Reforms being agitated by #EndSARS protesters long overdue ―ACF

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has said the reforms being agitated by #EndSARS protesters is long overdue, adding that expression of rights were part of democracy.  

The ACF in a communique at the end of its National Executive Council Meeting in Kaduna on Wednesday, noted that policing, criminal system and management of law and order had fallen in the country in recent years. 

The organisation noted that the reforms being agitated by the #EndSARS protesters were long overdue in the country.

 “To that extent,” the ACF said, “the street protests by our sons and daughters demanding for the reforms, cannot be wrong.”

The ACF further noted that the refusal of the protesters to call off their protest was an indication that “the protesters do not trust that the government will implement the promise made or that the protests aim to achieve objectives different from what they have so far declared.” 

Against this backdrop, the ACF appealed to the Federal Government not to allow the opportunity presented by the #EndSARS protesters to slip off “but to then carry out sincere reforms.”

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The ACF in the communiqué read out to newsmen by its National Publicity Secretary, Emmanuel Yawe, added: “The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) affirms that our democracy comes with a number of human and peoples’ rights which cannot be abridged or abolished by governments. 

“Among these are rights to hold and express views, to assembly and even to protest against perceived injustices provided they are done peacefully and do not injure the interests of other people. 

“Thankfully, the EndSARS protests that have raged across the country for over 10 days have been largely peaceful until now. 

“These protests that have persisted, have continued to evolve and have become increasingly violent. Innocent citizens caught in the crossfire have lost their lives. 

“State governors and other political office holders have been attacked. Public highways and commercial facilities are being blocked, precipitating a dangerous lockdown of the country. 

“This is happening not because the government did not respond to their many demands. 

“On the contrary, the Federal Government has quickly and publicly agreed with the complaints of the protesters and has committed itself to carry out far-reaching reforms to address them. 

“The ACF is the first to concede that the standard and quality of governance especially with respect to policing, criminal justice system, management of law and order have fallen and continues to fall in this country in recent years.” 

The northern body added, “Substantial part of the north is either under-governed or totally ungoverned giving rise to collapse in the economy and social settings of our rural community. Reforms of these and other critical areas are long overdue. 

“To that extent, the street protests by our sons and daughters demanding for the reforms, cannot be wrong. However, if all they sought to achieve was to draw the attention of the government to these issues, they have already done so successfully and most eminently.

“Therefore their refusal to call off the protests even after the government has openly and repeatedly committed itself to implement the needed reforms would seem to suggest that the protesters do not trust that the government will implement the promise made or that the protests aim to achieve objectives different from what they have so far declared.

“Having said that, the Arewa Consultative Forum appeals to the Federal Government with the strongest possible voice, not to let the opportunity presented by these events but to use them to carry out sincere and far-reaching reforms especially in the areas our sons and daughters have identified.”

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE