Chairman of Northern Elders Council (NEC) and Political Adviser to ex-President Shehu Shagari in the Second Republic, TANKO YAKASSAI, talks to Special Correspondent, JUDE IDU, on the workings of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), arguing that the original ideology of the organisation has been derailed.
Ideology of ACF misrepresented
Yes, I can say it again because I am among three surviving members of the founding fathers. We founded this body and some are now beginning to see it as another agenda altogether, by dragging us into partisan politics. I must tell you that at that time, we met and agreed that the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) should not be a political party and will not decide the fate of any intending office-holder, neither of any party he intends to belong in pursuit of anything.
Northerners’ criticism of Jonathan over Boko Haram
The issue of Boko Haram should not be termed the president’s problem; it should be seen as a general problem for every Nigerian and not a personal problem, where others are exonerating themselves on the issues on the ground. Mr. President and his men have done well in fighting the insurgency. Human and material resources have been committed in doing the fight. You can also understand that foreign allies were also invited by the presidency to join the fight against the insurgents.
President Jonathan fraternising with Ali Modu Sheriff
Some of us in the North are looking for whom to blame over what is happening, instead of finding a lasting solution to it. One pertinent question is that the so-called Ibrahim Coomasie-led ACF has not told Nigerians of any efforts put in place to fight the monster.
I must tell you that those accusing Mr. President have nothing to prove because the insurgency in Nigeria did not start today. It did not start with Jonathan, and for the fact that it has come, we need to tackle it as a national problem. What I am saying in effect is that Jonathan did not design Boko Haram and he has every right to choose who his friend is or would be.
The issue here remains that no one has come out with convincing evidence that Boko Haram began in his (Sheriff) house. If any, we are yet to know.
Ravaging poverty in the North
Nigeria is a developing nation. Everybody knows it. So, poverty is part of underdevelopment. Hunger is also part of underdevelopment. Nigeria is not an exception. Incidentally, this was part of the original ideology of the ACF founding fathers, one of which I am. We talked of improving education for our generation. We talked about improving agriculture and business. If all these were on the ground, then security would be guaranteed. But since all these ideologies on the ground have been misrepresented by visionless people who have rather politicised the system, the cry of poverty and hunger caused by lack of human capital development, abound, and this has given birth to Boko Haram.
So we should go back to the agenda we set for the North. It is not political agenda on who joins which party under whose endorsement and who becomes the godfather and from which ethnic group. In those days, we were of the belief that education would give us all that we need to develop our minds and to grow, but we failed in our quest for leadership.
So I think it’s very unfair to ascribe the emergence of insurgency to the president and whoever he relates with.
ACF opinion not representing common view of the North
From what I have told you, the real idea has been defeated, and you can see it. What we see now is charade instead of laying foundation for the future. What I am trying to air here is that individuals, especially those who were not born when we nurtured the idea now ride on the wings of the beautiful name to idolise themselves and gain cheap political ground. That is why the whole ideology presently is all about who belongs to which political party, who rules Nigeria from which part of the country. Power-sharing was not part of the original setting, and that is the fact. If you doubt what I am saying, you can have access to the living members of the real ACF. These are: former President Shehu Shagari, Maitama Sule and I. These are those with the right information pertaining to ACF.
Supporting Jonathan for second term
Goodluck Jonathan is ably qualified to contest for re-election. Let’s wait and see what happens in 2015, so that we know who wins. But what I can also say is that the president has done well to deserve it. Only a sick man can say that he has not done well. We can only be truthful to ourselves.