Press Statement By the ACF On The State Of The Nation

SAN FRANCISCO, February 01, (THEWILL) -  Below is the full text of the statement issued by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) after its emergency meeting today, 1st February, 2012, in Kaduna, Kaduna State.
 
An emergency meeting of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) took place on Thursday, 26th January, 2012, in the Conference Hall of the ACF, along Sokoto Road, Kaduna. Lt General J.T Useni, Chairman, ACF Board of Trustees, presided. And in attendance were a large delegation of members from all 19 states of the North and the FCT. The emergency meeting was called following the horrific bomb attacks on Kano on Friday, 20th of January, 2012, by the Boko Haram; attacks that caused the death of some 200 innocent people and the destruction of colossal amount of property.
Other matters of concern to the North and the country were also discussed. The following statement was approved to be released:
 
1). Having reviewed the horrendous attacks on Kano and the spate of attacks on many parts of the North which, at the last count, have  claimed the lives of over two thousand people, Muslims, Christians, northerners, southerners – everyone - and an unquantifiable amount of property across the North, the meeting came to the conclusion that unless addressed quickly and decisively, the threat posed by these attacks have reached such a level that threatens national peace and order and has the potential to cause the collapse of peace, security and public order in the North in particular and the nation in general. In this regard, the ACF makes the following recommendations:
 
 a) The Federal Government should commit itself openly and unambiguously in guaranteeing the security of leaders of Boko Haram when eventually they come out for dialogue promised by Mr. President. Government should continue to persevere, uncover the true identity of these people, to be able to determine their demands or grievances and address those that may be genuine and in accordance with our laws. 
 
b) ACF calls upon all people of good conscience who may have access to members of Boko Haram to urge them to take advantage of secure channels of communication to be provided by the Federal Government towards achieving a resolution of the current bloody impasse.
 
c) Similarly, ACF calls upon and enjoins the leaders and members of Boko Haram to realize that no religious doctrine permits the killing of innocent lives. It is important to point out to them that they are inflicting terror, death and destruction upon people not in anyway responsible for whatever injustice they believe have been done to them.
 
d) While it is true that the actions of Boko Haram are condemnable, it is also necessary to call upon the Federal Government and all our political leaders as well as all those in positions of authority, to recall the UN resolution 1963 of 2010 which urges governments around the world to address underlying causes of civil unrest and social conflicts rather than resort to hard military power which rarely solve them.
 
e) The Federal and State Governments should be seen to demonstrate fairness and justice in dealing with all issues of insecurity and infringement of the laws.
 
2)  ACF notes with grave concerns some serious allegations peddled by certain people to the effect that some people from other sections of the country were conspiring to cause high level of insecurity across the country with the clear intention of making the country ungovernable. Some of these allegations go as far as saying that there are plots to assassinate the President. They also allege that southerners were not only being killed but that their attempts to flee the North were being blocked by Northerners. These allegations have been written and widely publicized in the media. Considering the gravity of the allegations bordering on treason, the Forum calls on the government, as a matter of urgency, to investigate them for the purposes of prosecution.
 
3). ACF notes the well advertised changes made in the Nigeria Police for better services. However, in view of the widespread ineffectiveness with which current security challenges are being tackled, the Forum calls on the government to extend similar re-organisation to all other security agencies, especially the intelligence community. We call on the government to be more proactive, more decisive and engage in less lamentations.
 
4). The ACF reviewed the recurring calls for a national conference, and even a Sovereign National Conference, for the purpose, the proponents say, of re-defining the terms of our union. The Forum concluded that the terms of our National Union and those by which the Nigerian Federation are run have been well defined in our Constitution. However, for the avoidance of doubt, it should be made clear that the North remains open to, and will be keen to discuss any ideas that may place Nigeria in a better position to meet the challenges of  nation building and secure a better future for this and succeeding generations of Nigerians.
 
 
Alhaji Aliko M. Mohammed OFR                      Mr. Anthony N.Z Sani
Dan Iyan Misau                                                  National Publicity Secretary
Chairman, NEC