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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, has expressed displeasure over proliferation of non-government groups and association in the North claiming to be working for the unity of the region.
Alhaji Dalhatu noted that the development is a threat to the unity of the North, and advised the people that there is enough room in the ACF to accommodate all northerners without creating parallel or splinter groups.
He recalled that at the inception and formation of ACF, civil society groups such as the Turaki Committee led by former president, Shehu Shagari, the Unity and Development Foundation under Alhaji Sule Katagum and the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) run by Alhaji Abdulrahman Okene, were persuaded to dissolve and fuse themselves into the then newly established ACF.
In his opening remarks at the BOT meeting, yesterday, Dalhatu said proliferation of different groups from the North was not good enough for the unity of the region since pooling resources together with one voice was the best way to go.
“Going forward, I need to draw attention to the ongoing unhealthy proliferation of non government groups and associations in the Northern States with aims and objectives clearly similar to that of ACF. Our strength lies in our unity, in pooling resources together and in speaking with one voice on all matters affecting our people and our Region.
“Back in 2000, Northern leaders including former Presidents of Nigeria of northern extraction, the state governors, the Sultan and other Emirs and Chiefs, including a cross section of the Northern intelligentsia and religious leaders came together to establish the Arewa Consultative Forum.
“The purpose is to achieve unity and gain harmony between and amongst all northerners. To do this, they had had to persuade several civil society groups such as the Turaki Committee, led by former president Shehu Shagari, the Unity and Development Foundation under Alhaji Sule Katagum and the Northern Elders Forum run by Alhaji Abdulrahman Okene, to dissolve themselves and fuse into the newly established ACF.
“In deference to the memory of these elder statesmen, Northerners who have or are thinking of creating parallel or splinter groups should rethink their actions and come back within the ACF. There is enough room in the ACF to accommodate all northerners!
“In this regard, we urge our state chapters to become more proactive in their membership drive and continue with establishment of Local Government chapters with the active support of the state and the national headquarters wherever required.”
On insecurity, ACF said, “for good reason, the issue of insecurity has dogged our deliberations in recent years. May I take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to members of the armed forces and the security agencies as they continue to risk and lose their lives and wellbeing battling insurgency and banditry.
“We pray for the peaceful repose of the souls of those who have lost their lives. Admittedly, a constant review of strategies by the high command of the military remains the best weapon against the enemy and one which may minimize casualties.”
BOT chair advised ACF members to remain neutral towards 2027 elections, saying, “As the critical 2027 general elections in Nigeria are drawing closer, political activities are apparently ramping up at all levels. It is necessary to remind ourselves, especially officials at national and state levels as indeed all members of the ACF, to continue to maintain our corporate political neutrality.
“Although ACF members may belong to political parties of their choice, as an organization, ACF is politically non-partisan and would not support one party over the other. What we usually do at elections is to list out expected qualities of individuals who aspire to political offices.
“Even though the ACF is a regional, socio-cultural, economic and non partisan political organization, it is keenly interested in the firm establishment of a viable democracy, good governance as well as the continued survival of Nigeria as one, strong, united and indivisible country.
“Let me also mention the unbelievable calamity which has engulfed the newly built Dangote Refinery. It strikes every right thinking person as deeply unfathomable and unacceptable that a huge asset which ought to be our national pride and which has single handedly rescued Nigeria from the scourge of fuel shortages, foreign exchange scarcity and which enabled President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to comfortably scrap subsidies on petroleum products, is the one some unpatriotic unions backed by hidden cabals are working hard to cripple.
“These people must be told in no uncertain terms that they are working on behalf of the enemies of Nigeria and Nigerians; the living and the generations yet unborn. The federal government must act urgently and eliminate this nation’s existential threat. It should place the interests of so many over so few.”
