Tag: Arewa

Arewa youths merger group on Friday, May 31, expressed its gratitude to the managing director of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Chukwuemeka Agbasi for the agency’s proactive measures taken to address the deteriorating condition of federal roads across the country, especially in the northern region.

The group hailed FERMA for making the repairs as the rainy season approached in the north.

In a statement released to the press in Kano on Friday, the group’s leader, Mujahid Zaitawa, lauded the planned interventions by FERMA to fill potholes and repair failed portions of roads, emphasising the positive impact these efforts will have on the safety and efficiency of transportation for millions of Nigerians.

Zaitawa stated: “The maintenance and rehabilitation of our road networks are critical, especially now that we are entering the rainy season. We acknowledge that this transformation is possible because of the visionary leadership of President Bola Tinubu on the road network in the country.

“The commitment shown by FERMA’s Managing Director Engr. Chukwuemeka Agbasi is commendable and will go a long way in mitigating the adverse effects of the rainy season on our roads.”

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It highlighted several key projects underway in the northern region, which include: the rehabilitation of Wudil-Kwanar Huguma Road in Kano State, the dualization of Kano-Katsina Road Phase I, Dawanau Roundabout to Katsina State Border in Kano State.

Others include Rehabilitation of Funtua-Dayi-Yashe-Kano State Border Road in Katsina State, Zaria-Gusau-Sokoto-Birnin Kebbi Road in Katsina State, Construction of Kankara-Gurbi Road in Katsina State, Rehabilitation of Sokoto-Tambuwal-Jega-Kontagora-Makera Road, in Sokoto/Kebbi/Niger States, Replacement of substandard bridges along Gusau-Sokoto Road in Zamfara State, among others.

The group stated: “These projects are part of a broader strategy by FERMA to ensure the nation’s roadways are in good condition, thereby enhancing connectivity and supporting economic activities.

“We are particularly pleased with the focus on the northern region, where many roads are in dire need of repair. This initiative from Engr. Chukwuemeka Agbasi will not only improve transportation but will also contribute to the overall development of our region.”

It also called on other stakeholders, including state governments and local communities, to support FERMA’s efforts and ensure the successful completion of these vital road infrastructure projects.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) on Tuesday, May 21, rose from its meeting in Kaduna, saying that, there is looming social chaos in Nigeria.

The committee highlighted the challenges citizens are facing, including rampant inflation, unemployment, declining standards of living, and escalating incidents of insurgency, terrorism, and banditry.

The well-attended NEC meeting, chaired by Mike Mamman Osman (SAN), underscored the increasingly tough and challenging times for the average Nigerian.

In the communique issued at the end of the NEC meeting and read to journalists by its national publicity secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad-Baba, ACF argued that the removal of subsidies from petroleum products, floating of the Naira, and astronomical hike in the cost of poorly supplied electricity were responsible for the hardship facing Nigerians.

The Forum though commended the federal and state governments for their efforts towards tackling the identified problems, it stated categorically that, the public policy response to the problems remains weak and ineffective.

While it also noted that, there are widening regional disparities in social demographic factors, such as access to education, health public, infrastructure, economic inclusion, political participation, and living conditions, ACF called for urgent action and definitive attention, by the government at all levels, to confront a rapid decline in living conditions of Nigerians.

The communique read that; “The National Executive Committee of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) rose from a well-attended meeting Tuesday, 21st May, 2024; preceded by a meeting of the organisations National Working Committee (NWC) which earlier held on Monday, 20th May, 2024.

“The Meeting undertook a comprehensive review of ACFs activities, programmes, projects, finances, state chapters of ACF and miscellaneous related issues as well as take a general look at the state of the nation and polity.

“Arising from the meeting, NEC noted with satisfaction the unfolding image of a rejuvenated ACF, under a new leadership, that is steadily re-inserting and re-asserting itself as a credible, active, responsive and visible pan-Northern political but non-partisan, pan-ethnic non-religious organisation, dedicated to articulating and defending the interests of the peoples of the Northern states of Nigeria, through consultation, research, and advocacy.

“On the national front, and specifically applicable to the Northern states, NEC notes that the times continue to be tough and challenging for the average citizen who is daily confronted with runaway inflation, unemployment, and rapid deterioration in standards of living, all in the face of incidents of insurgency, terrorism, and banditry, etc. These problems have remained dire, acute (or even chronic in some places) in the North in particular.

“The immediate causes of the problems have been policies put in place by the government over the past months, including but not confined to removal of subsidies from the prices of petroleum products, floating of the Naira, and astronomical hike in the cost of poorly supplied electricity, increasing tariffs and taxes against the seemingly insensitive profligacy in spendings by public officials, to list a few.

“NEC acknowledges the efforts of the Federal, state and, to a little extent, local governments have been making efforts to tackle the problems identified above. However, overall, it is undeniable, perhaps due to the quantum and widening dimension of the problems, that public policy response to the problems remains weak and ineffective at best.

“NEC noted with grave concern, regrets and decries the continuing, deterioration or escalation in the spate of insecurity-related incidents in all three (3) geo-political zones under which the northern states are grouped. These problems reflect on the region’s cascading political, social, and economic challenges.

“NEC reiterates ACFs earlier expressed the position that the emergent protracted dimension of these problems, if untamed, are harbingers of citizens’ discontent, and social chaos.

“Equally worrisome to NEC is the widening regional disparities in social demographic factors, such as access to education, health public, infrastructure, economic inclusion, political participation, living conditions, etc.

“Governments must move to curb such disparities so as to ensure that Nigeria does not become two-states-in-one. Factors that unify, rather than divide citizens along any lines, should attract the attention of all concerned, government and citizens alike.

“As it has severally reiterated in recent public outings, ACF calls for urgent action and definitive attention, by the government at all levels, to confront the rapid decline in living conditions of citizens.

“The imposition of new taxes and levies is becoming increasingly too burdensome for ordinary Nigerians. The need for a rollout of public policy programmes and projects aimed at addressing low purchasing power challenges is indicated.

“ACF calls on citizens to rally around government and offer prayers for God Almighty’s intervention in our various tribulations such as will translate into a new, prosperous Nigeria where justice, equity, love, righteousness and hope emerge to replace the current despair and hopelessness.

“To inspire the spirit of needed sacrifices by citizens, NEC calls on public functionaries to shun profligacy and recklessness in spending public funds.

“As always, NEC unequivocally supports Nigerian security agents in their determined efforts to rid the country of criminality, insecurity and instability and pray that they very soon enough prevail over insurgents, terrorists and bandits. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” ACF said.

The mouthpiece of Northern Nigeria, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has welcomed the statement by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosing that the federal government has no plans to allow foreign military bases in Nigeria.

The forum, in a statement issued by its national publicity secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad Baba, and made available to newsmen in Kaduna on Tuesday said: “The FGN must be appreciated for taking such a bold and reassuring stance.

“For ACF, the development represents a victory for all imminently patriotic Nigerians who signalled readiness to campaign against the “rumoured” plans to host US and French military bases in Nigeria following their rejection in Republics of Burkina Faso and Niger.”

ACF remarked its disappointment with an earlier statement, “credited to a supposedly non-governmental organisation concerned with promoting human rights, the Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA), supporting the possible establishment of American (US) and French military bases in Nigeria.

“ACF finds such support patently shocking, shortsighted, and against everything Nigeria stands for at the moment. We are an independent, sovereign African country in uncompromising solidarity with all sister Africans, especially ECOWAS states in the struggles against all vestiges of the intolerable stranglehold of colonialism and neo-colonialism that have for far too long held down Africa in conditions of underdevelopment.

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“Enough is known of experiences of countries like Burkina Faso and Niger that have hosted foreign military bases for years. Such bases have to date served only the interests of the advanced countries. 

“Wherever they are located, the foreign military outposts operate outside of the control and in utter disregard for the national laws of their hosts, respecting only their own convenient rules. That sister African countries will, on the basis of their experience with the foreign military units, reject their presence is enough reason to dissuade Nigeria from even contemplating hosting them.

“There is just no sense that such bases as rejected by sister ECOWAS would be welcomed by any next-door neighbour. 

“HURIWA ought to realize that the presence of the bases has undeniably failed to result in any demonstrable decline in the activities of terrorist and insurgent groups that have been wrecking political, economic, and social conditions in the sister countries.

“For Nigeria, it is inescapable that whatever is unhelpful and/or detrimental to the interests of African countries cannot be good for us, due to shared destinies in unbroken historical, socio-cultural, economic and political ties which predated and antedates the artificial Balkanisation of our societies under European colonial control.

“Africans will forever decry the imposition of ridiculous “international” boundaries, which often cut across the very heart of communities, as systematised at the infamous 1884/1885 Berlin Conference at which no African country participated.

“It is thus instructive that the desire to establish the military bases emanates, not from African countries, but from the foreign powers themselves, and it is as if the Berlin Conference is being updated and re-enacted now, in the 21st Century.

“HURIWA is being quixotic and perhaps delusional in thinking that military and civilian personnel in the bases will respect Nigeria’s sovereignty or help us fight terrorism and insurgency. It is to ask where (and why now) have the foreign forces been all the while with our body counts in thousands, and recorded disrupted livelihoods, internally displaced populations, etc.

“It is also disappointing that HURIWA would seek to trivialise the patriotic call against foreign military bases as emanating from some “Northern” leaders, as if HURIWA’S condemnation is itself, by equal measure, a “southern” Nigerian agenda!

“Clearly, the terrorism and banditry problem in Nigeria has gone beyond the prism of “killer herdsmen” and Boko Haram, as HURIWA would have it, and looking at the problem from such a simplistic and reductionist perspective is unhelpful in the fight against terrorism.

“Our security forces know this only too well. No one should be lulled into complacency or think that anybody but ourselves can solve the problem. Nigeria should not be tempted by Trojan Horse promises from foreign interests that had until now at best remained benignly neglectful or uninterested in our insecurity woes.”

Northern youth under the aegis, the Arewa Youth Development has explained why the 2023 Electoral Act should be amended.

The youth through its Arewa Revival Project said amendment of the Act, to allow for electronic voting and election result transmission from polling units direct to the National Collation Centre will help strengthen Nigeria’s democracy.

The group in a statement signed by Muttaka Ahmed Ibrahim, Project coordinator of Arewa Youth Development/Arewa Revival Project, said Electronic voting and election result transmission will enhance the integrity, efficiency, and transparency of our elections, reducing the risk of fraud and disputes.

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The statement reads: “The Arewa Youth Development, through its Arewa Revival Project, is urging the National Assembly to amend the 2022 Electoral Act to include electronic voting and result transmission from polling units directly to the National Collation Centre.

“This amendment, we believe, will strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and set a positive precedent for African democracy. Electronic voting and result transmission will enhance the integrity, efficiency, and transparency of our elections, reducing the risk of fraud and disputes.

“We urge all stakeholders, including political parties, civil society organizations, and citizens, to join us in advocating for this crucial amendment. Together, we can build a stronger, more democratic Nigeria and inspire positive change across Africa.”