Northern Emancipation Network
(MEN), a youth group, says it is yet to align with either of President
Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar, a former vice-president, for the 2019
elections.
Buhari is the candidate of the
All Progressives Congress (APC) while Abubakar is the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) flagbearer.
Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, leader of
MEN, told NAN that it is hasty for any group or individual to declare publicly
that the northern block had arrived at a consensus with regards to either Buhari
or Abubakar.
He said: “Every Nigerian,
northerners most especially, know that the factors that will determine 2019 are
distinct from those that shaped the pattern of the 2015 elections.
“Unlike the previous contest,
2019 is going to be fought between two northerners of the same religious faith
and both of the same Fulani stock.
“What may dominate the debate for
2019 would, therefore, be critical physical and human development issues for the
north and integrity to a large extent.
“It is therefore hasty for any
individual or group to claim that the north has agreed on a preferred candidate
among the two. This is not to take away the right of individuals or
associations to form opinions in accordance with their personal set of biases.
“The north and those individuals
or groups that genuinely aim to promote and protect the collective interest of
the region must not be in a hurry.
“They should allow their decision
to be informed by the commitment of each of the candidates to the fate of the
north.”
He said Buhari and Abubakar must
be able to show their scorecards for the northern youth to take them serious
ahead of the 2019 presidential election.
This, he said, would determine
who the majority of the youth would give the mandate come 2019.
“President Buhari should make a
comprehensive and articulate presentation of his efforts for the North in the
last three years and the plans he has for the region, if given the second
chance,” he said.
“On the other had Atiku must give
convincing clarifications about the myriad moral bankruptcy issues raised
against him as well as make available whatever alternative programme he might
have for the region. All these have not been done.
“The fact that both candidates
belong to the same old brigade that oscillated the total available activity of
the region in one way or the other since independence, makes it more imperative
for the younger generations to tread with caution.
“Young northerners who have all along
been at the receiving end of every harsh reality should no longer be taken for
a ride by staking their fate in the hands of self-appointed regional leaders
and sectional elders, who themselves constitute a major hurdle in the path of
the region’s progress in particular and the country to a large extent.
“To borrow from the words of a
second republic politician, we are living today in times of great changes with
the old order crumbling past and new systems of life and activity emerging.
“The task before the younger
generation is therefore, to understand these changes and utilise them for human
progress.”
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