Northern youths have called for the review of security architecture and the immediate sack of the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (Rtd) over the massive killings and raiding of communities in the North by bandits, Boko Haram insurgents, ISWAP and other terrorist groups rampaging the region.
The group, a coalition of Northern Youth Groups under the Northern Ethnic Group Assembly (NEYGA), in the statement signed Sunday, by its spokesperson, Mr Ibrahim Dan-Musa, said the call has become pertinent following worsening insecurity in the North.
The coalition further decried the persistent killings that have strikingly affected Northern Nigeria and her economy, calling on President Muhammadu Buhari, to decisively tackle the continued insecurity sphering Northern Nigeria.
The group also gave a 14-day ultimatum to the federal government to stop the killings in the North, warning that it would be left with no option than to mobilise citizens for protests until the government is completely shut down.
“It is on a sad note that this coalition wishes to remind the federal government and government at all levels, that the primary responsibility of government anywhere, particularly the one that was democratically elected by voters, is to protect the lives and property of citizens.
“Alas, five years into President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure, instead of reducing insecurity, it has escalated thereby exposing great number of our people to avoidable deaths and loss of property in a manner that history has never witnessed.
“As patriotic citizens, it is our constitutional duty to raise voices and call attention to the killings that is taking place across all states of the Northern regions on a daily basis and mobilise citizens on how to constructively engage government at all levels, to raise demand against this continued ineptitude.
“The group is saying “enough is enough” and an end must be put to the mindless killings of our people particularly in the villages, and the non-challant attitude displayed by government and its agencies against the plights of people inhabiting the Northern hemisphere, going through horrific experience in the hands of criminals that held the North and her economy hostage.
“As pro-Northern group, we have found it very important to call on President Buhari to remove the National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (retd), whose office and responsibilities are critical to the achievement of comprehensive security all over the Country.
“The reason for this call is not farfetched. We believe that Major-Gen Monguno was part of the gross-failure associated with the tenure of the former security chiefs and his continued presence in office is a pest to the Nation’s Peace and progress,” the group stated.
In a related news, Northern elders under the aegis of Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development (CNEPD) had earlier called for the removal of the NSA following attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, by bandits in August.
Lolo Ijeoma Njoku Obinwannem News Writer / Dec 6, 2021
