The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has sounded the alarm, warning that Northern Nigeria is being “pushed to the wall” by worsening insecurity, poverty, and environmental crises.
The caution came during the Forum’s 78th National Executive Committee meeting in Kaduna, where ACF Chairman, Mamman Osuman, declared that silence was no longer an option for the region.
“This is not a time for the North to fold its arms and watch while things continue to deteriorate. Our security situation is worsening, the resources of the region are being exploited, and environmental problems are mounting. We must rise and unite to defend the region,” Osuman cautioned.
He lamented the daily toll of killings in the North, stressing that families across the region were being devastated.
“We have lost children, young men and women, and the elderly to floods, disasters, criminals, and terrorists. The state of affairs is deeply troubling. That is why I call for sober reflection and prayers,” he said.
Speaking to the BBC after the meeting, ACF Adviser Bashir Hayatu Gentile explained that the Forum had carefully reviewed the mounting challenges and resolved that urgent intervention was necessary.
“These are real problems facing the North, and we must compel the government to act. Nothing is more disturbing today than insecurity – kidnappings and killings everywhere. That is why the ACF resolved that the North must unite and pressure the government to intensify efforts to address these pressing challenges,” Gentile stated.
Gentile further revealed that Osuman, in his address at the Kaduna meeting, warned the Federal Government that the patience of the North was “wearing thin.”
“The ACF Chairman called on the government to change its strategies to stop this devastation. He said Northern patience is running out and that government must act decisively,” Gentile noted.
The Forum also expressed deep concern over Amnesty International’s recent report which revealed that 10,217 people had been killed in Northern Nigeria within just two years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Gentile added that beyond the mass killings, abductions and violent raids had become routine across the North. He cited the recent attack in Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State, where armed men stormed a mosque during dawn prayers, killing and burning worshippers.
“The report said 27 people were killed, but from what we gathered, the figures were even higher,” he stressed.
Condemning the government’s silence on Amnesty’s findings, the Forum argued that the refusal to deny the figures confirmed the severity of the crisis.
“Since Amnesty released the report, no government official has denied it. This is why the ACF insists that Nigeria’s security framework must be overhauled,” Gentile concluded.
