The National President of the Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, AYCF, Alhaji Shettima Yerima, has said the escalating security challenges facing the North, has caused enormous fears especially among farmers whom he said are the most affected by the activities of bandits and kid*nappers in the region.
While expressing fears that many may die of hunger should the situation remain unchanged, he said the recent protests organized in the North was an indication that the people are losing patience with the Buhari administration.
Yerima made the disclosure in an interview with Daily Sun.
On whether or not the Service Chiefs have so far lived up to expectations, he said, "Some of us are really, really not happy with the situation in the Northern part of the country. Don’t forget almost 50 percent of our people are farmers.
"Today, our people can no longer go to their farms because of insecurity. It is either they are being kiIIed, kidnapped or one thing or the other will happen to them. As a result of that, most of them don’t go to their farms anymore.
"So, some of us felt that in the nearest future, if steps are not taken, we are all going to die of hunger. It is not the North alone because even by extension, the South will be affected.
"So, what we called for was a peaceful protest and the reason we called for the protest was to put the government on their toes and to create a situation of consciousness so that government will checkmate some of the excesses of these security chiefs.
"When we did that, one of the leaders of the coalition was arrested. Immediately, we demanded for his release. I was at the scene. When they brought him from Katsina, I was the first person he called.
"Some of us felt that it was not right to detain him because the protest was peaceful and nobody can stop Nigerians from crying when something is wrong. But the fact of the matter is that something went wrong and we did not just wake up one day and took to the streets.
"We felt there is the need for somebody to talk so that the government can sit up. Don’t forget that for the first time in the last five years, there is no way you will find this on record where Buhari openly condemned and cautioned the Service chiefs.
"Whatever we are doing, we are doing in the best interest of the country. We are not in any way working to destabilise the government, causing confusion or compound their problems.
"We are always on the side of advising them or drawing their attention to something wrong so that this country can move forward. If the country is bad and things get out of hand, it does no good to us. All of us will be direct victims of the bad governance.
"So, the protest was in good faith and immediately he rose up whether the statement was genuine or not, it was to draw the attention of government to what is going on and as God will have it, the government, NSA and the presidency through Garba Shehu, made statements where the president said he would no longer tolerate anything for an excuse.
"Our demands were very simple. What we said was that if they cannot do it, if they have run out of ideas, it is not out of place to change the Service chiefs and to come out with younger elements who can do it and that probably they have done their best and their best is not good enough for the country."