North Has No Link With Terrorists – Arewa

Posted by admin Latest Politics Saturday, January 8th, 2011

Worried by alleged link to terrorist acts in some parts of the country in recent times, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has said that anybody who said the North was behind the spate of bomb explosions in the country was being irrational.

The ACF specifically pointed fingers at President Goodluck Jonathan and alleged that “Federal Government’s refusal to address the problem of economic, political and social injustices in Nigeria has heightened the level of insecurity in the nation.”

Speaking in an interview in Kaduna on Friday, the national publicity secretary of ACF, Mr. Anthony Sani, said that was the reason behind their insistence that President Jonathan must not contest the 2011 presidential election.

“Nobody should link the North to the problem of terrorism which has crept into the nation’s polity. The North cannot stoop so low to the level of inviting suicide bombers or engage in terrorism,” he said.

The ACF said Jonathan’s refusal to respect the zoning formula of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was an injustice to the North, noting that the region would continue to address the issue legally and democratically.

Arewa, therefore, supported the comments made by the former Vice President and a 2011 presidential aspirant, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on the need for government to pursue an agenda of social justice.

“North is struggling for its own right with courage and hope. We will use democratic process. No northerner will engage in suicide bombing, except anybody who doesn’t believe in democratic process.

“Anybody who will do that does not even believe in the concept of the North, he doesn’t believe in the concept of Nigeria. As a proper northerner, he will never go into such things.

“But, that does not suggest that the North cannot fight for its rights. This will be done legally, democratically and within the rule of law. The court has said that there is zoning and it must be respected,” he said.wp_posts