Atiku says northern leaders must resist division along ethnic, religious lines
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar says the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) must recommit itself to uniting the north and driving a development-focused agenda that reflects the vision of the late Premier Ahmadu Bello.
Speaking on Friday at the 25th anniversary celebration of the ACF in Kaduna, Abubakar praised the forum for sustaining its relevance over the past quarter-century despite political, social and security challenges that have shaped the region.
“It has not been easy; it could not have been easy. The vagaries of time, the complexity of human affairs, and the intricacies of the post-Ahmadu Bello northern society have thrown up enormous challenges,” he said.
“That the ACF has kept its head above water and remained a key player in Northern affairs is no easy task.”
He paid tribute to past leaders of the forum who have died, describing them as men who “showed courage and resilience” while strengthening northern voices in national affairs.
The former vice-president used the event to reflect on the origins of the ACF, recounting efforts made by the administration he served in to unify various northern political blocs after the 1999 return to democracy.
“When we came into government following the 1999 general elections, we met a divided North,” he said, noting that different political camps revolved around the late President Shehu Shagari, the late Dr. Sola Saraki, and the late Abdurrahman Okene.
He explained that he initiated consultations and set up a committee led by the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, to harmonise the groups.
The effort, he said, eventually produced a united northern platform under a board chaired by former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, with the late M.D. Yusuf as executive chairman and later Chief Sunday Awoniyi as board chair.
While acknowledging that much of the ACF’s history has been documented by its leaders, Abubakar stressed that northern unity remains the foundation for political stability and economic progress in the region.
“For my part, I would like to turn to an issue that has remained important and which we all need to continue to work on, because it is at the very root of the strength of the North: Northern unity,” he said.
He said the forum was created not only to bridge political divides but also to use a unified voice to advance development priorities.
Abubakar inked the ACF’s mandate to the development blueprint laid out by Ahmadu Bello in 1961, quoting the premier’s prescriptions for agricultural expansion, resource optimisation, soil conservation, water management and investment-driven industrial growth.
He recalled Bello’s warning that peace and stability remain prerequisites for educational progress, agricultural productivity and economic expansion.
“At its formation, we aligned with this pristine Northern agenda of the 60s,” Atiku said. “The task ahead of the North was well defined, and those goals remain relevant today.”
He urged the ACF and northern leaders to revisit those foundational principles as the region continues to confront insecurity, economic disparities and weakened social cohesion.
