Atiku Abubakar Calls for Northern Unity at 25th Anniversary of Arewa Consultative Forum
Atiku Abubakar Calls for Northern Unity at 25th Anniversary of Arewa Consultative Forum, urging northern leaders to recommit to unity, development and visionary leadership as the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) celebrated its 25th anniversary in Kaduna on Friday.
Speaking at the event, the former Vice President praised the ACF for sustaining its role as a stabilizing force in the region despite decades of challenges. He recalled how the Forum was formed in 1999 to unite a divided North and revive the development vision of Sir Ahmadu Bello.
Atiku highlighted three priorities that shaped northern development—education, agriculture and industry—noting that his administration launched the Northern Education Project and Northern Development Program to strengthen these sectors. He lamented that many industrial challenges, including energy shortages and poor financing, remain unresolved.
The former Vice President stressed that managing diversity is crucial to northern strength, warning that internal divisions and external misinformation continue to undermine unity. He urged leaders to emulate diverse nations like India and China that have turned diversity into development gains.
Atiku also raised concerns about Nigeria’s fast-growing population, questioning how the North will feed, educate, and create jobs for millions of youths in the coming decades.
He concluded with a call for renewed northern unity: “If there is any time for the North to unite, it is now.”
