Emeka Mamah
10 October 2008
Apparently worried by the general anxiety over the health of President Umaru Yar'Adua, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) said yesterday that the President "is as fit as a fiddle." to continue to rule the country.
In a communiqué at the end of the group's meeting in Kaduna the accused Nigerians of mounting what the communiqué described as "undue pressure" on the President.
The ACF Publicity Secretary, Anthony Sani, signed the communiqué which affirmed that the Yar'Adua "is capable of leading the country" and that all Nigerians should be supportive of the President in the arduous task of moving the nation forward.
"The meeting noted reports in the media and elsewhere about the health of the President, Alhaji Umaru Yar'Adua.
"While the forum believes that Nigerians have a legitimate right to know what their leaders do with the mandate given them, it regretted that the undue pressure being brought to bear on the President on account of his health alone is unhelpful.
"Contrary to the insinuations of the critics, the ACF believes that the President is capable and is discharging the duties of his office.
"The forum urges all Nigerians to remain positive and give the President their total support, cooperation and encouragement in order for him to do more and achieve more," the ACF said.
They regretted the poverty level in the north and noted however that it welcomed the various initiatives by northerners to improve the economic fortunes of the area.
According to the communiqué, "we face daunting challenges. The North is not just falling behind its neighbors in virtually all indices of development; it is regressing rapidly into abject poverty. Northerners must at all costs arrest the decline of their region back into the dark ages.
"The forum also considered and welcomed the various conferences and seminars being organized for the purpose of drawing attention to the deteriorating conditions in the North and for identifying possible strategies for addressing it. It hopes these interventions will galvanize all northerners at individual and government levels into taking actions that are necessary."
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What do you expect from ACF? What they failed to realize is that it is not only Yar's poor health that Nigerians are concerned about but also his mental acumen. Tarry-A-Doer is yet to display any wisdom necessary to transform this country. Most importantly, he lacks vision or the foresight needed to anticipate problems b4 they occur and a well thought out and articulated plan required for solving the problem. It is disheartening to realize that 8 Northerners have ruled Nigeria out of the 10 rulers we've had so far, during which Nigeria's polity and economy has been brought to… [Read Full Text]