According to former military president General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), Northern Nigeria needs powerful supporters who would genuinely work to improve the region and protect its interests.
IBB reportedly made this statement on Wednesday when representatives of the Arewa Cohesion for Peace, Unity and Development Initiative, led by Alhaji Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa, the former governor of Sokoto State and chairman of the organization’s board of trustees, visited his hilltop residence in Minna, Niger State.
IBB praised the proposal and gave his support for starting the movement.
Particularly at this point in Nigeria’s history, he underlined, the North needs a movement of this kind supported by respectable people like Alhaji Bafarawa and the movement’s director general, Dr. Abdullahi Idris.
He called on the Arewa cohesion’s leaders to persist in protecting the country’s interests as well as those of the north.
The new group for northern unity and good governance has come into being at a critical moment when the region needs strong voices, the former military leader said.
In his speech, Alhaji Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa, the chairman of the board of trustees, explained that the Arewa Cohesion Movement was founded because the North needs a strong voice to protect its interests in matters of national importance.
According to Bafarawa, Nigerians will sleep well if there is peace.
Following his meeting with IBB, Alhaji Bafarawa spoke to journalists on the state of the country and the North’s future. He said that both the North and Nigeria urgently need peace and good democratic procedures to meet the demands of the people.
In order to improve the country, he called for unity among leaders and citizens and underlined that it is improper to blame any one area for Nigeria’s problems.
We have come to inquire about our leader’s health, his well-being, and his thoughts on the current state of affairs and how Nigeria should proceed.
Therefore, we must determine how we can help ourselves—not even the government—instead of helping others. Nigerians are going to sleep well if there is calm. Thus, we have an obligation to see what we can do to help the north and the nation as a whole advance.
After hearing our reason for visiting, he blessed us and promised to continue guiding us in all that we do.
In this nation, we require peace and harmony. And there can be no democracy without opposition. Therefore, democracy must be allowed to flourish. There is no basis, in my opinion, for someone to claim that there is no opposition.
I am on leave for a sabbatical. I haven’t given up politics altogether. Despite what we are doing now, I am not a member of any political party, not even the coalition movement, nor am I a member of the APC or PDP. I am conducting my politics in a very constructive manner, so that people would understand the main idea. You must present us with a plan outlining the issues so that we can see how we can help you advance our region and the nation, even if we are willing to support someone else,” Bafarawa stated.
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“If your head or your eye is sick, it will affect all your body,” Bafarawa added, criticizing a specific region for the nation’s problems is incorrect. It is incomprehensible to any Nigerian to refer to the North or the South in this way. Whatever we decide, let’s ensure that Nigeria is a part of it.
The initiative’s goal, according to Dr. Abdullahi Idris, Director General of Arewa Cohesion, is to advance development and unity in the North while making sure that the right policies are implemented to support the region’s advancement.
Nigerians, he said, are not happy with the current security situation, which emphasizes the need for group efforts to make positive improvement.
He conveyed his appreciation to the previous president for his cooperation and support of the movement.
