ADELEKE ADESANYA
AREWA Youth Consultative Forum, on Wednesday, vowed to rescue the North from leaders it claimed had kept the region in political bondage for long.
The forum described the quality of leadership that the region had seen as “disappointing and embarrassing”, when viewed against the political expertise and integrity the North was known for.
In a statement signed by the National President, AYCF, Shettima Yerima, the Northern youths also expressed displeasure at the level of insecurity in the North under the current administration.
Yerima said, “We find the rising tide of kidnapping and banditry in Northern States unacceptable and a smear on all efforts to build a greater North of the future. It will be extremely hard to convince anybody that majority of our governors are really in charge or have anything tangible to offer, five years down the road.
“There are of course a few good ones, but we should have gone beyond this position by now. This might even be the reason why majority of these governors are ignoring the substance and chasing the shadows – control of social media. Who says social media is the problem of the mass majority of our people?
“We have for too long allowed old political cargoes to decide or determine who should go for which elective office in the North. The few among them who know what is right get blocked by other governors from guiding the region right.
“The result of this going-with-the-flow kind of disposition of the youth is the emergence of many incompetent old cargoes as governors and few good ones, leading to general backwardness of our region.”
The statement said the youths had therefore agreed that the present level of insecurity in the North was a proof that many wrong leaders were voted into power in 2019, adding that their priority was a far cry from the needs and aspirations of the Northern people.
It added, “Our plans are therefore in top gear for mobilising the youths of our region to immediately take over the democratic space from the majority of old brigade and their cronies who have blocked their colleagues who meant well for the region and brought us into the mess we’re in today.
“The spate of killings and kidnappings can be tackled by voting out the current crop of old, weak, pacified and out-of-touch-with-reality political spent forces as governors.
“We are conscious of our responsibility as youths from the North, to redefine our political and economic focus, to end this bloodshed in the North by bandits and kidnappings in broad daylight. This is not the kind of North we deserve and we are very sure it all boils down to incompetent leadership of old and weak politicians – driven by the hunger for absolute power, in the name of democracy.”
The AYCF called on all lovers of greater future for the North to join hands with it in the renewed effort to give the North a more deserved sense of direction, saying the year 2023 should mark the take-off point of this renewed struggle to dominate the democratic space.
“We shall also consult widely with our counterparts from the Southern parts of the country and seek their blessing for this struggle of emancipation – towards a better North with youth at the helm of political affairs, ahead of 2023 general elections. We hope youths of the Southern parts of the country will also solodarise with us,” the Forum said.
