The pan-northern socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum, on Tuesday, called for urgent action as it said the hard times faced by the average Nigerian citizen were becoming unbearable.
While calling on Nigerians to pray for divine intervention, the group warned that Nigeria was gradually drifting into chaos as a result of the fuel subsidy removal.
It listed inflation, unemployment, and rapid deterioration in standards of living, coupled with incidents of insurgency, terrorism and banditry as some of the evils faced by Nigerians.
Rising from its National Executive Council meeting held at its Sokoto Secretariat, in Kaduna, on Tuesday, the northern group also blamed the hardship on the introduction of taxes and levies by the Federal Government.
Besides, the northern body cautioned government officials against recklessness in spending public funds.
The communique read in part: “With grave concern, the body regrets and decries the continuing deterioration or escalation in the spate of insecurity-related incidents in all the three geopolitical zones under which the northern states are grouped.
“These problems reflect the region’s cascading political, social, and economic challenges. NEC reiterates ACF’s earlier expressed position that the emergent protracted dimension of these problems, if untamed, are harbingers of citizens’ discontent, and social chaos.
“Equally worrisome is the widening regional disparities in social demographic factors, such as access to education, health, public infrastructure, economic inclusion, political participation, living conditions, etc.
“Governments must move to curb such disparities to ensure that Nigeria does not become two-states-in-one.
“Factors that unify rather than divide citizens along any lines should attract the attention of all concerned, government and citizens alike.”
It called for definitive action by governments at all levels to confront what it termed a rapid decline in the living conditions of citizens.
“The addition of new taxes and levies is becoming increasingly burdensome and too heavy to bear for ordinary Nigerians.
“The need for a rollout of public policy programmes and projects aimed at addressing low purchasing power challenges is clearly indicated,” it stated.
The communiqué added, “On the national front and specifically applicable to the northern states, NEC notes that the times continue to be tough and challenging for the average citizen who is daily confronted with runaway inflation, unemployment, rapid deterioration in standards of living in the face of incidents of insurgency, terrorism and banditry, etc., problems that have remained dire, acute (or even chronic in some places in the North in particular.
“The immediate causes of the problems have been policies put in place by the government over the past months, including but not confined to removal of subsidies from the prices of petroleum products, floating of the Naira, and astronomical hike in the cost of poorly supplied electricity, increasing tariffs and taxes against the seemingly insensitive profligacy in spendings by public officials, to list a few.
“ACF acknowledges the efforts the federal, state and, to a little extent, local governments have been making to tackle the problems identified above.
“However, overall, it is undeniable, perhaps due to the quantum and widening dimension of the problems, that public policy response to the problems remains weak and ineffective at best.”
It called on citizens to rally around the government and offer prayers for God’s intervention in the various tribulations, for the country to translate into a new, prosperous Nigeria where justice, equity, love, righteousness and hope would replace the current despair and hopelessness.
