Independence:Fear Grips as Acf begs Boko Haram to drop Arms

KADUNA—The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF,
has again asked the Boko Haram insurgents to
lay down their arms and embrace peace,
saying that although the country was
experiencing hard times, the situation was not
bad enough for some people to lose the will to live in the mistaken belief that it is better to
die but not alone.
The ACF made this known in its goodwill
message to mark the nation’s 53 Independence
anniversary. The statement entitled, “ACF felicitates with
people and government of Nigeria on the
occasion of the 53rd Independence,”’ and
signed by the National Publicity Secretary of
the forum, Mr. Anthony Sani reads in part:
“Nigerians have reasons to celebrate because the Independence gives freedom for Nigeria to
take its destiny into its hands by determining
the content, shape, direction and pace of its
socio economic development needed for
national solidarity and welfare of all. “There is no doubt that the nation is
experiencing hard times. But Nigerians should
not allow these challenges to set their national
agenda. Boko haram ‘’On the contrary, difficult times should bring
about national grandeur, purposeful leadership
and the best in every one. More so, that no
nation thrives on victory of its faction but
through ultimate reconciliation which is not act
of cowardice but of patriotic courage,and even heroism. “Building a country inhabited by people who are
socially diverse, economically empowered and
politically active demands consciously directed
efforts to make what we desire as a collective
possible and then actual. ‘’One way of starting this journey is for
Nigerians to make judicious use of their
democratic rights and ensure that their votes
count so that the emerging leaders would be
accountable and make poverty history.” To that end, those who relish in employment
of violence to solve their perceived concerns
should have known by now that such
approaches do not solve problems. And so, ACF
urges them to lay down their arms and
embrace civilized ways of doing things.” ’’It may well be true that corruption has stolen
the empowerment, the opportunity and the
future of most Nigerians,which have made
some people to lose the will to live in the
mistaken belief that it is better to die but not
alone. ’’But corruption can thrive only in a corrupt
society which glorifies riches which sources are
unknown.And so,it is not correct for some
people to lose their will to live,worse by taking
their lives and those of others along.This is a
wrong headed approach to solving problems. Surely,our problems are not beyond
redemption.After all,adversity can be
cathartic and constructive as well. ’’That is why ACF appeals to all Nigerians to
use this occasion and resolve to live up the
concept of a nation by coming together and
unleash their synergy against our common
challenges for public good. This is because the
task of overcoming national challenges is a collective responsibility and not for the
government alone. In that way,we can make
Nigeria feel young again with promise of glory
days ahead.

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