The Arewa group, Northern Awareness Movement (NAM), has been instructed by the Advocacy Network on Religious and Cultural Coexistence (ANORACC), a non-political and charitable organization, to stop acting like a regional group in their attack on Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.
On October 22, 2022, after the NAM’s blatant remark that Wike had “drawn a battle line with the North,” the ANORACC made this known in Port Harcourt through their Director, Odimegwu Onwumere.
According to ANORACC, the Arewa group is clearly engaged in regional politics rather than national politics, which is consistent with the northern political ideology’s goal of increasing their political power and influence.
The statement said that instead of the national normative agenda, NAM’s agenda invariably focuses on the development of political or social system based on the northern region’s political and economic interests.
“The attack by the Arewa group on Wike has demonstrated that the region may not want national politics but rather a sub-national entity, gaining strength from or aiming to strengthen the consciousness of and loyalty to a distinct region as the North with a pointless attack on Wike.
“The attack by NAM on Wike is an open invitation by the north that they demand the three distinct components: movements urging unitary states to grant territorial autonomy; the central state’s regional organization for implementing its policies, including regional development policies; regional autonomy and political centralization,” ANORACC stated.
The Arewa’s NAM referred to Wike’s free speech as a “smear campaign against the entire Northern region of the country,” as previously mentioned. ANORACC condemned the statement made by Muhammed Inuwa, the coordinator of the NAM.
ANORACC said that Atiku, who is running for president in 2023 under PDP, couldn’t be more northern than the entire Nigerian population he is trying to represent. ANORACC emphasized that a recent purported statement attributed to Atiku instructed northern voters not to vote for candidates from Yoruba, Igbo, or any other ethnic group except for him, who is a northerner.
Despite this, the ANORACC stated that they were not surprised that Inuwa spoke the glaring segregative mind of the North against other ethnic groups.
“We denounce any racial sentiment. The Arewa or any other group ought to be aware that Wike is not the cause of Nigeria’s problems. According to statistics, the North has ruled Nigeria for more than 40 of its 62 unyielding years of existence.,” said ANORACC.
ANORACC stated, “This ought to be a point at which the Arewa group ought to hide their face in shame and make statements that are capable of enhancing the state of affairs in the country rather than playing on ethnic sentiment.”
As a result, the ANORACC urged Atiku to distance himself from the NAM’s statements, which, if he were not the NAM’s sponsor, could cause confusion in Nigeria’s already chaotic state.
ANORACC urged Nigerians to act prudently during this time, pointing out that the country has suffered for an excessive amount of time and requires leaders who prioritize both their own selfless interests and the interests of the people.
