By ALBERT AKPOR, Lagos
A pan Northern group, Arewa Youth Forum AYF has said that it was no longer comfortable with governor Babangida Aliyu’s continued chairmanship of the Northern Governors’ forum for its visible failure to proffer solution to stem the tide of insecurity in the northern region.

The group frowned at a recent remark credited to the Niger state governor which quoted him  as saying that he has successfully rid his state of terror groups while failing to sell such idea to governors of other states.

Rising from an emergency meeting, the group condemned in strong term,  the ceaseless and unwarranted destruction of lives and property in the affected states, the almost prostrate economic situation  in these states which they said was due to the inability of the governors’ forum under the chairmanship of governor Aliyu.

They therefore,  want the governor to resign his chairmanship of the forum without further delay stressing that he has clearly shown that he was not fit to lead the governors in achieving its set goals.  National chairman of the group, Alhaji Gambo Ibrahim Gujungu while addressing newsmen said the governors’ forum was a veritable medium to discussing issues affecting Nigeria and of course,  the northern region of the country in particular and  thereafter, make appropriate recommendations to the  federal government.  He therefore  wondered why insecurity in the north has persisted rather than abate.

As part of efforts of the group to bring lasting peace in the northern states of the federation, Alhaji Gunjugu said the AYF has concluded plans to mobilize youths in the north to pray for the peace and progress of the region while appealing to all the aggrieved groups in the region to embrace dialogue as a way out.

He noted that since the crisis began and had continued unabated, hundreds had lost their lives while property which monetary value could not be ascertained have been destroyed leaving the North to be so unattractive for local and foreign investment.

He described as sad that even businessmen of Northern extraction preferred to invest and establish businesses elsewhere instead of the North, pointing out that in a situation where the governors under the leadership of Babangida Aliyu continued to watch helplessly  while lives and property were being destroyed the best thing to do is for him to give way  to a proactive person who could pave the way for a genuine dialogue so that peace could reign in the region.

According to him, “Maiduguri is now a no go area, nothing is going on there and nobody wants to go there because of the atmosphere of uncertainty. Kano is in the headlines on daily basis and can be described as theatre of guerilla warfare. In Yobe even animals are not spared as over a hundred were recently ambushed and massacred. Kaduna is not free despite been fortified by all kinds of security.  In the Southern part of Kaduna, innocent persons have been killed by unknown gunmen. Plateau is now a case study form students of sectarian violence.

And yet Governor Babangida Aliyu is there taking pride in what he could not accomplish while things are going on smoothly in other parts of the country? It’s high time he allows others with foresight to be at the helms of affair in the Northern Governors’ Forum because Northerners and other Nigerians are tired of empty rhetoric laced with deceit and hail truths,” he said.

Aside insecurity, the AYF is not happy with the nonchalance leaders of the norther has treated one of the legacies of late Sardauna Ahmadu Bello, the New Nigerian Newspapers which has almost gone moribund.  The group argued that workers of the newspaper house are human beings with families and therefore, should be treated as such by paying them their dues.