Dear Northern Elders Forum,
I write this special appeal with heaviness in heart. I am truly traumatised because of the happening in our beloved Northern Nigeria.
The essence of this appeal really is to crave your indulgence and that of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) to convene an urgent conference of all Northerners including the Middlebelt Forum.
The Northern conference is necessary in view of the many problems bedevilling the region.
At the last count, these are some of the problems militating against peace and development in Northern Nigeria:
1. Boko Haram Islamic terrorism.
2. Religious fundamentalism being led by the self styled Council of Ulamas
3. Poliomyelitis.
4. The Almajiri system.
5. The Fulani herdsmen and farmers perennial endemic clash.
6. Poor educational system
7. Clashes between and amongst the various tribes that constitute the former Northern Nigeria.
8. Desertification among other problems.
Not a single day will pass today without the sad news of clashes between one tribe and the other in the North. It is either Hausa verses Fulani in Zamfara State or Idoma verses Fulani in Agatu Benue State. Or even Fulani verses Yoruba in Kwara State or Bajju verses Hausa in Kafanchan Kaduna State.
In my little wisdom, time has come for all the over 250 tribes in Northern Nigeria to converge either in Kaduna or Abuja and discuss how to move Northern Nigeria forward. Let us have a summit of Northerners. Let us discuss how to solve the Boko Haram riddle. There is no gaining stating the obvious that the North is worst off with carnage taking place in the North daily. Let us discuss how to halt desertification. Let us discuss how to bring back the ground nuts pyramids of the 1970s.
Some selfish politicians with their foreign collaborators are feeding fat on us using religion. They sponsor Boko Haram to kill our people and even kill our military and police men. They sponsor Boko Haram to destroy our economy and chase away investors.
The whole truth my dear Northern Elders is that the Boko Haram insurgent will not determine the 2015 general election. The earlier we appeal to the sponsors of Boko Haram to stop killing our people; it will be to our advantage.
Let the sponsors of Boko Haram remember that this type of insurgency has never succeeded anywhere. Not even in Afghanistan or Syria.
At a time of great turmoil like this in Northern Nigeria, please let us come together and discuss.
Ndiameeh Babangida Babreek.