A pan yoruba youth organisation, Oodua Youth Progressive Alliance(OYPA), has decried the constant occurrence of violence in the northern part of the country and has called on the leadership of the region to arrest the situation before it escalates to an uncharitable dimension.
The youth group which made this call at a media briefing yesterday in Ibadan by their Secretary-General Comrade Ola Oluwasanmi, condemned “the growing violence in the country at a time when the nation needed peace most” and wondered at the pace at which the violence from the north was spreading to other parts of the country gradually without leaders of the north calling them to order before it spread to other parts of the country.
The Pan – yoruba youth group also took a swipe at northern leaders whom they accuse of being the masterminds of the violent witnessed in these parts. They asked that the northern leaders be questioned as to the restlessness and violence which is about to envelope the entire country if not checked. This according to them is because no northern elder or traditional leader has come out in recent times to question these hooligans and miscreants who have particularly intensified their resolve to make the whole country ungovernable for the citizenry.
They pointed accusing fingers at opposition elements round the country especially the All Progressives Congress ( APC ), Presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the Rivers State governor, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Ameachi who according to them have variously tried to incite the people into violence through their utterances.
The group which further hailed the former Niger-Delta militants who had converged in Bayelsa to condemn the attack on the president and also declare their support for President Goodluck Jonathan, stated that despite opposing comments against the claimed threats issued by the former militants, the group threw their support behind the decision as they described it as the only way round in a polarised country.
It accused the North for the violence that is trying to divide the region. According to him, the frequent reoccurrence of violence in the Middle belt was intended to unsettle the region to ensure they are subdued, a situation they have promised to fight.
Comrade Oluwasanmi informed that they were ready to form alliances with the minority ethnic groups in the Middle Belt and South South Nigeria to ensure the interest of “those who have vowed to visit the nation with violence is aborted”.
“Ours is a strong warning that the violence in the North occasioned by the violent acts of the northern youth with the tactic approval of their leaders, has pushed everyone to the wall and we must rise up to defend ourselves and renew old alliances to safeguard our nation”.
“Peace to all of us is a priceless commodity that should not be traded for political gains,though we have always been known for our bravery we still believe that stakeholders across board should still do more as 2015 draws closer to ensure that the youths are not allowed to set the whole country ablaze,” It read in part.
