Jonathan has failed the North

The pan-northern socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum, rose from an emergency meeting with non-governmental organisations   on Sunday and declared that President Goodluck Jonathan had failed the region in terms of security.

It said there was a deliberate attempt to emasculate the north economically, reduce its numerical strength and divide its people along religious and   political lines.

The ACF, through its     Chairman, Ibrahim Coomassie, stated that the general belief was that the Jonathan administration never liked the North.

It alleged   that while the region was being battered, the Jonathan government never made any serious move to end it.

According to the forum, since the emergence of   Boko Haram , the North had witnessed a speedy descent into anarchy.

It said,”As we gather here today to discuss, let us not lose sight of the fact that there is a Federal Government whose responsibility it is to protect   lives and safeguard the property of every citizen of this country.

“What we are witnessing today is a complete reversal of that role. The government of the day under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan has woefully failed to protect us.

“While the North is being battered, the people in government have not made serious efforts to end it. For the first time in the history of this great nation, our President is being openly condemned for his ineptitude, immaturity and ineffectiveness.

“Since the advent of the Boko Haram uprising in 2009, the region has witnessed a speedy descent into anarchy. The insurgency and insecurity situation we are faced with in the North is such that we have never imagined would happen to Arewa that we all grew up to know, to love and to cherish.

“The Arewa that was bequeathed to us by our forefathers is no longer the same. Today, the entire Northern region is under siege. The North is being attacked from all angles and from all fields.

“Now, the general belief is that this government and its leadership do not like us. The current policies and the government attitude towards the insurgency leave us with no better conclusion than to assume that there is a deliberate plan or attempt to emasculate the north economically, to reduce us numerically, disunite us religiously and to divide us politically.

“This is the grim situation we are faced with. As leaders of Arewa, it is incumbent upon us to rise up to the occasion. The entire citizenry of the North looks up to us with so much hope.

“We must at this point bury our individual differences, come together and critically examine the situation before us. We must come out and speak with one united voice. We cannot afford to be seen to be divided.”