any one of our age, who is not depressed was not well-born. Because we have nothing to leave behind for our children, and violence will not sustain us. The tragedy of the North, today, is that the only industry left is politics, and politics alone has never grown any society.

“We have to re-grow Borno State, we have to re-grow the North, we have to re-grow Nigeria. We have no industries, agriculture has declined and our own children have now turned to violence as a means of livelihood. Your Excellency, in ACF we have decided that we will not talk too much politics, we decided to focus on something else, we are going to start a programme of developing small-scale agro-industries across the north.”

ACF also condemned the attack on innocent farmers earning their legitimate means of livelihood around Zabarmari, describing it as barbaric and inhumane.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the ACF, Amb Shehu Malami, delivered a condolence message, praying for the restoration of peace in Borno and northern Nigeria.

Other members of the delegation included Alhaji Ibrahim Sule, Alhaji Murtala Aliyu, Alhaji Baba Sule Bisala and Alhaji Kabiru Ladan.