Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) says the damages done by the Buhari administration, has given the entire North a bad reputation.
Baba-Ahmed who made the statement at the second annual Ripples Centre for Data and Investigative Journalism (RCDIJ) dialogue, with the theme: ‘Rebuilding Trust in a Divided Nigeria: Advancing the Conversation’, held in Lagos, on Wednesday, said Buhari did not only disappoint Northerners, but also makes it difficult for a Northerner to be considered as reliable and trustworthy by Nigerians, particularly from the Southern part of the country.
He said the general feeling in the North, is that of disappointment and regret at the Buhari government, and that the NEF has since declared President Buhari a failure.
He said: “The North has paid the biggest price for the failure of President Buhari and nobody should attribute Buhari’s failure to Northerners. The people in the Northern parts of the country has the wrong person in office, because they are the first victims of the mis- governance of President Buhari.”
Similarly, the Coalition of Northern Groups [CNG], has called on Buhari government and members of the national assembly to step down for woefully failing the Nigerian people whom they swore to protect.
The group’s anger was rekindled following the invasion of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Kaduna, by suspected bandits on Tuesday, leaving three officers confirmed dead.
Speaking in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, the CNG said the attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy signifies a dangerous loss of control of the nation’s territory by government or of the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force.
“The effect of the apparent erosion of legitimate authority to make collective decisions on such serious matters as national security despite the more than N5trn said to have been invested and another $1billion put in the purchase of arms, has invariably raised serious questions of credibility and probity against the administration,” CNG said.
“Daily occurrences have shown clearly that the Federal and State governments are unable to perform the two fundamental functions of projecting authority over territory particularly in the North, as well as unable to fulfil the tasks required to control people and resources and can therefore provide only minimal public services with feeble and flawed institutions.
“Apparently, the Federal and most Northern States executives barely function today, while the legislature, judiciary, bureaucracy, and security forces have lost their capacity and professional independence thereby creating a huge vacuum in the political will and capacity of government which armed criminals, bandits, kidnappers and other assortments of violent non- state actors exploit with ease.
“The latest compromise of such important national security architecture as the NDA at a time when government officials were arrogantly floating unprecedented flamboyance at a wedding in Kano and Abuja is certainly a serious cause for concern in an already agitated nation suffering from crumbling security situation, faltering utility supplies and educational and health facilities, and deteriorating basic human- development indicators, such as mounting poverty and literacy rates,” the CNG warned.
“In addition, beyond inconsiderate approvals for the amassing of crippling debts at the expense of the future of the nation, the 9th Assembly has proved it cannot legislate for the representation and political empowerment of Nigerian citizens or protect civil liberties and fundamental human rights.
“The CNG hereby unhesitatingly pass a vote of no confidence on the entire members of the 9th National Assembly as having failed the nation in the vital area of providing security of lives and properties”, CNG added.
