BY ABDALLAH EL-KUREBE, with Agency report
Sokoto—The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has urged other geo-polical zones in the country to bear with the North, arguing that the area was passing through a new phase following the activities of the Boko Haram sect.

The  Boko Haram fundamentalists had claimed responsibilities for several bomb blasts leading to hundreds of deaths and destruction of property worth several billions of naira in some parts of the North.

Chairman, Contact and Planning Committee of ACF, and former Minister of Mines and Steel Development under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, Alhaji Ahmed Gusau, said this even as he insisted that the North must fully participate in the ongoing transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The ex-minister, who  spoke with newsmen in Sokoto, yesterday, said: “This should be seen as a passing moment for the North, and ACF wants to contribute its own quota to a peaceful and united Nigeria.

”Nigeria is ours and it is our duty to keep it one, united, prosperous and developed.”

Alhaji Gusau, who was also a former deputy    governor of Sokoto State, however, said  ACF would convene a two-day peace and unity conference in Kaduna in the first week of December, adding, “The region must also be seen as an active participant in the agenda and the crucial Vision 20:2020 of the Federal Government.

“The President requires the support of all and sundry to ensure the success of the agenda as his programmes and policies.”

He, however, asked other regions of the country to understand and appreciate the present predicament of the North.

According to him: “The task of developing the nation is the responsibility of all the citizens and not anybody who does not have a stake in the socio- economic development of the country.

’’The North is a critical factor in ensuring the sustained peace and unity of Nigeria and the region is now at war with itself.”

’’The key stakeholders, including women and youths, will have heart- to- heart discussions with a view to redressing the ugly trend’’ between December 5 and  6.

Gusau said other problems to be discussed include the `almajiri syndrome’ and the dwindling fortunes of agriculture.

According to him, the region’s industries have also collapsed while northerners are fighting themselves.

’’In this 21st century, the north is getting out of passion. The `almajiri syndrome’ is a big problem although the Federal Government is trying its best (to tackle it).”