…seeks end to Yoruba, Northern alliance
The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) on Wednesday alleged that the South-West region was attempting to overthrow President Muhammadu Buhari through the #RevolutionNow marches.
The CNG explained that its decision not to be part of the #RevolutionNow marches across the nation was because “the North will not be part of any international conspiracy supported by South Westerners to destabilize the country.”
“It is quite unfortunate that the South-West which has been the single major beneficiary of the Buhari administration should also be in the forefront of efforts to discredit and bring him down by all means. This can be seen in the manner in which the bulk of political, cultural, religious and traditional leadership is standing solidly against the government with its open support for call for violent overthrow of the Buhari government by the #Revolutionow organizers.
“In particular, such individual beneficiaries of the government as Bola Tinubu, Fashola, Fayemi, Aregbesola, and others largely from the South-West were nowhere to be seen when their people and the southern-based media ignited tensions over the government’s Ruga initiative.
“These same beneficiaries appear today in implicit support of the proposed insurrection by maintaining a conspiratorial neutrality while other southern influencers like Wole Soyinka, Bisi Akande, Falana, etc explicitly back the organizers”, the northern coalition stated.
The CNG also called for an end to the Yoruba, Northern alliance stating:
“We also wish to ask the president if in all honesty he still considers the South Western players as true friends who are genuinely desirous of his success. He should ask himself if the treatment he is receiving from them is worth the attention he had given the South West which involved colliding with his northern brethren to the point of elevating the status of June 12 as appeasement.
“To the entire northern leaders and elite, we categorically say that the current political alignment with the South-West is not paying and it never will.
“The vital task at this point is for the northern political leadership to renegotiate its current alliance with the South-West which has never been North’s political ally The alliance is already turning out to be unhealthy.
“We are calling on the northern elders and leaders to review the region’s position by realigning with our traditional political friends which had served the whole nation for decades before the coming of this unholy and unprofitable union with the South-Western block.
“This has become necessary with the way the South-West is going about the current friendship by being more openly antagonistic to northern interests even while they are the major beneficiaries of the Buhari administration. They, at the slightest of pretenses, openly denigrate the North, its people, its leadership and culture which must not be allowed to continue.
“The CNG, therefore, calls on the current leadership of the Northern Elders Forum under Professor Ango Abdullahi to mobilize relevant stakeholders towards bringing an end to the political partnership with the South-West and embracing the North’s initial political allies”, CNG added.
The coalition was however quick to concede that the President Buhari administration has not lived up to expectations and should as a matter of urgency apologize to the nation.
“We submit that instead of just sitting back to thank Nigerians for not joining the overthrow plan, President Buhari should rather sincerely apologize to the nation by reflecting on how he dragged the country into such a desperate situation, own up to his inadequacies and take genuine steps to address the mounting national grievances.
“Unless this is done, with the growing angry mood that pervades the entire country, the likelihood of a more serious dissent remains imminent”, the coalition warned.
