Arewa Consultative Forum
Encyclopedia
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is a political and cultural association of leaders in Northern Nigeria
formed in 2000 which has considerable influence in the political scene. (Arewa
means "Northern" in Hausa
, the primary language of the region.)
The forum is a successor to the Northern People's Congress
, which collapsed after the coup of 1966.
The ACF has been associated with the Arewa People's Congress
(APC), a militant group set up to protect the interests of the Hausa-Fulani people in the north.
However, the forum is committed to democratic processes within the Federal constitution.
at the initiative of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido. The purpose was to establish unity of Northern leaders, working through elected officials to achieve progress in the Arewa area within the democratic framework.
In September 2000, former head of state General Yakubu Gowon
agreed to act as chairman of the Board of Patrons of the forum.
The forum appointed a retired Inspector General of the Nigerian Police, Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko Yusufu
, as chairman.
Belying its common image as a champion of the interest of the Moslem Hausa
and Fulani
, the ACF appointed Sunday Awoniyi
, a Christian Yoruba
as chairman of the Board of Trustees in 2000, a position he held until his death in November 2007.
. The goal was to meet and discuss common goals with state governors and other leaders.
The group met a cool reception in Jos
, Plateau State
from members of the Middle Belt Forum
, who felt that they would be marginalized in a forum dominated by northerners.
In August 2001 the forum recommended that former Heads of State, Generals Muhammadu Buhari
, Ibrahim Babangida
and Abdulsalami Abubakar
defend themselves against allegations made against them at the Human Rights Investigations Commission, sitting in Abuja, and said the ACF was conducting an independent investigation.
In December 2003, the new ACF chairman, Chief Sunday Awoniyi
, said the forum would try to persuade Buhari, Babangida and Vice President Atiku Abubakar
to resolve their differences for the sake of greater unity of northern leaders.
In March 2009 the ACF expressed concern over deteriorating liquidity in the banking industry and demanded that the Central Bank of Nigeria
provide information on the size and origins of the problem.
, and the possibility of his vice-president Goodluck Jonathan
from the South assuming power became a contentious issue in the forum.
On 16 December 2009, the forum issued a communiqué calling for further information on the health of the President, and saying that if a succession issue arose it should be resolved according to the constitution.
Later that month, the ACF called on the President, then hospitalized in Saudi Arabia
, to formally release a letter that would authorize the Vice President to act in his absence.
In January 2010 the former secretary of the ACF, retired colonel Umaru Ali, asked the president to resign so that his deputy could take over.
In February 2010 the ACF said unequivocally that Yar'Adua should transfer power to Jonathan.
Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, former Liaison Officer to President Shehu Shagari
and a founding member, quit the ACF due to the forum's statement.
who had recommended a break-up of Nigeria along religious lines, saying he was ignorant of the diverse religious make-up of the country.
The ACF condemned the recent killings in Plateau State
, which had triggered Gaddafi's remarks, describing them as "senseless".
That month the ACF formed a Political Committee headed by former Minister of State of Power and Steel, Mohammed Ahmed Gusau. The committee's goal was to set the ACF agenda ahead of the 2011 elections.
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
formed in 2000 which has considerable influence in the political scene. (Arewa
Arewa
Arewa is a Hausa language term meaning "northern" or "northerners". Its popular usage in contemporary Nigeria sometimes suggests a northern Nigerian regionalism or proto-nationalism...
means "Northern" in Hausa
Hausa language
Hausa is the Chadic language with the largest number of speakers, spoken as a first language by about 25 million people, and as a second language by about 18 million more, an approximate total of 43 million people...
, the primary language of the region.)
The forum is a successor to the Northern People's Congress
Northern People's Congress
Northern People's Congress is a political party in Nigeria. Formed in June 1949, the party held considerable influence in the Northern Region from the 1950s until the military coup of 1966....
, which collapsed after the coup of 1966.
The ACF has been associated with the Arewa People's Congress
Arewa People's Congress
The Arewa People's Congress is a group in Northern Nigeria established to protect the interests of the Muslim Hausa and Fulani of the area. It has been described as a militant wing of the Arewa Consultative Forum....
(APC), a militant group set up to protect the interests of the Hausa-Fulani people in the north.
However, the forum is committed to democratic processes within the Federal constitution.
Origins
The forum originated from a meeting held on 7 March 2000 in KadunaKaduna
Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-central Nigeria. The city, located on the Kaduna River, is a trade center and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna is at 760,084 as of the 2006 Nigerian census...
at the initiative of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido. The purpose was to establish unity of Northern leaders, working through elected officials to achieve progress in the Arewa area within the democratic framework.
In September 2000, former head of state General Yakubu Gowon
Yakubu Gowon
General Yakubu "Jack" Dan-Yumma Gowon was the head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. He took power after one military coup d'etat and was overthrown in another...
agreed to act as chairman of the Board of Patrons of the forum.
The forum appointed a retired Inspector General of the Nigerian Police, Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko Yusufu
Muhammadu Dikko Yusufu
Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko Yusufu is a Nigerian policeman, public servant and politician.Muhammadu Dikko Yusufu rose to the position of Inspector General of the Nigerian Police, a post he held from 1975 to 1979 during the military rules of Generals Murtala Mohammed and Olusegun Obasanjo...
, as chairman.
Belying its common image as a champion of the interest of the Moslem Hausa
Hausa people
The Hausa are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. They are a Sahelian people chiefly located in northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger, but having significant numbers living in regions of Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad and Sudan...
and Fulani
Fula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
, the ACF appointed Sunday Awoniyi
Sunday Awoniyi
Sunday Bolorunduro Awoniyi, CON was a Nigerian Yoruba politician and tribal aristocrat as the Aro of Mopa in Kogi State...
, a Christian Yoruba
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
as chairman of the Board of Trustees in 2000, a position he held until his death in November 2007.
2000 - 2009
On 8 August 2001 the ACF announced that it was forming three teams to visit the 19 states of the North and Abuja, to be led by All People's Party (APP) leader Olusola Saraki, ACF Chairman M.D. Yusufu and Lt. Gen Jeremiah UseniJeremiah Useni
Jeremiah Timbut Useni was a Lt. General in the Nigerian Army and Minister responsible for the administration of the Abuja Federal Capital Territory under the Sani Abacha military junta. He came from Plateau State. He served Nigeria in various capacities such as Minister for Transport and...
. The goal was to meet and discuss common goals with state governors and other leaders.
The group met a cool reception in Jos
Jos
Jos is a city in the Middle Belt of Nigeria.The city has a population of about 1.5 million residents. Popularly called "J-town" or "Jesus Our Saviour" by the residents, it is the administrative capital of Plateau State....
, Plateau State
Plateau State
Plateau State is the twelfth largest state of Nigeria, and is roughly located in the center of the country. It is geographically unique in Nigeria because its boundaries totally surround the Jos Plateau, having the Jos Plateau totally in its central and northern part...
from members of the Middle Belt Forum
Middle Belt Forum
The Middle Belt Forum is a regional socio-political group in Nigeria that promotes the interests of the people of the Middle Belt region, a loosely-defined area between the Moslem and Hausa-dominated North and the predominantly Christian Igbo and Yoruba areas of the Southeast and Southwest. The...
, who felt that they would be marginalized in a forum dominated by northerners.
In August 2001 the forum recommended that former Heads of State, Generals Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari was a military ruler of Nigeria and an unsuccessful candidate for president in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections...
, Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Babangida
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida CFR DSS mni , popularly known as IBB, was a Nigerian Army officer and military ruler of Nigeria...
and Abdulsalami Abubakar
Abdulsalami Abubakar
General Abdulsalami Alhaji Abubakar is a Nigerian general who was President of Nigeria from June 9, 1998 until May 29, 1999. He succeeded Sani Abacha upon Abacha's death. It was during Abubakar's leadership that Nigeria adopted its new constitution on May 5, 1999, which provided for multiparty...
defend themselves against allegations made against them at the Human Rights Investigations Commission, sitting in Abuja, and said the ACF was conducting an independent investigation.
In December 2003, the new ACF chairman, Chief Sunday Awoniyi
Sunday Awoniyi
Sunday Bolorunduro Awoniyi, CON was a Nigerian Yoruba politician and tribal aristocrat as the Aro of Mopa in Kogi State...
, said the forum would try to persuade Buhari, Babangida and Vice President Atiku Abubakar
Atiku Abubakar
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, alias Turakin Adamawa, GCON was the Vice-President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. He is a Muslim native of Adamawa State, and was an influential member of the ruling People's Democratic Party until 2006 when he switched affiliation to the Action Congress party...
to resolve their differences for the sake of greater unity of northern leaders.
In March 2009 the ACF expressed concern over deteriorating liquidity in the banking industry and demanded that the Central Bank of Nigeria
Central Bank of Nigeria
The Central Bank of Nigeria was established by the CBN Act of 1958 and commenced operations on July 1, 1959.The major regulatory objectives of the bank as stated in the CBN act of 1958 is to: issue legal tender, maintain the external reserves of the country, promote monetary stability and a sound...
provide information on the size and origins of the problem.
Crisis over Yar'Adua illness
In late 2009 the illness of President Umaru Yar'Adua, the first Northern President of the Nigerian Fourth RepublicNigerian Fourth Republic
The Fourth Republic is the republican government of Nigeria. Since 1999 it has governed the country according to the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Second Republic, which was in place between 1979 and 1983 and suffers many of the same problems, such as multiple...
, and the possibility of his vice-president Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, GCFR, BNER, GCON is the 14th Head of State and current President of Nigeria.He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the...
from the South assuming power became a contentious issue in the forum.
On 16 December 2009, the forum issued a communiqué calling for further information on the health of the President, and saying that if a succession issue arose it should be resolved according to the constitution.
Later that month, the ACF called on the President, then hospitalized in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, to formally release a letter that would authorize the Vice President to act in his absence.
In January 2010 the former secretary of the ACF, retired colonel Umaru Ali, asked the president to resign so that his deputy could take over.
In February 2010 the ACF said unequivocally that Yar'Adua should transfer power to Jonathan.
Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, former Liaison Officer to President Shehu Shagari
Shehu Shagari
Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, Turakin Sakkwato served as the President of Nigeria's Second Republic , after the handover of power by General Olusegun Obasanjo's military government....
and a founding member, quit the ACF due to the forum's statement.
2010 onwards
In March 2010 the ACF rejected a statement by Libyan leader Muammar GaddafiMuammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
who had recommended a break-up of Nigeria along religious lines, saying he was ignorant of the diverse religious make-up of the country.
The ACF condemned the recent killings in Plateau State
Plateau State
Plateau State is the twelfth largest state of Nigeria, and is roughly located in the center of the country. It is geographically unique in Nigeria because its boundaries totally surround the Jos Plateau, having the Jos Plateau totally in its central and northern part...
, which had triggered Gaddafi's remarks, describing them as "senseless".
That month the ACF formed a Political Committee headed by former Minister of State of Power and Steel, Mohammed Ahmed Gusau. The committee's goal was to set the ACF agenda ahead of the 2011 elections.