The Northern Elders Forum, NEF, has again blamed President Muhammadu Buhari for the increased insecurity in the North, saying his government does not care about the people of the region, their economy and security.
The Forum’s Director, Publicity and Advocacy, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, in a statement issued in Kaduna on Monday said, NEF had received information from those with responsibility for the reconstruction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano highway, that work on this vital artery in the North would not be completed for the next five years.
“The Forum is deeply shocked by this information. Although it is consistent with a registered record of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to matters affecting people of the North, it is nonetheless an irrefutable evidence that this administration does not care about the people of the North, their economy or their security.
“This project involving 375 kilometers of the most strategic highway in the North, and about the only link between the North and South was awarded in 2017 and work commenced in 2018.
“The slow pace of the work and the consequent deterioration of the highway had made it the most dangerous highway in the nation and the most attractive to kidnappers who have resurfaced recently to compound routine losses of lives and billions in economic losses,” the Forum lamented.
The Forum recalled having advised Nigerians, particularly fellow Northerners not to trust President Buhari with another mandate in 2019 because evidence garnered from his first term was strong over his indifference to, and even disdain for northern communities.
“The only thing that mattered to him were our votes. This administration has just sentenced Northerners to another five years to live with many threats to life and economy on this important highway,” NEF warned.
In the meantime, the Forum called on all citizens to raise their voices against this decision to continue to leave people who use this vital highway at the mercy of criminals and huge losses in lives and assets.
