Nigeria does not belong to North, Arewa youths tell Northern elders

The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has said that Nigeria does not belong to the North ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Apparently reacting to the recent interview granted by a member of the Northern Elders Forum, Alh Sani Zango Daura in which he called on the North to support a Northern candidate.

The AYCF, in a statement issued by its National President, Yerima Shettima noted that supporting a southern was clearly a demonstration of justice.

He noted that this was because Nigeria does not belong to the North alone, or Muslims and Christians of the North, insisting that “even on moral grounds, the most responsible political action by the North was the decision on powershift in 2023, because the Presidency cannot be hereditary and Nigeria is not a Banana Republic”.

Shettima further said, however, that the elder was expressing his personal opinion and not the stand of the North in general, saying that a ” little balancing was needed in position of our father Zangon Daura, more so when he admitted that the elders are mere escorts for the younger generation today”.

The AYCF noted that when 13 Northern governors led by Kaduna State Governor, Mal Nasir El-rufai endorsed a Southern candidate for the 2023 presidency, they repeatedly cited political justice.

“Though we are not card-carrying members of the APC, we shared the view that the decision was in line with being fair to the South in 2023.

“We are aware, as well as our father Zangon Daura, that the North is respected for honoring its promises to the South and this one absolutely undeniable character of all Northerners.

“We are not known to break promises and that explains why our son, President Muhammadu Buhari never objected to the idea of a Southern presidential candidate in the ruling party. In the North, like our father Zangon Daura knows, promises are sacred and in fact a culture”

It would be recalled that in a viral audio of Alhaji Zangon Daura while addressing a group of youths, suggested that they should throw their weight behind a fellow Northerner for the presidency in 2023, citing historic and religious instances, something the AYCF said it believed was ” overtaken by events, current realities, and the spirit of justice and fairness in the Nigerian project”.

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