The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has lamented that the scourge of banditry, kidnappings, and other criminalities has worsened the pains of the North, leaving families bereaved and communities devastated. Speaking at the 78th National Executive Committee meeting, ACF Chairman, Chief Mamman Osuman, SAN, said the North continues to lose lives to “evil criminals, psychopaths, gangsters, bandits, marauders, and terrorists,” in addition to natural causes and disasters.
Osuman called for introspection, vigilance, and unity of purpose among families and communities in the region, urging them not to “sit on the fence or like the Ostrich, hide its head in the sand under the delusive pretext that it sees nothing.” He stressed that the Forum remains non-partisan but committed to safeguarding the North’s interests within a united and indivisible Nigeria.
The ACF chairman paid tribute to eminent northern leaders recently lost to death, including former President Muhammadu Buhari, Justice Mohammed Uwais, Prof. Jubril Aminu, Chief Audu Ogbe, and Alhaji Aminu Dantata. The meeting observed a one-minute silence in their honor.
The NEC meeting also discussed preparations for the 25th anniversary of the ACF slated for October, as well as long-standing issues such as the Ette boundary crisis. A presentation on the “State of the Nation” was made, and a communiqué will be issued by the Forum’s Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur Baba. The meeting aimed to address the challenges facing the North and chart a way forward for the region.
