Sola Ojo, Kaduna
Northern special interest group Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) on Tuesday said the region could not continue to be on the “negative side”, with regards to major crises from terror to abductions.
This follows its call to the Buhari administration to end the spate of killings and kidnapping of women and children in the troubled region.
Chairman of ACF and a former Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Ahmadu Coomassie, stated this when the leadership of the foremost northern women socio-cultural organisation Jam’iyya Matan Arewa (JMA) visited the Forum’s National Working Committee (NWC) to discuss how to protect women and children in the region from incessant attacks.
According to Coomassie, Nigeria cannot survive without the North, hence, the need for leaders from the region to put their heads together to save it from activities that puts it in a negative light.
“We all know that without the North, Nigeria can never survive. We still stand by it. But now is the time to walk the talk in the interest of our people,” the northern leader said.
“Chibok Girls are still missing. Now it has gone to Dapchi in Yobe State. What happened,” he asked. “Are we always going to be the victims? Boko Haram, see what they did to the Northeast. They have spread over to the North Central and even to the southern part of the country.
“Should we continue to be on the negative side? No. We are leaders in our own right and we must exercise this responsibility for our people,” he stated.
He continued that “whenever there is crisis, women and children are always the major victims. Enough is enough. We are proud that you have come forward to meet us to discuss this issue.
Earlier, Chairperson of JMA, Aishatu Pamela Sadauki, who was represented by Hajiya Aliko Muhammed, said the visit to ACFNWC was significant in order to plead the course of women and children, especially in Northern Nigeria.
In Northern Nigeria, three major socio-cultural groups shape and amplify interests of the region – ACF, Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation (SABMF) and JMA, comprising wives of major northerners.