The Northern Socio-Political group, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has attacked the former President Olusegun Obasanjo for his damning letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on security.
The ACF angered by the content of Obasanjo’s letter said Obasanjo was always proclaiming doomsday, predicting upheavals and a bloodbath for the country.
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It said the former president has no moral standing to write such a letter, urging him to apologise to Nigerians.
The group also said Obasanjo’s recent comment on “Islamisation”, “Fulanisation” and “Northernisation” of Nigeria were clearly calculated at causing division and acrimony along religious, ethnic and regional lines.
According to ACF, such narratives could only emanate from enemies of the North.
At a news conference addressed by its National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim Biu, after a meeting of her board members, ACF condemned what it called tagging every criminal a Fulani just because a Fulani man is the President. It demanded a stop to such remarks.
Biu said: “ACF is constrained to comment on the letter dated 15th July 2019 by the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari on issues he claimed are ‘very weighty and must be greatly worrisome to all concerned Nigerians, hence the reason he made it open.
“ACF appreciates the freedom of expression and the right to hold opinion on all issues as guaranteed by our constitution by individuals or groups, as long as it’s within the confines of the law. The forum, therefore, believes that Chief Obasanjo used this privilege to raise the issues which mostly borders on insecurity in his latest letter.
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“It must, however, be noted that the issues are not new to Nigerians as he had raised them in his previous open letters to the President, so also other Nigerians in different fora.
“All the same, in exercising our right to comment on the letter, it is our candid opinion that Chief Obasanjo, being a former President and an elder statesman who has unfettered access to the President, should use a better and most civilized way of communicating his views to a sitting president rather than going public to create unnecessary scene and try to bring down the roof.
“It is true that Chief Obasanjo has become relentless in his self-appointed task of a Cassandra-in- chief for Nigeria, always proclaiming doomsday, predicting upheaval and bloodbath, which to say the least has diminished his acclaimed status as a patriot and nationalist.
“As far as the ACF and indeed the North is concerned, Chief Obasanjo lacks the moral standing to make any damning statements against any government, considering his antecedents while at the helm of affairs as President. His statements and comments on national issues are neither driven by altruism nor by patriotism, but sheer self-aggrandisement.
“What, we must ask, motivates Chief Obasanjo’s current divisive activities? His recent outburst on ‘Islamization’, Fulanisation’, and ‘Northernisation’ are clearly calculated at causing division and acrimony along religious, ethnic and regional lines, which is most unfortunate.
“The former President knows more than any other Nigerian that there is no such thing as Islamisation or Fulanisation in the North’s agenda. Enemies of the North chose to propagate such negative narratives only with the view to causing disharmony among undiscerning Nigerians.
“Unfortunately, many, including the highly-educated and politically sophisticated elite, have unwittingly fallen into the trap of believing in Obasanjo and his ilk.
“The forum notes with sadness how the negative stereotype associated with the issue of ‘Fulani herdsmen’ is gradually degenerating into a national crisis. We find the assertion that every crime committed in especially the southern part of the country, as being committed by Fulani herdsmen, irresponsible and deliberately aimed at achieving some certain diabolical objectives.
“The narration that every criminal, armed robbers and kidnappers are Fulani herdsmen because a Fulani man is at helm of affairs is a dangerous precedent, which has to stop. Criminals must be regarded as criminals without giving them any ethnic, religious or regional coloration.”
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The ACF said: “We must join hands in finding a lasting solution to the menace”.
Biu noted that there was no gain-saying the fact that the country is facing dire security challenges, which in view, are as a result of cumulative failures of past administrations.
Acknowledging the efforts of the military, police and other security agencies in curtailing insecurity, ACF urged the government to be more decisive in dealing with the security challenges.
He said the measure became imperative because some unpatriotic forces take advantage of the situation to forge ahead with their destabilisation agenda.
Biu said:
“The President, more than ever before, should rejig the nation’s security apparatus for effective performance. Furthermore, the forum appeals to the Federal Government to employ both security and political solutions to the various challenges facing the nation.”
Reiterating its belief in the unity and indivisibility of Nigeria, the ACF stressed: “Our diversity in cultures, religions and tribes should be positively harnessed for the common good of all.”
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