The National President of the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum (AYCF), Yerima Shettima, on Sunday, stated that the problem in the northern region of the country was caused by the myopic nature of the leaders of the region.
Shettima, who spoke against the backdrop of the recent #EndBadGovernance protest and its impact on the region, accused northern leaders and representatives of failing to develop the region by embezzling money meant for the region’s development.
He said with the way things are going, some of the leaders may have to run away because the people have now realized that they have power and sovreinty belongs to them.
The ACYF president added that the leaders of the region must realize it is no longer business as usual, and they have to come back and speak to the people because actual power belongs to the people.
“I have always said it that if our political leaders had done well, we wouldn’t have found ourselves in this situation. It is artificial poverty created by some myopic leaders in the northern part of the country.
“We have more governors and senators than any other part of the country. What laws are they making for the North and the best interest of the country? Why would you take the money you did not need? Why would you take money that was meant for development? How can an individual embezzle billions? This cannot continue.
“With the tension, people now realise they have the power to challenge the system…
“What that means is that people at the helm of affairs must realise it is no longer business as usual.
“They need to realise that they have to come back and speak to our people and assure them of good governance. It can no longer be business as usual.
“With what is happening, some of them would run away. May God not allow us to get to that point. People have realised they have power and that sovereignty belongs to them.”
Shettima urged political leaders to understand that they are the servants of the people and the protests have shown that they can’t keep doing things the way they have been doing them.
“Being a governor does not make you king over the people. You are their servant.
“If you are elected into any executive position, what it means is that the people surrendered their sovereignty to you to exercise on their behalf. That is what the people demonstrated with the protests. Where are the so-called leaders today?
“The protests have shown them that they can’t keep doing the same thing always. They must ensure there is free education for all so that our youths do not become time-bomb in society.
“When you don’t provide education for the children of the poor, your children who you sent abroad won’t have peace when they return. You must provide for those who are not your children so that your children would have peace when they return,” he said.
On what the government needs to do to solve the situation, the ACYF president advised the deployment of both short-term and long-term solutions.
He recommended the declaration of a state of emergency on insecurity, giving the people access to education, and providing modern technology for farming that will improve production so that people can fend for themselves.
He said, “Government should quickly declare state of emergency on insecurity so that people can go back to the farms in the northern part of the country.
“If it can declare a state of emergency in the flashpoints, these bandits would be wiped out. When that is done, you have given people hope that they can fend for themselves. Education should be a priority for our governors and senators.
“Everyone should have access to education. They should introduce programmes that would empower people and bring governance close to the people so that people can be productive at the end of the day. If this trend continues, nobody will sleep again including those in the South.”
