John Adams, Minna
The former commissioner for Information in Niger state and Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state, Mr. Jonathan Vatsa has berated northern leaders over the exodus of northern youths to the southern parts of the country.
The APC Chieftain who was reacting to the recent arrest of over 200 northern youths, mostly from Katsina state last week, said the current influx of norther youths to the south for whatever reason shows that norther leaders have failed their people.
“No northern leaders should be happy with what is happening in the region today. Northern leaders have failed in their primary responsibility to their people, and that is why the region is in disarray.”
Vatsa attributed the migration of northern youths to what he called “high level of insecurity and the extreme poverty” in the northern, stressing that “this is what the former Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi has been hammering on and they ganged up against him.”
He warned that the current situation in the north is a time bomb waiting to explode, adding that “the poverty in the north is man made and the leaders are enjoying it, but it will surely consumed all of us if it is not addressed.
“The northern leaders created the poverty to oppress their people. They use the people as political thugs to achieve their political ambition. The youths will soon realize it and there will be no hiding place for all of us.”
Vatsa reminded the northern leaders that they can not be comfortable in the mix of uncomfortable people, expressing fear that “the current situation in the region is capable of triggering revolution. A hungry and insecure man is an angry man.”
He pointed out that the migration of the northern youths to south will no doubt affect food production in the north because “what is happening is a deviation from the usual practice where these youths returned home during farming season and go back to do menial jobs after the planting season.”
He dismissed the insinuation that the migrants are Almajirai, arguing that “these are able youths looking for greener pasture. They are escaping the killings and the extreme poverty in the north.”
On the crisis rocking the party across the country, the former publicity secretary of the party said “I am not a prophet of doom but I doubt if the APC can survive this crisis everywhere, including my state, Niger. There will be no genuine reconciliation in the party.
“We saw the Tinubu Reconciliation Committee in the run-off to the 2019 general elections, at the end of the day nothing came out of it and that was why the party lost Zamfara, Rivers, Adamawa and Benue states. This will be another efforts in futility,” he said.