The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has demanded the immediate resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari.
It said the President has proved spectacularly incapable of providing security for Nigerians and citizens cannot continue in such condition till May 2023.
The Director, Publicity and Advocacy of NEF, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, who made the call in a statement on Tuesday said Nigerians have shed enough tears and blood without an appropriate response from those with responsibilities to protect them.
The Northern Elders noted with dismay killings and assaults on communities have become daily features of all Nigerians just as travelling anywhere is risky and the option of staying put does not make anyone safer.
The statement reads: “The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari does not appear to have answers to the challenges of security to which we are exposed.
“We cannot continue to live and die under the dictates of killers, kidnappers, rapists and sundry criminal groups that have deprived us of our rights to live in peace and security.
“Our constitution has provisions for leaders to voluntarily step down if they are challenged by personal reasons or they prove incapable of leading.
“It is now time for President Buhari to seriously consider that option, since his leadership has proved spectacularly incapable of providing security over Nigerians.
“Our Forum is aware of the weight of this advice, and it is also aware that we cannot continue to live under these conditions until 2023 when President Buhari’s term ends.”
Baba-Ahmed said the Forum made the recommendation with the highest sense of responsibility, and expressed hope there are enough Nigerians who enjoy the confidence of President Buhari to advise him to consider resigning.
“Killers and other criminals appear to have sensed a paralyzing vacuum at the highest levels of leadership, and they grow more confident and acquire more competence in subverting the State and our security.
“Nigerians have shed enough tears and blood without an appropriate response from those with responsibilities to protect us.”
The Forum however advised politicians aspiring to lead the nation to weigh their capacities, commitments and challenges of leadership very carefully.
The northern elder’s spokesperson said that leading Nigeria out of its current state and placing it firmly on the path of rediscovery is not an all-comer affair.
