Efforts by Arewa Consultative Forum, (ACF), Northern Nigeria umbrella organization to find lasting solution to insecurity in the region, which has become a serious problem for the entire country, raises more questions than answers.
President of the Senate, David Mark, in his speech at the two day ACF Peace and Unity conference asked why the North has continued to lag behind the South in education, drawing an analogy between level of educational attainment and development on one hand and between peace and development on the other.
Former minister and ex-Senator, Professor Jibril Aminu, while delivering a paper at the Conference on Tuesday also called for the Christian Association of Nigeria, to be proscribed, in order to discourage Muslim elements from constituting a similar national body called Muslim Association of Nigeria, which may not be in the interest of peace. Professor Aminu accused religious leaders of conniving with politicians to perpetuate injustice on the people through sectionalizing their religious faith.
The former senator said Christian and Muslim leaders must ensure that the people get good leadership from their elected leaders. Aminu also said Nigerian the elite has replaced colonial masters by forcing themselves on the leadership of the country without allowing the people’s choice to prevail, whether such choice is an illiterate or a graduate. He warned northern leaders of dire consequences ahead if they do not allow peace to prevail through good governance and development, tasking religious and political leaders to retrace their steps by emulating Nigeria’s founding fathers.
In his contribution, Former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu asked current leaders of the north to give opportunity to the younger one to exercise their potentials, saying “we need to ponder over the ability of society and the community to do the right thing for the generations coming up is very important.
“We keep talking about Sardauna, Tafawa Balewa and the rest of them. They did a good job and showed the way to people who are our fathers today, leaving them with the responsibility of carrying on with the good work. Some of you did the job very well. We are here and have learnt from you and we believe that it is also our challenge today to continue with what you have started. Today, it is a modern world and a different world. It is not a world of the 1950s, 19602, 1970s or the 1980s.
“Things have changed and we must take note of that. Let us understand that this north we are talking about today is a different one. We have new challenges that require new and modern approach and solutions.
“This generation of young northerners is asking for opportunity and chance to also play their role. Listen to them. Let us wake up to the reality of the situation we found ourselves today. It is a shame that today, our youths will wear a suicide vest to go and kill themselves. This is a message to us; it is a rebellion and they are telling us that things are not right and it is time for us to wake up. It is the truth and it is the reality”.
Yahaya Mahmud, SAN, one of the participants in the discussion “The Place of Security Agencies, the Intelligence Community and the Role of the Judiciary in Combating Violence in Northern Nigeria”, a paper presented by Joseph B. Daudu, SAN, President of Nigerian Bar Association said that as a Magistrate in the 1970s and 1980s, “after all the commissions of inquiry when government discovered that it was not possible to punish those behind these crises because of their religious or political positions, government decided to get at the root causes of the crises”. He said the remote cause of all the problems in Kaduna were that “the people of Southern Kaduna were tired of the emirate system. So, the government of then Governor Ahmed Makarfi created chiefdoms for Southern Kaduna and we now have relative peace”.
One way out of the present problems confronting the North according to Senator Mark is for all the stakeholders of the region to embrace “sincerity of purpose, consistency, transparency and honesty” which are all necessary ingredients to ensure peaceful co-existence.