The President, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, Yerima Shettima, has expressed serious fears about the possibilities of holding the 2023 general elections given the level of insecurity in the country.
Yerima Shettima gave this hint while speaking to journalists in Kaduna, according to him, there are indications that some people were behind the uprising in parts of the country and are against Nigeria’s unity
He said such people feel they are out of the game and want to be part of it by any means.
His words, ‘I have a lot of fear for 2023 because the signs have shown that we may not see 2023 until the government of the day begins to arrest the present challenges Nigerians are facing and do the needful so that anybody found to violate the laws of the land by organising something that is not lawfully and that is not in the constitution and anything that threatens the unity of the country, the government should be seen to act decisively to find the sponsors of the madness.’
He added, ‘We should all think of the country first before any other thing. There is a need for dialogue for peaceful coexistence in the country.’
Speaking on the conduct of future elections in the country, the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum President explained, ‘From all indications, we may not have free and fair elections in this country in our lifetime because we are more divided than we were before. This journey has come a long way and we may not have free and fair elections in the near future where these sentiments exist because we are being divided every day and the unity of the country is being threatened.’
He recalled the attempt to make Nigeria a true nation was during the 1993 general elections,
‘For us to succeed as an entity, there must be fairness in our dealings with one another. Until we realise that no part of this country should be treated as second-class citizens, we must see ourselves as equal in all spheres of life.’
Yerima Shettima noted that the country is running a democratic government, stressing, ‘We must be seen to practice the true democratic processes of carrying each other along to get it right in the country.’
He lamented that the past 22 years of Nigeria’s democracy has not been smooth as one expected.
‘So far, the journey is not as smooth as one would have expected after 22 years of the country’s democracy. Some of us have reasons to feel bad because we were part and parcel of the struggle for democracy in the country since 1993 because then some of us knew what actually transpired when the country witnessed the fairest and the most peaceful elections ever,’ he explained.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK