‘Nigeria bleeding under your watch,’ ACF tackles Tinubu, calls for revision of economic reforms

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has urged President Bola Tinubu to reassess his administration’s economic reforms, highlighting their adverse effects on Nigerians, particularly those in the northern region.

Following its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Kaduna on Wednesday, the ACF expressed dissatisfaction with the current economic policies, stating they have intensified the challenges faced by ordinary Nigerians.

The Forum pointed to the northern region’s unique vulnerabilities, citing widespread food insecurity, limited access to education and vocational training, and a heavy reliance on microeconomic activities for survival.

While acknowledging the necessity of economic reforms, the ACF emphasized that such policies should alleviate, rather than exacerbate, poverty and hardship among citizens. It stressed that a significant portion of livelihoods in the region depends on small-scale economic activities that are currently under strain.

The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has called on President Bola Tinubu to review his economic reforms to reflect greater sensitivity to the plight of Nigerians, especially those in the northern region.

According to a communiqué after its National Executive Council, NEC, meeting held in Kaduna on Wednesday, the ACF expressed displeasure at the economic policies of the present administration, saying that they had worsened the hardship an average Nigerian is facing.

While outlining the unique vulnerabilities of the northern region, the Forum noted that its people were affected by food insecurity, limited access to education and skills training, and reliance on microeconomic activities for survival.

It emphasized that while economic reforms were necessary, they should not worsen poverty or hardship among the citizens they are intended to benefit, adding that the livelihoods of many depend on micro-activities.

“The region faces acute and chronic food insecurity; its youths lack education and skills training. Daunting as these may be, they can be reversed. The time to think big is now.

“Notwithstanding the parlous state of Arewa’s glaring economic challenges, the policies of the current federal government have continued to worsen matters, with little indication of the needed sensitivity to the precarious existential conditions of Arewa people.

“Succinctly stated, economic reforms, while indeed desirable, should not impoverish the same people they are meant to serve. The people may not be alive to reap the putative benefits,” the communique said.