Godwin Isenyo, Kaduna
The leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum on Tuesday expressed concern on what it called disunity among the people of the North.

The Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Air Vice Marshal Muktar Mohammed (retd.), at the opening of the 2016 Annual General Assembly of the ACF held in Kaduna, decried the non-participation of members at the various meetings of the forum aimed at moving the region forward.
He told the gathering that members’ active participation towards the affairs of the forum would enhance the unity of the region.

He said in the face of the dwindling price of crude oil, the region was expected to explore the solid minerals deposits that abound in the region to move it forward economically.Mohammed, who stood in for the BoT Chairman, Adamu Fika, noted that the North was no longer what it used to be and enjoined members to ensure that the forum, through members, returned the region to its enviable status.
He said, “We have the responsibility to see that we take our deserving place in the state of the nation.”
Reeling out report on the activities of the forum in the last one year and projection for the next 365 days, the Secretary-General of the forum, Col. John Ubah (retd.) said,  the forum led the campaign for the exploration of solid minerals for the development of the region.
He said the forum was contacted with an exploration firm to prepare a template of solid minerals deposit in the region.
He said, “The forum has been in close contact with Messrs Bima Rocks and Minerals to prepare a template of solid minerals deposits in the North and to produce and launch a master chart which will be used to solicit the prompt action of northern states’ governors on solid minerals exploitation for the benefit of the region.”
He also said the forum was concerned over the plethora of violence in the region, noting that the ACF planned a security summit targeted at sensitising stakeholders on the menace of insurgency, kidnapping, cattle rustling and others would hold before the end of 2016.
Ubah accused the ACF of not showing any interest when Benue State was invaded by Fulani herdsmen, who maimed and killed hundreds of people and destroyed property worth billions of naira in the state.
In particular, he knocked the peace and unity committee of the forum for not doing enough in bringing together the people of the region.