The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo yesterday dissociated themselves from the protest being planned by some shadowy groups.
Also yesterday Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani cautioned North’s youths to shun call for protest.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), however, urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to address grievances being expressed by those planning the protest.
ACF National Chairman Mamman Mike Osuman said the indices that track human progress, including poverty, illiteracy, health, and security of life and property, tend to place the North at the back.
He dissociated the group from the proposed protest, saying that it is ill-timed and counter-productive.
Osuman said: “We at ACF remain committed to articulating and defending the interests of the peoples of the North through our various activities. One such was the recently constituted Technical Committee that reviewed the 1999 Constitution (as amended) by the ACF.
“The report of the Technical Committee formed the basis of ACF’s submission to the joint committees of the National Assembly on Constitution review. Our input will be formally made available to the Northern Governors’ Forum.”
The ACF chair spoke during a meeting with the Kaduna State governor.
Sani urged Northerners to shun what he described as toxic politics and join hands to pull the region back from the brink.
The governor advised them to reflect on insecurity, which has retarded regional development, instead of embarking on protest.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, pan-Igbo socio-cultural group, maintained that the people of Southeast will not participate in the protest.
Ohanaeze: Igbo won’t join protest
Ohanaeze said in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Alex Ogbonnia, that Nigerians should understand that the current economic situation will not last forever.
According to the group, “tough times never last, but tough people do.”
The statement reads: “Ohanaeze Ndigbo seizes this opportunity to reiterate our position with respect to the widely publicised nationwide protest scheduled for the days of August, 2024.
“On February, 20, 2024, the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, directed the Igbo not to join in the protest against President Bola Tinubu.
“The Igbo leader explained that “Igbo youths and youths from other ethnic groups at various times expressed their dissatisfaction with events in the country.
“It is clear to us that when youths from other tribes of the country are involved, they are reprimanded and forgiven; but when the Igbo youths are involved, they are arrested, incarcerated and even charged for serious offences. For example, the arrest and detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu generated a lot of problems for the Igbos among others.
“Emphatically, the current hardship in Nigeria is the comeuppance of Igbophobia. It is an unavoidable outcome of an orchestrated injustice, marginalization, callous conspiracies, corporate shenanigans and ethnic bigotry against the Igbo.
“Ohanaeze Ndigbo believes that there can never be peace, progress and national development when there is a deliberate government policy of injustice, tantrums and brimstones against a vibrant, capacious, resourceful, resilient and populous ethnic group such as the Igbo.
The group reacted to a remark by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, that “the malcontents planning to stage nationwide protests are supporters of Peter Obi and that Obi “should be held responsible for whatever crisis that emanates from the protest.”
Ohanaeze also objected to Onanuga’s remark that Obidients are “plotting to unseat President Bola Tinubu under the guise of protests,” thereby convening the impression that “the Igbo are the propellers of the forthcoming nationwide protest”.
Ohanaeze said: “Ohanaeze Ndigbo views Onanuga’s dispositions towards anything Igbo as unthoughtful, loathsome, cantankerous, uncouth, repugnant, inflammable, repugnant and full of deep-seated hate.”
Tinubu not against North, says Sani
Sani dismissed the insinuation that President Tinubu is against the North, saying that it is false and absurd.
He explained that President Tinubu is doing his best to salvage the economic situation, adding that he has been giving uncommon support to state governments in the North to address many challenges.
He attributed the rumour that Tinubu is against the North to the antics of some political manipulators, who are only interested in feathering their nests.
Sani explained that in 2022, the Federal Government, through the National Bureau of Statistics, launched its most extensive measure of multi-dimensional poverty, which revealed that most poor people are in the North.
He said: “The survey revealed that 63% of persons living in Nigeria (that is about 133 million people) are multidimensionally poor. 65% of the poor (that is 86 million people) live in the North, while 35% (nearly 47 million) live in the South.
“The North is not faring any better in the area of Education. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) puts the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria at 18.3 million. Out of this outrageous number of out-of-school children, about 70% are in the North.
“This is quite disturbing and must worry all of us who still care for the North and Nigeria in general. Insecurity in the North has retarded developments in the critical sectors as a lot of farmers cannot access their farms.
“Food insecurity now confronts us directly. Child and maternal mortality are on the increase. Our infrastructure has decayed and the moves to address our infrastructural deficits are equally threatened by insecurity.
“From this very disturbing picture, it is clear that the Northern Nigeria faces an existential threat. This is therefore, a time for all hands to be on deck to pull the region back from the brink. It is a time when our people must close ranks, fashion a Marshall Plan for the North and move decisively to change these negatives.”
Sani lamented that despite the indices, what is prevalent in the North is the promotion of toxic politics, opposition for opposition’s sake, and “pull him down syndrome.”
He observed that some Northerners indulge in endless blame games, devoid of attempts at soul searching or introspection.
Sani said: “We have failed to ask ourselves some vital questions. Where did the rain start beating the North? Who are those complicit in the underdevelopment of the North? What have we done individually and collectively to find solutions to the challenges facing the North?
“We must take a hard look at ourselves, tell ourselves some home truths, and move together to fashion a common strategy to address our developmental challenges and confront the criminals making life unbearable for our people.”
Sani said ACF has a major role to play in building the required consensus for the best approach to tackle the multifaceted challenges facing Northern Nigeria.
He said ACF should make efforts to refocus the attention of Northerners from toxic politics to development.
Police Commissioner to Abuja residents: Shun protest
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igweh, urged residents of Abuja to ignore the protest.
He said the protest may be hijacked by criminals bent on destroying the
new infrastructure recently put in place by the FCT administration and President Bola Tinubu.
The commissioner spoke on the protest while parading suspects who allegedly killed retired Brigadier General Uwen Harold Udokwerre in Abuja on June 22, 2024.
He said: “Lions do not destroy their den. We have toiled so much to ensure and provide security for the FCT. In the cause of this, we have gone to Kaduna, we have gone to Kogi, we have gone to Nasarawa to fish our criminals who came to disturb the peace of Abuja.
“In this process, we have lost officers. Last week we lost two officers, the previous week, we lost one officer over efforts at providing security and safeguarding residents. We don’t want to lose any more person.
“So please, don’t allow the destruction of what the minister and Mr President are doing. We have been in this FCT, we know when there are changes, roads, infrastructure. I am pleading with residents, do not join this protest.
“We don’t want miscreants to come from outside the FCT to come and start destroying them. We will go back to square one where we were before. I plead, I beg of you, do not join this protest.
Let us continue collectively to make FCT safe. Let them go and do what they want to do. But not with us. Act maturely. Act maturely. Act like people who appreciate. Even the loss we have been losing to ensure your safety. Use it to appreciate us. If you give it to us, we will be very happy. We will continue to provide security for you.”
NLC, NANS CAN not part of protest
Jigawa State branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and NLC also disassociated themselves from the protest.
They said they would not join the protest during their meeting with Governor Umar Namadi in Dutse
The governor said protest will not resolve the economic crisis, urging the youths to be patient with the government.
CAN leader Rev. Father Maurice Hassan said: “CAN in Jigawa State is not and will not be part of the protest. We want peace. I am appealing to the government to find a solution. People are in serious situation”.
NLC Chairman Sunusi Alhassan said: “We are not and will not be part of this protest because our national secretariat is not party to it.
Also, the President of Jigawa State NANS Comrade Abdullahi Garba said student would not allow any selfish individual or group to use them to distablise the peace of the nation.
Justice Forum urges calm
A group in the the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Justice Forum, urged t to alcalm down, embrace dialogue and shun violence.
It’s leader in Ikeja Division, James Faleke, said in a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Razaq Ajala, that the youths should shun disgruntled elements who want to use them to achieve a self-serving agenda.
Faleke recalled the ENDSARS protest in Lagos that was hijacked by disgruntled elements, lamenting that it led to loss of innocent lives and destruction of property.
He said: “We all witnessed how innocent lives and properties worth billions of Naira were lost during the so-called ENDSARS protest a few years ago in Lagos when a genuine agitation turned into violence.
“There is need for us to thread softly with the development in Kenya and other similar incidents across the world where genuine agitations have been hijacked by agents of devil and have resulted into loss of innocent lives and several properties destroyed.”
Faleke, who chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, said the policies Tinubu il administration have started yielding dividends.
He added: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has just approved a new minimum wage for the civil servant which is more than 100%.
“He has equally removed the duties payable on essential food items, payment of student loans among other efforts by the government to put the Economy back on track,” he said.
“We appeal to Nigerians to continue to support Mr. President in his resolved to institute a sustainable economy model that will benefit all.”
Faleke urged National Assembly members, state lawmakers, ministers, commissioners, council chairmen and other party leaders to educate and sensitize the populace on the needs to understand President Tinubu’s policies and be patient with the government.
