By Mathew Dadiya, Lagos

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has described the security situation in the north as depressing, saying if care was not taken, the present generation would have nothing to bequeath the future.

The ACF said violence has now become a means of livelihood for children of the region.

The Forum’s reaction came on the heels of the Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum’s assertion that state-wide records had shown that “President Muhammadu Buhari has done better than previous governments in tackling the Boko Haram menace in his state”.

Chairman of the ACF, Chief Audu Ogbeh, spoke on the security situation in the north when he led a delegation to Maiduguri, to condole Borno State governor, Prof.

 “We are depressed, very depressed and anyone of us, of our age, who is not depressed, is not well-born, because we have nothing to leave behind for our children, and violence will not sustain us.

‘’The tragedy of the North, today, is that the only industry left is politics and politics alone has never grown any society.  We have to re-grow Borno State, we have to re-grow the north and we have to re-grow Nigeria.

‘’We have no industries, agriculture has declined and our own children have now turned to violence as a means of livelihood. Your Excellency, in ACF, we have decided that we will not talk too much politics.

We decided to focus on something else, we are going to start a programme of developing small-scale agro-industries across the north”, he said.

The Forum also condemned the attack on innocent farmers earning their legitimate means of livelihood around Zabarmari, describing it as barbaric and inhumane.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Forum, Amb Shehu Malami, delivered a condolence message and prayed for the restoration of peace in Borno and northern Nigeria.

In his remarks, Governor Zulum said recent killings of farmers and other attacks in the state notwithstanding, state-wide records on the 27 local government areas since 2011, indicate clearly that President Muhammadu Buhari has still performed better in handling Borno’s security challenges.

“From state-wide statistics on affairs in the 27 local councils since 2011, the fact is that despite the recent happenings in Borno State, the security situation there and, indeed, that of the entire North East, is still far better under Buhari and this is based on records.

‘’For instance, unlike the years before Buhari when a number of local governments were no-go-areas, we now have citizens, led by our traditional rulers, safely back to Bama, Gwoza, Askira-Uba, Dikwa, Ngala, Monguno, Kukawa, Damboa, Konduga, Mafa, all of which no one could visit, let alone live there.

‘’Our emirs were all in exile. Today, Bama is coming back to life and so is Askira-Uba, Damboa, Gwoza and others. Life is even returning to Baga.

‘’This was impossible before Buhari. In fact, it was not possible to move a few kilometres out of Maiduguri. Insurgents were so bold to attack and take over military facilities like the army barracks at Monguno, Bama, Giwa Barracks and Multinational Joint Task Force Headquarters at Baga to mention just a few.

‘’There were daily attacks, bomb blasts in many parts of Maiduguri, the most populated part of the state but all of these have stopped under Buhari. These are the records and no one can dispute these records’’, he added.