*Calls For Nationwide Unity Amid Injustice And Hunger, Urges ACF To Bridge Divides In Nigeria
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Former Minister of Transportation and Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, delivered a passionate plea for national unity and equitable justice during his keynote address at the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF)’s 25th anniversary dinner in Kaduna. In a speech laced with gratitude, critique, and a call to action, Amaechi highlighted his contributions to northern infrastructure while decrying widespread economic hardships and governmental failures that he said are fueling insecurity and division.
Speaking as a self-described “politician who ply their trade by words,” Amaechi began by thanking the ACF leadership and members for the “honor and privilege” of the invitation and acknowledging his ties to the group. He credited his tenure as minister for key northern projects, emphasizing that they were undertaken in service to the nation: “Whatever I have done in the north, I did as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It includes the Kano-Kaduna Rail, the Kano-Maradi Rail, and the completion of the Abuja-Kaduna Rail. It includes the establishment of the University of Transportation in Daura. And to say it was done because I felt there was a need to establish those deals. We are a nation.”
Transitioning to broader themes, Amaechi urged the forum long a bastion of northern advocacy to extend its unity message beyond the region. “While preaching unity in northern Nigeria, please let us also preach unity in the whole of Nigeria,” he implored. He pinpointed “injustice” as Nigeria’s core affliction, insisting that “the justice that is being served in Abuja must be served in the Igbo land, Southeast. Must also be served in the North, as well as the Southwest, and as well as the South-South.”
Amaechi defended President Bola Tinubu against accusations of autocracy, calling detractors unfair: “Those who have accused the president of being autocrat are not being fair to him. He’s not an autocrat. Nigerians are not enjoying this government. Very few individuals are enjoying this government and the rest of us are suffering. The rest of us are dying of hunger. Nigerians are dying of hunger.”
He lambasted the administration’s response to crises, particularly in education and security. Noting that “the government has panicked” and closed schools amid unrest, Amaechi revealed stark statistics: “There are twenty million Nigerians who are out of school. Instead of addressing it, we are closing schools to increase the number of Nigerians who are out of school. In that number, more than sixty percent of those who are out of school are northerners. And the Nigerian government is not worried, and it is not worried about it at all.”
The ex-governor linked economic deprivation to rising crime, arguing that denying citizens their “economic rights” drives them toward “non-economic rights,” such as kidnapping. “Today, the Nigerian government is not able to protect anybody. Nobody,” he stated bluntly, painting a picture of a state failing its people.
In closing, Amaechi praised the ACF’s role and pushed for proactive dialogue: “For me, I thank Arewa, and I think that Arewa should go a bit further. To negotiate with other Nigerians to come together to address what is currently happening in the country. I thank all of you. God bless all of you.”
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