Arewa youth withdraw Igbo quit notice
The Arewa Youths Consultative Forum (AYCF) has withdrawn the quit notice issued to the Igbo living in the northern part of the country.
A coalition of Arewa youth had asked the Igbo to leave the region on or before October 1.
But at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, the group announced the withdrawal of the notice.
Prior to the announcement, members of the Arewa groups had met with Kashim Shettima, Borno state governor; Kabiru Gaya, a former governor of Kano state; Sani Daura, a former minister, among others.
Abdulaziz Suleiman, speaking on behalf of the coalition, said: “Mindful of the concerns generated by the clause in the Kaduna declaration that advised the Biafran Igbo to relocate from northern Nigeria and for northerners in the South East to do likewise, and our commitment to the unity of our dear country,n we immediately opened channels for dialogue and interaction with government agencies, national and international groups, institutions and figures.
“Admittedly, we came under intense persuasive pressure from genuinely concerned national, political, traditional, religious and cultural leaders prominent among which were; a section of the Northern Governors Forum under its Chairman, Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno state, northern traditional rulers and the Department of State Services DSS.
“Most significant was our correspondence with the then Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and most recently our interface with the Presidency through the Special Assistant to the President on Political Matters.
“As a consequence of these vigorous engagements and as cultured people with a tradition of respect for our national values, leaders and elders, we are today pleased to announce the immediate suspension of the relocation clause otherwise referred to as the quit notice from the Kaduna Declaration.”
The quit notice had elicited widespread condemnation from key stakeholders across the country, with many calling for the arrest of the Arewa youth.
Abdulrahman Dambazau, minister of interior, recently disclosed that the Arewa youth were not arrested because they claimed to have been misquoted by the media concerning the notice.
The man reading the press statement should be over 50 years, if my guess is correct. The man sitting in the immediate left of the man addressing the press has lived most part of his life in Lagos. Suddenly, these men now realises that they are cultured after meeting several privileged political elite whose actions, policies and program have overtime ruined this country, pauperised and divided our people. If these so-called self-serving youths do not have anything to contribute to our society, they should stop deceiving themselves. They like their counterpart in the south-east, south-west and south-south who are being used by top politicians should just go get legitimate jobs and get busy.