Arewa Calls On Federal Government To Take Responsibility For The Killings In The North

The Arewa Consultative Forum , ACF, at its last National Executive Council meeting asked the Federal Government to take responsibility in the fight against those responsible for the killings across the country, especially in the North.

The group also charged the Federal Government to adopt fast measures that will help restore peace in the security threatened states across Nigeria.

The meeting which was presided over by the Vice Chairman of Arewa Consultative Forum , Sen. Abubakar Girei, who represented the Chairman of ACF, Alhaji Musa Liman Kwande, lamented over the attitude of the state governors and traditional rulers in the North towards the development of education.

He mentioned that the said governors lacked commitment towards addressing the children that are out of school in the states. According to him, this has lead to a drastic increase in the number of Almajiri children roaming the streets in the region, amounting to over 10 million children presently.

ACF which has always been known to be the mouthpiece of Northern Nigeria, noted that, the subtle cause of insecurities in the region, even though differs from one geopolitical zone to another, still boils down to the fact that the government failed to address this problem.

Abubakar Girei empahised the need for government to deliberately develop control measures to contain the situation. The council of the ACF also commended the the efforts of security agencies in combating these problems, and urged them further to do more.

“The Council calls upon Federal Government to take drastic measures that will restore normalcy, peace and harmony in the affected States in order to assuage the fears of the people in particular Zamfara state where the bandit’s activities have been most cruel and devastating to the socioeconomic and political life of the people.

“The Council also notes with concern the most recent communal clashes between the Tiv and Jukun communities in Benue and Taraba states respectively with attendant loss of lives and destruction of properties on both sides.

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“The Council condemned this unnecessary enmity between communities that have peacefully co-existed over the years and called on the States affected to put in a peacebuilding mechanism that will ensure harmony among the various groups.

“The Council notes with concern the recent communal clash between Mada ethnic group and Fulani settlement in Akwanga Local Government Area of Nasarawa State and condemns such heinous crimes. It calls on the Security agencies to fish out the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

“Council also appeal to the communities to avoid using reprisal attacks as a way of addressing concerns, since such reprisals make victims of those who know nothing about the feuds. It therefore, appeals for due process in addressing such grievances among the various communities.” It said.

“On the issue of more than 10 million children that are out of school in the North, the Council noted with concern the increase in the number of Almajiris and children roaming the streets and the unfortunate attitude of our states governors towards the development of education.

“Recently the Emirs and Chiefs in the North organized a conference on this burning issue where it discussed and issued a communique on how the Northern States should tackle the situation. Unfortunately, very few states attended the conference or even send representatives.

“Furthermore, the Minister of Education recently lamented the attitude of States government to access funds at the Universal Basic Education Commission for primary education development by paying their counterpart funding.

“This is an unfortunate development, Council therefore appealed to the Northern States government to seriously address this out-of-school children menace to avoid further escalation of insecurity and other vices that have bedeviled the North. Illiteracy, poverty and drug abuses are a result of poor education and nonchalant attitude of our leaders to good governance,” ACF finally remarked.