<p><!-- BEGIN THEIA POST SLIDER --></p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.95 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad4" id="quads-ad4" style="float:none;margin:0px;">

</div>

<p> ;</p><div class="S5BolZj0" style="clear:both;float:left;width:100%;margin:0 0 20px 0;"><script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

<!-- TV -->

<ins class="adsbygoogle"

 style="display:block"

 data-ad-client="ca-pub-4403533287178375"

 data-ad-slot="4399361195"

 data-ad-format="auto"

 data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>

<script>

 (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

</script></div>
<p>The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is an umbrella body of the Northern elite, established with the aim of protecting the interests and integrity of Arewa as a whole.</p><div class="PF77jVYy" style="clear:both;float:left;width:100%;margin:0 0 20px 0;"><script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

<!-- TV -->

<ins class="adsbygoogle"

 style="display:block"

 data-ad-client="ca-pub-4403533287178375"

 data-ad-slot="4399361195"

 data-ad-format="auto"

 data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>

<script>

 (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

</script></div>
<p>I decided to write this after seeing the flier for the Arewa Unity Golf Competition scheduled to take place at the Kaduna Golf Club. Coincidentally, I had a Captain’s inaugural tournament at the same club last Saturday, but I was unable to attend due to an unavoidable engagement with my Boss.</p>
<p>One issue I have grown increasingly critical of is our culture of conferences and anniversary celebrations. The purpose of any conference at least in principle is to discuss issues, identify challenges, and proffer solutions. Unfortunately, we often fall short when it comes to implementation.</p>
<p>On the other hand, anniversaries are events one celebrates when there is something meaningful to show.</p><div class="JPsapfQ2" style="clear:both;float:left;width:100%;margin:0 0 20px 0;"><script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

<ins class="adsbygoogle"

 style="display:block; text-align:center;"

 data-ad-layout="in-article"

 data-ad-format="fluid"

 data-ad-client="ca-pub-4403533287178375"

 data-ad-slot="6550225277"></ins>

<script>

 (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

</script></div>
<p>Now, the Arewa Consultative Forum, this famous ACF I have known for many years has recently been very vocal in the media lamenting the North’s dilapidated state. What it has not done enough of is holding our leaders accountable.</p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.95 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad3" id="quads-ad3" style="float:none;margin:0px;">

</div>

<p>We have governors. Not every challenge in the North can be blamed on the Federal Government. Have these governors provided their states with basic amenities? This is the time for the ACF to start thinking beyond the box. In all my years of knowing the ACF, it has never been as visible or functional as it has been in the last two years. I often see Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, a respected lawyer, leading ACF delegations on courtesy visits aimed at achieving positive results. For this, I remain optimistic. Good things can come to the North if we choose patriotism over complacency.</p>
<p>The 25th Anniversary of the ACF should serve as a moment of reflection for all of us in the North. Where are we, and where are we heading? Are we genuinely committed to addressing the challenges confronting us?</p>
<p>Today, our unity and boarding schools are closed due to insecurity. Students are abducted daily. Churches and mosques come under attack. Yet our governors seem to prioritize contracts often for personal gain over policies that address out-of-school children, youth unemployment, and economic development.</p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.95 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad1" id="quads-ad1" style="float:none;margin:0px;">

</div>

<p>The closure of several schools across Northern Nigeria is deeply troubling. At a time like this, nothing matters more than the protection of lives and the safety of our communities. The ACF under Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu should pressure the President to channel his full energy toward restoring peace and security in every part of the country. Ensuring that Nigerians especially our children can live, learn, and flourish free from fear must be a national priority.</p>
<p>Agricultural development, the pride of the North, is also under threat. Insecurity has forced many farmers out of their farmlands. My Boss, one of the largest farmers in the country with a 5,600-hectare farm in Kidandan, Giwa LGA, was forced to abandon his operations due to insecurity. He was even shot in the right hand, and one of his staff was killed. Is the ACF aware of the many farmers who have given up farming? What steps is it taking to demand the right actions from our leaders? Farming is our pride, and at my age, my greatest dream is to become a successful farmer.</p>
<p>Can the ACF give these issues the priority they deserve as a pressure group?</p>
<p>The condition of our primary and secondary schools is deplorable. Not a single Northern elite can proudly say they send their children to these schools and if they can, I challenge them. The ACF must call on Northern governors to upgrade our basic education system to a world-class standard. This is far more important than building flyovers and pursuing other misplaced priorities.</p>
<p>Our specialist and primary healthcare centres are in ruins. We lack manpower, modern equipment, and proper facilities yet this hardly features in our public discourse, even within the ACF. This is the time to challenge the Forum to act, not to continue holding meetings that resemble what we call in Hausa taron shan shayi.</p>
<p>In Kano and Kaduna, many industries have shut down due to insufficient power supply. Northern governors can collaborate to build independent power plants capable of supporting our industries, reducing unemployment, and transforming the region into a productive hub in West Africa. But are we working on this? No. Because we lack seriousness and a coherent blueprint for Northern transformation. Instead, we focus on meetings, conferences, presidential visits, and political endorsements driven by selfish interests.</p>
<p>Northern unity is essential. How can we build a North where citizens see each other as one people, as the late Premier Sir Ahmadu Bello envisioned in his timeless declaration: “One North, One People, One Destiny.” A North where a Tiv man from Benue sees a Hausa man from Sokoto as his brother, and a Birom man from Plateau sees himself as kin to a Fulani man from Tilde in Toro LGA of Bauchi State.</p>
<p>These and many other issues should be the ACF’s priorities today. The challenges are many, but with focus, dedication, and commitment, we can overcome them.</p>
<p>Long Live ACF!<br />
Long Live Northern Nigeria!<br />
Long Live Nigeria!</p>
<p>Adnan Mukhtar is a Political PR Consultant and university lecturer.<br />
He can be reached via Adnanmukhtaradam@gmail.com.</p>
<p><!-- END THEIA POST SLIDER -->
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.95 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad4" id="quads-ad4" style="float:none;margin:0px;">

</div>
</p>
<script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>

<ins class="adsbygoogle"

 style="display:block"

 data-ad-format="autorelaxed"

 data-ad-client="ca-pub-4403533287178375"

 data-ad-slot="1004305389"></ins>

<script>

 (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

</script>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.95 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad5" id="quads-ad5" style="float:none;margin:0px;">

</div>


