A platform for youths from different political, ethno-religious and professional backgrounds known as the Unity in Diversity Forum has called for the deployment of “special elite forces” on all highways in the North as a way of reducing banditry and other criminal activities in the region.
The forum which organises an annual Roundtable on differnt issues of national interest made its intention known in an official statement issued yesterday in Abuja at the end of its 2020 roundtable with the theme, ‘Survive or Surrender: The Northern Nexus’.
Those who signed the official statement were a presidential aide and member of the Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress APC, Barr. Ismaeel Ahmed, Alice D. Asajie, Aisha Haruna, Myani Bukar, Aliyu Audu, Yunusa Ahmadu Yusuf and Abuh Andrew Abuh.
Participants at the roundtable noted that the major problem of the north are the northerners themselves and that it is only logical that the solution comes from the northerners.
“This is said on the background that the North gave over 70% of votes with 7.9 million and 6.6 million votes out of the 15 million votes coming from the North West alone, that the present administration had in 2015 and 2019 elections respectively and most security and economic chiefs are northerners yet it is having those challenges”, the forum noted.
According to the forum, the north has vast arable land which means agriculture drives her economy “so the nexus should be formed between provision of infrastructure and the economic value so that instead of giving waivers to business men, they are compelled to provide a social infrastructure that their businesses take advantage of”. 
The forum also stated that; “The approach on education should be first prioritised on equality, improving girl-child education), availability/accessibility, and most importantly quality.
© ControlTV 2020.
