Arewa Consultative Forum says it is studying Obasanjo's letter and will respond to it soon

NORTHERN Nigerian pan-cultural group the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has revealed that it is studying former president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo's recent letter to President Muhammadu Buhari outlining the dangers posed by armed Fulani herdsmen.

Nigeria is currently plagued with insecurity as armed Fulani cattle herdsmen have launched a reign of terror across the country, engaging in kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry and have unleashed communal violence on rural farming communities. with the government doing little to curb the menace, Chief Obasanjo wrote to President Buhari warning that Nigeria risks witnessing a Rwanda-style genocide.

In the open letter, Chief Obasanjo expressed concern over the high level of insecurity in the country and called on President Buhari to take decisive action to prevent the situation from escalating into a full-blown crisis. President Buhari has been heavily criticised for failing to act because being an ethnic Fulani himself and a cattle owner, he is reluctant to take on his kinsmen who he sympathises with.

Chief Obasanjo wrote in his letter: “I am very much worried and afraid that we are on the precipice and dangerously reaching a tipping point where it may no longer be possible to hold danger at bay. Without being immodest, as a Nigerian who still bears the scar of the Nigerian civil war on my body and with a son who bears the scar of fighting Boko Haram on his body, you can understand, I hope, why I am so concerned.”

Also criticised for failing to react, the ACF said it was still studying the letter and will speak on it soon. ACF national publicity secretary Muhammad Biu, said: “The Arewa Consultative Forum is studying Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari and will make its position known soon.”

Human rights activist and former Senator Shehu Sani, has, however thrown his weight behind Chief Obasanjo’s letter. While appreciating the content of the letter, he advised that President Buhari should not use it as a toilet roll but should rather clip it near his dressing mirror.