Yuguda Blasts ACF, Afenifere, Ohanaeze

Bauchi State Governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, has taken a swipe at the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), the Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other ethnic nationality groups in the country for what he described as their divisive tendencies. Yuguda accused the regional socio-cultural cum political interest groups of fanning the embers of disunity among the Nigerian people with their inflammatory statements about the polity and the nation’s leaders.

The governor is particular miffed by the apparently combative posture of the groups on the upcoming National Conference and their parochial views on the Presidency in the run up to the 2015 general elections. Speaking with reporters in Bauchi at the weekend, Governor Yuguda cautioned the groups against setting the stage for political violence that could arise from their unguarded utterances.

He said, “Some of these people who are old men of about 90 years appear to have lost focus. They are busy abusing one another and abusing leaders from different sections of the country.

“Most of them were privileged individuals during their prime, but they have now turned around sowing divisions among the various groups in the country. It is high time they stopped instigating the peace loving people of the country against one another.” The governor called on the youth population to shun the divisive tendencies of the groups and challenged them to work towards bridging the gaping developmental gap in all facets of the economy.

The youths, he said, must strive hard to harness the nation’s abundant human and material resources and to forge unity among the diverse groups for the progress of the country. Yuguda blamed what he termed the mercantile approach to power by some members of the political class, saying their actions were responsible for some of the woes besetting the country. According to him, “these politicians are busy competing for power just for the oil money. They see politics as an enterprise, with the sole purpose of making profit.

“Instead of focusing on how best to serve their people and develop the economy, they see political power as a means of making money for their children, their grandchildren and their generation unborn. “It is high time they changed their perception if we want our country to grow and the media have a vital role to play in this self discovery campaign.