Youth leaders from the North under the aegis of Northern Youth Leaders Forum (NYLF) have called on northern leaders to arrest the political turmoil and rising security challenge in the region so the people don’t become ‘political slaves’ in the country.
They also called on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to zone the 2023 presidency to the South-West while the Peoples Democratic Party zones its own to the North-East.
NYLS National Chairman Elliot Afiyo stated this Friday in an interview with Blueprint in Yola, Adamawa state.
He said the North’s political supremacy as exemplified by the legacies of late Sardauna Sokoto Ahmadu Bello were fast going into extinction, and asked leaders in the region to correct the trend.
He said: “Let me take you back to 1956 conference when the northern delegates opposed Nigeria’s independence because of the fact that the North was not ready. The southern delegates organised “Agberos” before the closing of the conference to mock the northern delegates. Even Joseph Tarka, Ibrahim Waziri and Aminu Kano were also mocked.
“This singular incident made Ahmadu Bello to summon a meeting of all the northern politicians to discuss the political interest of the North and it was resolved that the northern collective political interest must be protected, secured and sustained by all means, irrespective of our political, ethnic or religious differences.
“To demonstrate his commitment to this cause, Ahmadu Bello dropped the prefix Alhaji and replaced it with Sir. He appointed Chief Sunday Awoniyi as his Secretary, Kassim Imam was made Governor and he also embraced, sponsored and trained northerners irrespective of their ethnic, religious or political differences. Many indigenous minority tribes such as Gowon, Pam, Maimalari, Danjuma, Jalo, Dan Suleiman and many others were enrolled into the military to give sense of belonging. Hausa language was deliberately popularised as a weapon of unity. Since then, the northern supremacy was established both in the political and military scenes.
“This is why every genuine or concerned northerner must be worried with what is happening in the North now. If we fail to address this security and political issues, our generations will become political slaves in no distant future.”
Speaking on quit notice by the Ondo state government, the NYLF boss said: “Let me first correct that error of a quit notice to the Fulani. Governor Akeredolu did not ask the Fulani to vacate the state. The governor asked the bandits to vacate a particular forest which has become a den of criminals.”
Asked to further clarify a report credited to him that the nation’s top job be zoned to South-west APC, Afiyo said: “I have said it and I will continue to say it that the presidency must not only be shifted to the south but to the South-west because that was how the agreement was signed. I have not seen the agreement but somebody read it on phone to my hearing. If that was what was signed, so be it. If at all we must remain as a corporate entity called Nigeria, justice must not only be done, but seen to be done.”
On the PDP, the northern youth leader said: “Yes of course and of course yes. As a determined youth leader, I must say no if no is expected and yes if yes is clearly defined because my future and indeed those of the northern youth is at stake. The North-East zone was denied that opportunity in 2015 by the former President Goodluck Jonathan. By justice, common sense and fairness, the North-West should not have produced another President after Yar’Adua. But because the North-East was denied that privilege in PDP, the APC took advantage of it to present President Buhari and the North generally embraced the idea.
“When we were shouting and drawing the attention of the PDP on the long term consequences of this action on the political scene, people from the South, especially the South-east, were mocking us. They went as far as calling us political Almajiris. I remember vividly, the president of the Igbo Youth Movement, Mr. Elliot held a press conference on the 16th of October, 2014 in Enugu and called us retrogressive elements. This is our time to laugh and he who laughs last laughs the best. PDP has no option than to zone its presidency to the North-east zone if it truly wants to bounce back to power.”
Expressing a personal view on the seeming rift between Asiwjau Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Ekiti state Governor Kayode Fayemi, he said forces outside the South-west were behind it, arguing however that Tinubu would make a better president.
“You should know that I am not a card-carrying member of any political party and will never be in any way. I am not supporting any candidate. Let me tell you the truth. This political rift is being engineered and sponsored by forces outside the South-West because of their personal political interests. You cannot imagine the APC lobbying the former President Jonathan to contest,” he said.
Arewa youth warn
Meanwhile, the Northern Youths Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has expressed concerns over the alleged constant attacks on northerners, especially the recent attack in Sasha market of Akinyele local government area of Oyo state which led to loss of lives and destruction of property.
They therefore advised northerners not to take the risk of travelling to the South- West for now.
A statement Sunday from NYCN spokesman, Mock Kure, said: “The attention of the Northern Youths Council of Nigeria has been drawn to the ongoing Carnage against Northerners, particularly in Sasha Market of Akinyele Local Government, Oyo State, South West Nigeria wherein so many lives were either killed or injured, business premises and vehicles were burnt by Yoruba hoodlums.
“We wish to condemn such an attack in the strongest terms possible and call on security agents to arrest the perpetrators so as to serve as deterrent to would be hoodlums.”
The Arewa youths alleged plan to expel northerners from that part of the country, with such beginning with a quit order to herders by Ondo state Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
It said “this led to the sudden emergence of one Sunday Igboho, a well known motor park tout as the Enforcer-In-Chief of the hidden but now open agenda in far away Oyo State.
“The eviction orders violate the provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) which guarantees freedom of movement to all citizens and rights to own movable and unmovable properties in any part of the country,” the body said.
“We believe strongly that the inability of the government at all levels to tame the lawless wings of Sunday Igboho and his co-travellers has led to the emergence of his variants, hence, the renewed attacks on settled business people and many others that can’t speak Yoruba at Sasha Market,” the statement explained.
The youth called on the federal government to declare Sunday Igboho’s group a terrorist organisation as he is not different from Boko Haram.
The NYCN called on Governor Simon Lalong-led Northern Governors’ Forum “to rally his colleagues to begin to evacuate their brothers that are trapped in the South-west and other troubled spots in Southern Nigeria since the governments in those regions have proven to be helpless or tacitly complicit in the ceaseless attacks on our people.”
The statement observed that “the northern youths continue to maintain maximum restraints despite the unjustifiable and unprovoked attacks on their people pending when government would exhaust all its cards.”
It enjoined the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to mobilise resources to the market to ameliorate the sufferings of those who lost their means of livelihood to the carnage, and called on the federal government to adequately compensate those who lost their loved ones and property in the crisis.
