Revealed: Why Arewa Youths won’t withdraw Igbo quit notice

FRESH facts have emerged on why the Coalition of Arewa Youth Council (AYC) may not reverse its October 1, 2017 quit notice deadline to Igbo residents in the North, just as it urged the Federal Government to punish promoters of hate speeches.

This is coming as the National Peace Committee (NPC) under the leadership of a former Head of State, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar may meet with the group any moment from now in a fresh bid to prevail on the group to reverse its decision.

This indication came amid claims by the Arewa Youths that it had five major reasons the coalition remained adamant on the ultimatum, despite pressure from some northern leaders, including the Northern Governors Forum (NGF).

So far, the chairman of the Forum, who doubles as the Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, has met three times with the leaders of the Arewa youths, in an attempt to convince them to review their stand.

According to a source privy to the two meetings between the Borno State governor and the leaders of the Arewa Youths, the coalition has consistently defended its position based on what it considered as the insistence of the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, on his crusade for a State of Biafra.

The source which craved  anonymity, claimed that the youths rejected the offer made by the 19 governors because they were still not convinced that the IPOB leader meant well for the country.

Consequently, the Arewa youths are expected to meet with the NPC any moment from now in the further moves by stakeholders to end the stalemate.

According to a statement issued to the media by the spokesman of the Borno State governor,  Mallam Isa Gusau, the governor has met with the Arewa youths two times and the third meeting took place  in Abuja last week, during which some far-reaching decisions were reached.

According to the statement, the Abuja meeting involved some leaders from the Northern Elders  Forum (NEF) like Professor Ango Abdullahi, Alhaji Sani Zango Daura, Air Marshall Al-Amin Daggash, AVM Mukhtar Mohammed,  among others.

The coalition in a statement by its spokesman, Abdul-azeez Suleiman in Kaduna on Saturday stated: “We that we find the all-encompassing address by the Acting President to the National Executive Council highly commendable and statesmanlike and hereby concur with and support the position of the NCS in its totality.

“Importantly too, we support the strong statement of the acting president that the silence of some community leaders in the face of incitive provocations by their kith is responsible for the escalation of the current threats to national security and integration.”

The statement further read: “It should be recalled that in subsequent correspondences particularly with the acting president and the International community since the “Kaduna Declaration,” our Coalition has maintained that, the conspiratorial silence of all the Igbo, especially all their political, cultural and religious leaders was responsible for emboldening the unpatriotic and violence-prone actions of the Indigenous Peoples Of Biafra (IPOB) and its leader Nnamdi Kanu.

“It is indeed the concern of the inherent consequences of that implied endorsement of IPOB’s incessant threats of war and genocide by the Igbo leaders and elders that partly informed our pre-emptive decision to include the relocation of the Igbo clause in the “Kaduna Declaration.”

“We are happy therefore, that the Nigerian authorities have finally come to the same conclusion and call on all well-meaning and patriotic Nigerians to support and encourage the government in its renewed resolve to deal with warmongering, hate speeches and incitement to violence in all their manifestations everywhere in the country.”

In another development, the national chairman of the North-East Unity Forum, (NEUF)  Comrade Alkasim Nuhu Abdulkadir has accused the Federal Government, state governors, religious and traditional leaders across the country of being silent on the ‘persistent name calling and harassment’ of Northerners allegedly by the Biafra agitators, calling on them to as a matter of urgency intervene before the situation gets out of hand.

Making the call in Bauchi at the weekend, the NEUF further alleged that the unwarranted provocations led to some concerned youths with the zeal for the protection of  Northern interest and its integrity, to form a coalition of Northern groups in June this year.

According to him, “Biafra agitators should also be called to order by the authorities as they did to Arewa youths in Kaduna for the interest of peace and unity of the nation.,

‘‘For quite some time, the abusive and provocative nature of the agitation has been tolerated even though they directly affect the sensitivities of the people of other regions particularly the North which was specifically targeted for harassment and ridicule. Thus an unruly crowd in the Southeastern part of this country led, by Nnamdi Kanu had, for quite long, disturbed the peace of the nation with greater emphasis on northerners whom they call baboons in zoo and other derogatory names,’’ the NEUF said.