The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has called on the federal government to consider other strategies, including unconventional measures in addressing the security challenges in the north.
In a communique issued on Wednesday at the end of the meeting of its board of trustees (BoT) in Kaduna, the forum said, the current approaches to fighting insurgents and bandits are not yielding the desired results.
The meeting which was attended by many prominent northerners was presided over Bashir Dalhatu, chairman of the BoT.
The communique which was read by Tukur Mohammed-Baba, spokesperson of the forum, said, there appeared to be no end in sight to the security challenges as measures taken by the authorities have so far failed to yield the desired results.
“Members agreed that at the moment, there is nothing troubling Northern Nigeria more than the lack of security of lives and property”, the communique reads.
“The North is today ravaged by elevated forms of banditry, Boko Haram and other insurgencies. The menace of drug trafficking and abuse is steadily rising.
“Not surprisingly, food production is becoming increasingly difficult as farmlands are abandoned and the farmers are getting either killed or fleeing to the IDP camps.
“There does not appear to be an end on sight to these crisis as the mitigation measures taken by the authorities have so far failed to yield the desired results.
“Under the circumstances, the meeting resolved to make the following recommendations:
“Whatever it takes, the security crisis in Northern Nigeria must end; and end quickly. Our survival depends on it!
“The current approaches to fighting the insurgents and bandits are not yielding the desired results.
“Other measures, even unconventional ones, need to be considered and tried.”
The forum said “Nigeria is facing a moral crisis for failing to protect its citizens who cannot bear arms but are left at the mercy of well armed, cruel and blood thirsty renegades and barbarians that continue to have free access to deadly arms.
“This is a matter that requires very urgent thoughts and review.”
The communique advocated for community driven models of defence, such as the Civilian JTF, already in operation in several parts of the country, including in the Boko-Haram-ravaged Northeast of Nigeria.
It said similar or modified models of security management should be authorised in other parts of the country.
The communique also said the high cost of living, driven by severe food shortages and the rising prices of electricity and fuel energy, have compounded the challenges of insecurity and violent crimes.
It called on the government do all within its powers to mitigate the impact of these problems.
The forum identified corruption at all levels as the key driver of bad governance and the social and economic crisis plaguing the country and called on the authorities to “wage an all-out war against corruption without further delay.”
The communique said, “After reviewing current agitations and calls for a review of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution as well as the restructuring of the administrative structure of Nigeria, the meeting resolved to dispel any impression that the North was shy, afraid of or averse to any such proposals. It is false and misguided.
“The meeting further resolved to put all and sundry on notice that Northern Nigeria is willing to consider ALL proposals on constitutional review that may be put on the table; now or in the future.
“If and when the occasion arises, the North will surely use whatever is available to it in pursuit of its legitimate interests.”
