The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) says there is an attempt to force restructuring on the North as a means of weakening the region on many fronts ahead of the 2023 general election.
The Director, Publicity and Advocacy of the forum, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed disclosed this in a Wednesday night statement.
The Northern elders said that those behind the plot were trying to force restructuring down the north’s throat under the guise of agitating for an end to bad governance in the country.
According to the NEF chieftain, the north is capable of identifying and protecting its own interests and will not be blackmailed into accepting restructuring despite the argument that it will improve the “quality of our union, ensure higher standards of justice, better security and progress for all Nigerians”.
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Baba-Ahmed’s statement read, “The Forum is aware of attempts to weaken the North by interests that believe that this is their only path to success in the 2023 elections.
“These interests should know that the North will neither be blackmailed nor intimidated, and we are quite capable of identifying and protecting our own interests.
“Some of these interests seek to exploit our plural nature and deepen what they see as divisions. They will fail, because northerners know that what unites us is a lot stronger than what divides us.
“Others create the impression that the North is opposed to the country being restructured along lines that will improve the quality of our union, ensure higher standards of justice, better security and progress for all Nigerians. These too will fail.
“The North is ready to discuss all elements of our co-existence, but will not be stampeded into submitting to other interests who feel uncomfortable with a strong and united North, or blackmailing us to adopt their versions of our future.”
NEF faulted penultimate Monday’s meeting between Northern governors, prominent traditional rulers and federal government appointees for being silent on insecurity in the region.
The Northern elders berated the meeting for its focus on social media regulation and condemnation of the #EndSARS protests.
“That meeting missed a historic opportunity to acknowledge that northern communities are in dire need of improved security, and to give firm and specific assurances that our leaders care about northern lives and will take steps to protect us.
“We took particular note of the pivotal roles of governors and traditional rulers at that meeting, leaders who are thoroughly familiar with daily assaults by insurgents, bandits and kidnappers on northerners.
“These are leaders who should have understood the high hopes which northerners attached to a meeting of that nature in Kaduna, and they should understand that the impression left by that meeting and the frenzy of activities in parts of the south involving some northern leaders to show sympathy for damage from hoodlums leaves only one conclusion in the mind of northerners: northern lives do not matter,” the group said.