#QUITNOTICE: Rather Than Arrest, Northern Leaders Beg Arewa Youths To Review Order

Following entreaties from prominent northern leaders, The Arewa Youths Coalition has agreed to consider dropping its October 1 vacation threat to all Igbos living in northern states, and said it will make an official announcement following a review in a matter of days.

Although Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State had called for their arrest, they continued to freely meet and hold public press conferenes without rescinding the declaration, under no actual threat of arrest whatsoever.

Many continue to wonder why the security agencies have appeared powerless against the group, given the far-reaching national security implications of their inciting comments.

The group’s spokesman, Abdulaziz Suleiman, stated that as fallout of consultations, the quit notice would be reviewed and an announcement made afterwards.

The decision to consider dropping the order followed a meeting with Northern Governors Forum chairman and Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, in Abuja on Sunday.

Suleiman told newsmen, “What we can say is that there has been a major development. Now the chairman of the Governors’ Forum has taken the initiative and invited us to start negotiations. This is the first time we are meeting publicly with any leader and we believe that it is a major step forward in our ongoing consultations.

“We hold the governor in high esteem and we have the unity of the country at heart.

“You see, I wonder why you talk about quit notice. We only issued a Kaduna declaration, quit notice is just a part of it. Let us do the recounting of the successes of our declarations first. We are still going on with our consultations”.

Shettima, confirming the development, cautioned that any move to try to criminalise the youth groups would be counterproductive.

The governor said, “We met with the leadership of the coalition of northern groups in my capacity as the chairman of the Northern Governors Froum.

“We had very fruitful discussion with them and they have shown a lot of courtesy and respect for the establishment. This is the first time that they are sitting down with the leadership of the forum.

“They were having interactions with His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto. I started conversations with them right from Kaduna yesterday and we continued the discussion today and by the grace of God, it is going to yield fruits.

“We are trying to have understanding of the challenges confronting us as a people and solutions to those challenges. I have to commend them for honouring our invitation because a political problem needs a political solution.

“They have agreed to revisit their decision and we will follow it up to its logical conclusion and I believe that in the next couple of days, we are going to get the good news from them.

“I don’t want to preempt them by saying that this is what will happen or not. But definitely, they have shown responsibility and commitment to the national cause and they have wider plans to promote the cause of national unity and cohesion.

“It was a very open, free and frank discussion, we heard their reservations and I gave them my reasons and believe me, by the time they hold their meeting this week, I think Nigerians will heave a sigh of relief.

“I wish to call on the leadership of our brethren in the South Eastern part of the country to equally pick the gauntlet, because it takes two to tango, to take the gauntlet and rein in the excesses of Nnamdi Kanu and his group”.

The group had, following the activities of pro-Biafra groups in the South-East, ordered that all Igbos living in the 19 northern states, vacate the region on or before October 1, a declaration that generated widespread impassioned reactions.

Ebere Ndukwu …