Northern Nigeria a failed region, marked by hypocrisy- Arewa youths


Northern youths have described that part of Nigeria as a failed region, heading for extinction but characterised by a high level of hypocrisy and bad leadership.The youths, who met under the aegis of Arewa Youth Forum in Kaduna on Wednesday to review the state of the nation as part of the activities marking the 2014 Democracy Day, noted with dismay that majority of the northern people had been subjected to constant fear arising from persistent killings and tension.

The youths noted with disappointment that apart from a few of the 19 northern states, the rest were marked by low quality and purposeful governance with an astronomical rise in the embezzlement of public funds by their leaders.

According to a communiqué, which was signed by the President of the AYF, Alhaji Gambo Ibrahim Gujungu, and made available to Vanguard on Thursday, the failure of governance in most parts of the region has led to the collapse of the education and health sectors with insecurity holding the entire region to ransom.

They regretted that as a result of rising insecurity, economic activities that once thrived in their local communities had since collapsed, while the level of hatred and animosity between Northern Christians and Muslims had risen.

They also noted that if the security threat to farmers in the area was not immediately arrested, there would be serious food security crisis in the region in no distant time and asked the government to halt what they called the ‘manipulation of major religions in the country ahead of the 2015 election’ instead of working for the interest of the people.

As a way out of the crisis facing the region, AYF suggested that both the Federal and Northern state governments must stop the politicisation of insurgency and pay more serious attention to the problems facing the region to prevent it from failing.

The youths noted: “We insist that the manipulation of religion for political and economic interests by elites to the detriment of our teeming populace must stop forthwith, sincerity, justice and sensitivity to the plights of Northerners irrespective of their differences must be given priority attention by all levels of government.

“We also demand that the ongoing bloodshed must be stopped while the governments must sincerely explore all its constitutional avenues with a view to restoring law and order in all part of the country to bring about peace and development,” AYF said.

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