The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has identified the current youth restiveness as a threat to the wellbeing of Nigeria.
ACF Chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh, said yesterday in his address during the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the forum in Kaduna that the demands of Nigerian youths can no longer be ignored, as doing so would be at the nation’s peril.
He said: “We must bring along the youth and reconnect with them, support them and even learn from them. We can no longer ignore them and their demands, as we only do so at our own peril.
“The current restiveness of the youth, particularly, in the North, is a potent threat to the wellbeing of the region and the nation at large.
“It is my hope that now, more than ever before, is the time for all stakeholders to buckle up and save our children and secure their future.”
According to him, the North has many challenges, including security, economic and political issues to deal with.
He stressed the need for the region to re-strategise and refocus its energies towards addressing the challenges through investment in education, agriculture and industry.
According to him, “We have serious challenges to deal with. These are very well known to all of us. They are social, economic and political in nature. We can and must confront them headlong through investment in education, agriculture and industry.
“ACF has come a long way in its mission to safeguard the interest of the North.
“This could be done through the existence of strong state chapters who should be catalyst for purposeful engagement.”
He urged the leaders to take every step to ensure the existence and strengthening of ACF chapters in their respective states, explaining that was the way that the organisation’s membership could be expanded and more effective.
“We must be conscious of our unity both in the North and Nigeria at large. I wish to prevail on you to continue to exercise caution and passion to strengthen the unity of the nation within our strength,” he stated.
The meeting later moved into a closed-door session and a communiqué is expected to be issued at the end of the deliberations.
____
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2020 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.
