The Northern Elders Forum, NEF, has described those agitating for secession as agents of disunity whose aim was to cause disaffection and chaos among the various sections of the country.
A statement issued in Abuja said the newly elected convener of the forum, Paul Unongo, made the remarks when he led the executive members of the NEG to condole the Kano state governor, Umar Ganduje, over the death of late Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Sule, the Danmasanin Kano.
Before his death, Mr Sule was the leader of the Forum.
Mr Unongo said the those seeking to Balkanize the country had lost touch with the prevailing realities on ground, adding that they were not acting on behalf of the Forum and lacked the legitimacy to be recognized.
He said the bitter lessons of the nation’s civil war had made “every responsible and patriotic Nigerian to oppose any move aimed at putting Nigeria asunder,” adding that the Forum was “no safe haven of those whose penchant for disunity is on a crude pedestal, regardless of the consequences of their campaign of attrition.”
“An evidence of our commitment as one northern entity and to sustain the legacy left behind by Danmasanin is the decision of my colleagues in the Forum to trust me with its leadership.
While berating some elders in the North for making remarks detrimental to the unity of the region, Mr Unongo said, “it is unfortunate that at this moment, such unguided remarks are coming out from supposedly elders of the region.”
“Tragically, even some senior citizens with distinguished records in key events at turning points in our history, people who know what it took to build this country and pull it away many times from edges of disaster, people who benefitted from peace and development, are today stoking the fire of crisis and unimaginable disaster,” he said.
Responding, Mr Ganduje described the Forum as an “indispensable engine of change in the present democratic setting given the caliber of personalities controlling its operations and activities.”
