The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has pointedly told President Muhammadu Buhari to resign over his failure to secure the country.
The call came just as the Senate rose from a marathon debate on last Saturday’s beheading of farmers in Borno State, declaring that the Federal government has breached Section 14 (1), which makes security and welfare the sole purpose of its existence.
The fury in the red chamber reverberated in the House of Representatives, where members, piqued by worsening insecurity in the country, moved to summon Buhari to appear in the House over the killing at Zabarmari village, in the Jere Local Government area Borno State.
Northern Elders, in a statement on Tuesday by its Director, Publicity and Advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, noted that life has lost its value under the present administration due to the absence of political will to fight the Boko Haram insurgency and other threats such as banditry, rustling and kidnapping.
On the massacre of innocent farmers in Zabarmari, the elders forum regretted that Buhari has failed to listen to concerns from many Nigerians about the level of insecurity in the country.
It lamented that killings have been greeted by “most insensitive response” by spokespersons of the President and described as a lame excuse that murdered farmers did not seek permission from the military to harvest produce.
“These killings and the reality they expose will make relocation of citizens and resumption of economic activities a lot more difficult to achieve even for leadership that attaches priority to them, and this administration does not. Elsewhere in many parts of the North, many farming communities have not been allowed by bandits and kidnappers to plant crops,” the statement read.
The forum warned of imminent famine in the face of limited production of food in the region.
“Under this administration, life has lost its value, and more and more citizens are coming under the influence of criminals. We do not see any evidence of willingness on the part of President Buhari to honour his oath to provide security over Nigerians. In civilised nations, leaders who fail so spectacularly to provide security will do the honourable thing and resign,” he added.