By Kingsley Chukwuka, Jos
The immediate past youth president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOUWICAN), Engr. Daniel Kadzai, has appealed to the National President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Yerima Shettima to match his words with action.
Kadzai made the call while reacting to the statement credited to Shettima, on an interview he granted to a news medium with the headline “I am scared about the future of Nigeria because we are now more divided than ever”.
Speaking to our correspondent in Jos, on Saturday, Kadzai advised the president of Arewa youths to live by his words rather than make bogus statements.
Kadzai who is now the newly elected National Youth Leader, Congress of Northern Nigeria Christians (CNNC), reminded Shettima that he was the one who gave Igbo’s living in northern Nigeria “quit notice” during the peak of agitation of the indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
He wondered how Shettima would want Nigeria to remain as one, when such actions emanated from him.
According to Kadzai: “Shettima is talking about Nigeria being divided along religious and ethnic lines, but in the interview he granted, when asked his opinion on the lopsided appointment made by President Muhammadu Buhari, he turned around to defend Buhari, giving reasons why the President appointed all his security Chiefs from the northern part of the country”.
The Arewa youth leader in the interview was quoted as saying Buhari can only trust the man from the north on issues of security, Kadzai said.
“On the issue of education Shettima said, Islamic studies should be added to the Nigeria’s education curriculum, which will enable students or pupils from the north to study Islamic education alongside western education”.
“Shettima in the interview also said the people of Southwest have benefited more from the Buhari’s administration, citing reasons from the just completed railway tracks linking the southwest, saying that it is better than the ones belt in the north by same administration. He also accused the southwest for benefiting from all the juicy position from the present administration, adding that the Yoruba’s have milked the country in Buhari’s government”.
Kadzai holds the view that if truly Shettima is sincere with his words on the unity of Nigeria, then he should not speak from both sides of his mouth.
How can a man who said “I am scared about the future of Nigeria because we are now more divided than ever”, be making comparison between the north and the south and giving justification in support of Buhari’s lopsided appointment, instead of advising the president to adopt the principle of federal character as enshrined in the constitution, the CNNC leader said.