The Arewa Economic Advancement Campaign (AREA-C), has called on well-to-do northerners to “end the lamentations about the massive poverty ravaging the region by being more proactive in the fight against it in practice”.
The group, in a terse media statement to newsmen in Kaduna, signed by its Director of Publicity, Nasir Dambatta said, “it is indeed worrisome that many entrepreneurs, seasoned bureaucrats and elected representatives seem too cool to care about the current levels of mass poverty in the North, while some of them merely seize the opportunity of public functions to advertise our woes”.
AREA-C described as mind-boggling the trillions given to governors of the region from the federation account at regular intervals, including Paris Club refunds, but majority of the region’s citizens regrettably go to bed hungry”.
The group, which said it commenced its campaign for a better North about two years ago and honored men and women “who have given their all to the poor in our midst”, said it was formed by young northerners that were “uncomfortable with both the alarming levels of poverty in the region and the lamentations by those who already have the resources to help out but resorted to advertising our problems and seemingly refusing to be the solution”.
The group further expressed surprise over “the inaction of those who are blessed with the extra resources to plough back into tackling poverty but appear too cool to care about our maledictions”.
It however explained that for the two years it has been actively waging a relentless war of awareness on the North’s mass poverty challenge, “a few men and women of good conscience in privileged positions did very well in helping out the poor”.
AREA-C revealed that it has “lined-up a number northern entrepreneurs and seasoned bureaucrats who have distinguished themselves in the war on poverty and are still quietly steadfast” in this direction.
The group then vowed to “sustainably promote real action over the disturbing levels of poverty in the region through vigorous awareness campaign.
“We shall, from time-to-time issue media statements aimed at getting privileged Northerners to be more productive about the economic living conditions of our people, especially the poor in our midst. This privileged class of Northerners that fall directly under our purview cut across top bureaucrats, entrepreneurs, lawmakers, governors and once-in-a-while, Local Council Chairmen from our region. We shall tell the truth to power fearlessly and with the conviction that our action will ginger relevant stakeholders to do the needful in dealing squarely with the poverty ravaging this region and leading to increasing crime wave.”
