Press Statement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16th December, 2020.
We, the young people in the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the platform of the All Progressives Youth Forum (APYF) note with concern the resurgence of insecurity and the general lack of safety in Nigeria.
We are equally worried that the gains the government made in pushing back the terrorists, particularly in the North East is now been reversed. Challenges of banditry and kidnapping have also assumed worrying dimensions, happening in several places across the country.
As a group, we are not unaware of the efforts being made by the government, chief among which was the arrangements to acquire fighting equipments to aid the efforts of our gallants soldiers. We also acknowledge that quite a number of behind-the-scene efforts are being made, which of course cannot be disclosed due to the need to protect national security information.
However, while the government may be certain that efforts are ongoing to address all identified security challenges confronting the nation, some actions on the part of principal government actors, especially Mr. President, are showing a debilitating lack of enthusiasm and not very reassuring to the generality of citizens.
As footsoldiers of the party who on daily basis defend the actions of the Buhari government both online and offline, it has become difficult and frustrating for us to defend some certain dispositions of President Buhari, especially towards victims of insecurity.
We do not, for instance, find it agreeable that Mr. President who traversed the whole of Nigeria to ask for votes just last year could not spare time to visit Kankara in his native Katsina State, where a yet to be ascertained number of students have been abducted by suspected terrorists; even at a time he was readily available in the State. We, indeed, understand that Mr. President is in Katsina on a private visit, but a father of a nation should know that private moments pale into insignificance when the safety and well-being of his people are threatened.
The APYF especially would love the President to be more empathic towards those who are in the receiving end of the security problems confronting our nation, because it’s by so doing that he would have displayed the genuineness of intention that would enlist the patriotic support of the entire citizenry to queue behind the government and offer their support.
At the moment, the lethargic attitude of Mr. President towards particularly the issue of security is leading many to conclude that ours is a ‘leaderless’ administration where “nobody seems to be in charge.” We appeal for targeted, deliberate and relatable actions toward addressing the growing and varied cases of insecurity.
We do not see the promise we made on the campaign trail to protect and safeguard the lives and properties of Nigerians as mere ‘vote-solicitation’ talk. We believe it was a pledge which we must keep. We also believe that our interest as progressive party and government should be one that support the stability of Nigeria. Any other consideration should be secondary. And it is on this basis that we call on all conscientious members of our great party, both within and outside the government, to prevail on Mr. President to prioritize the return of safety and security to our fatherland.
We should make it clear that we as young people, the custodians of the image of the APC and the bearer of its sustained fortunes, would no longer fold our arms while the country relapses to the very position from which we promised to salvage it.
Signed:
Muhammad Abdullahi
Publicity Secretary
APYF
