By Emeka Mamah

KADUNA—AREWA Consultative Forum, ACF, yesterday, condemned President Goodluck Jonathan’s formal declaration that he would contest 2011 presidential election even as a coalition of six youth groups from the North warned that it was set to use the last drop of their blood to stop the President.

The forum said in a statement in Kaduna that it was morally wrong for Jonathan to contest, stressing that there were many odds against him.

ACF National Publicity Secretary, Anthony Sani, who signed the statement, said: “We agree with former Governor Balarabe Musa that President Jonathan’s decision to run for president in 2011 has disappointed many of us who stood by him during the ailment of President Yar’Adua to become Acting President, including hankering for him to become president way back before his principal passed on.

“Nobody expected Jonathan to contest in view of the constitutional provisions of his own party on rotation and zoning as well as the gentleman agreement by a party that sired him, especially when regard is paid to the fact that these breaches border on national values of honour, trust, social justice, equity, fairness, common decency and sense of commitment.

Government affair

“In the circumstance, can the nation trust any covenant President Jonathan enters into with Nigerians? Worse still, the whole declaration was a government affair, not by an aspirant for party primaries.
“It was morally wrong to bulldoze state and local governments to use government resources to mobilize people for the declaration and force all state governors to speak at the occasion.

“This is simply not fair. It may well be that Mr. President does not know that great men are defined by great challenges because they often pursue causes higher than themselves as worthy impulse.

“That may explain why he does not want to be a great leader, considering the fact that he relishes in presiding over a divided people instead of over a united nation devoid of rancour and acrimony; hence, his insistence to contest in the face of overwhelming odds. And this is simply because he believes in limitless fungibility of power.

“He forgets that leaders with such notion are those who are unable to make the distinction between power and claims often made on its behalf. Despite all this, Nigerians are the ones with the final judgment.”
The youth groups in a communiqué after their meeting in Kaduna said: “We have resolved to defend and protect the interest of the region, with all we have and we shall do this with the last drop of our blood,” explaining that the PDP must abide by its zoning and power rotation formula.

Member_groups of the coalition are Arewa Defence League, Arewa Discussion Circle, Arewa Voiceless Voice, Arewa Grand Alliance, Patriotic Youth Movement and Arewa Progressive Union.

Leader of the coalition, Murtala Abubakar, read the communiqué and also alleged that Jonathan has an ambition to perpetuate himself in power.

“We are beginning to see a systematic attempt to render the North economically and politically redundant from the recent action he took by cancelling the Abuja_Kano railway contract signed by the President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

“We have seen all these as well as the desperate move of sending the EFCC after some of our governors who identify with their people. We are aware that as we progress, Jonathan is going to take other measures and there is no amount of threat or intimidations that will make us succumb to slavery in this country.
“We are ready to protect our interest, no matter the cost; we are determined not to give up our rights,” Abubakar said.