SAN FRANCISCO, July 06, (THEWILL) – A coalition of 49 associations from the Middle Belt on Thursday asked that their region of the country should not be seen as a part of Northern Nigeria, calling for the people of the zone to be identified as ‘Middle Belters’ and not northerners.
This aligns with the position of a former minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, who had stated on Sunday that the ethnic groups in the Middle Belt will not go with the North in an event of the breakup of Nigeria, as he chided the coalition of northern youths for issuing a quit notice to Igbo residing in the North
“They think when it comes to break-up, we will go along with the North. We have already told them that if they allow this country to break up, we are not going with the North. We are staying where we are. So, just take notice. If it comes to that, we will tell you that you are Arewa and we are ‘Middle-Belters’,” Gana had said.
Speaking in the same vien, the Youth President of the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union, SOKAPU, Mr. Nasiru Jagaba, addressed journalists in Kaduna, on behalf of the Middle Belt Patriotic Front, which is constituted by the 49 associations.
He listed the states in the Middle Belt as Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Taraba, Niger, and added the Federal Capital Territory, southern parts of Adamawa, Kaduna, Kebbi, Bauchi, Gombe, and Yobe states as components of the region.
Jagaba said, “Please let the world be advised that the Middle-Belt is not part of the North and nobody has our mandate to speak for us. We call on other geopolitical zones of the country to consider us as Middle-Belters which is our identity.”
He pleaded with the South-West, South-South and South-East geopolitical zones to partner the Middle Belt to ensure the restructuring of the country.
According to him, “It is no longer news that the peace, security, prosperity and unity of our beloved country, Nigeria is now badly threatened.
“Therefore, we the people of the Middle Belt of Nigeria comprising Kwara State, Kogi State, Benue State, Plateau State, Nasarawa State, Taraba State, Niger State, the Federal Capital Territory, the southern parts of Adamawa State, Kaduna State, Kebbi State, Bauchi State, Gombe State, Yobe State and Borno State wish to lend our united voice behind the Middle-Belt Forum and other affiliate groups to the following:
“We, the people of the Middle Belt of Nigeria, wish to let the world know that we are not a part of northern Nigeria and nobody in the northern part has the mandate to speak for us.
“We therefore dissociate ourselves from the infamous so-called ‘Kaduna Declaration’ of the 6th of June 2017 that demanded the exit of our Igbo brothers and sisters from the northern part of Nigeria with a threat to their lives and properties.
“We commend recent moves by the Federal Government under the leadership of Acting President Yemi Osinbajo to nip this challenge in the bud and we call on all Nigerians and those living in Nigeria to support the Federal Government to not only restore peace but to move Nigeria to greater heights.”
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