Angered northern youths
have condemned promoters of a new agitation to revive Biafra and divide
Nigeria. Vanguard reports that the youths under the
aegis of Arewa Youth Forum (AYF) warned those people who stand behind the
criminal agitation to stop it and allow Nigeria to remain peaceful and united. According
to a statement signed by Alhaji Gambo Gujungu, the national president of AYF,
the group is highly disappointed by the heinous move by some selfish elements
to cause crisis in Nigeria.
“We are worried by the
situation in the South East of the country where some youths have taken to the
street protesting perceived marginalisation of their zone and demanding a state
of Biafra. “As the umbrella body of all northern youths we want to condemn the
development in its entirety, as we do know that it is being carried out in bad
faith.
“We want to reiterate that
we are apostles of one indivisible Nigeria and will continue to work across the
length and breadth of the country to engender peace, unity and progress for all
Nigerians irrespective of tribe, religion and region.
“It is because of this that we are calling on
all Nigerians to remain anywhere they are in the country. We specifically
callon our brothers and sisters from the South East to remain anywhere they are
in the north as they will be adequately protected and we will make sure that
nothing happens to them,” the statement read in part.
AYF called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to
act immediately and stop any move that will lead to the breakdown of order and
cause havoc in Nigeria. “This is because it is still
fresh in the mind of many Nigerians that it is the inability of the government
then to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency and nip it in the bud that has caused
the situation to deteriorate to this level,” the group said.
Earlier this week, the Arewa Youth Development Foundation wrote a letter to the Arewa
Consultative Forum and the Northern Elders Forum, asking them to act
quickly and take a position in reaction to alleged humiliation of northerners
in the east by the Igbo Biafra activists. The group stressed the need to convey
a meeting of all northern youth groups in Kano in a few days time.