Rotational presidency: Northern leaders have failed Nigeria – Arewa group

The Arewa Concerned Civil Society Organizations of Nigeria (ACCSON), said that it calls for rotational presidency because past and present elected and appointed leaders from Northern Nigeria have woefully failed the country.

Spokesman, Arewa Concerned Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria (ACCSON), Comrade Abdulsalam Moh’d Kazeem, in a statement explained that, “It is noteworthy to restate here, that the position of our group, the Arewa Concerned Civil Society Organizations of Nigeria (ACCSON) calling for rotational presidency among the six geo political zones of the country was as a result of our peculiar regional experiences. Both past and present crop of elected and appointed leaders from within our region have failed us completely. They have failed to meet up with the expectations of our people, and have continued to betray our trust, confidence and respect for them.”

According to the statement, from 1999 to date (which is 22 years now), the North West and North East Zones have produced president, Vice president, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senate Presidents, and Speakers of the House of Representatives.

It added that the North Central zone alone has produced two Senate Presidents in 12 years; a Deputy Senate President and a Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, saying that the three zones of the northern region, in total, have produced more Ministers, Services Chiefs and Heads of Governments Agencies more than any other region, yet there is nothing on ground to show for it.

“They only leverage on our population advantage, which is an added advantage in a democratic setting. The said population is only useful to our region during the electioneering period. The major benefit of a population advantage in economics is that it remains attractive to both the multi-national and trans-national companies that would want to site industries in such locations in order to maximize their market and get very cheap labour,” the statement observed.

ACCSON lamented, “Our northern region today has been reduced to a human abattoir, to say the least, where all our communities have been converted to a mass grave due to the failure of government at all levels.”

The statement stated between October 2021 till date, over 150 citizens of northern extraction have been murdered by terrorists in Sokoto state alone, not to talk of Zamfara, Kebbi, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Benue, Borno and Yobe States, stressing that despite the claims by government that terrorism and violent insurgency is aggressively being fought, the north has remained a killing field.

It alleged that the country is about the highest importer of arms and ammunition in Africa, pointing out that the Northern region is seemingly the poverty capital of Nigeria, yet its people occupied and are still occupying the most sensitive positions in government from 1999 till date.

According to ACCSON, “We are not sycophants of the government, but we are patriotic northerners too, with a history of respect for constituted authority and for our elders.”

It explained that it is the position of the northern umbrella youths coalition, the Arewa Concerned Civil Society Organizations of Nigeria (ACCSON), that since their people in leadership positions in Nigeria can not bring development, peace, progress and prosperity to the region, let them try people of other regions, particularly the region or geopolitical zone that has not produced a President or Vice president of Nigeria in other to further promote fairness, equity, unity or oneness of the country.