Arewa group threatens to retaliate attack on Northern Governors

The Arewa Rapid Response Network (ARRN) has threatened to retaliate the attack on four northern state governors at the Port Harcourt International Airport on Tuesday.

In a statement signed by the national coordinator of the ARRN, Mallam Yakubu Ahmed, the group warned the perpetrators against allowing the chain of events in Rivers to snowball into a national crisis capable of truncating the nation's democracy.

Governors Rabiu Kwakwanso (Kano), Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and their host, Governor Rotimi Amaechi,  were said to be attacked by  supporters  of Minister of State, Mr. Nyesom Wike.

The statement reads: "It is clear to all that the Presidency is the chief instigator of the violence in Port Harcourt, which has almost made the state ungovernable. As things stand now, the crisis in Rivers Stats is threatening to engulf the nation owing to the risky dimension the problem is taking.

"While the crisis may look entirely as the business of the PDP, we must be careful not to stir up other chain of events that would snowball into an uncontrollable national crisis capable of leading to other unsavoury events that may truncate our nascent and vulnerable democracy.

"We recall that the election of the chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum in which the candidate of the President was squarely defeated, as well as other unpalatable consequences that have rattled the Presidency, were at the base of the Rivers crisis.

"We hasten to caution that the dimension the crisis is taking in relation to the events that led to the pelting of four governors from the north who paid a solidarity visit to the their Rivers State counterpart would, if not well handled, lead to other events which result could not be guessed".

Continuing, the group said: "It is as if history meant nothing to the agent provocateurs of Rivers State, particularly the pro-Jonathan drum beaters of war who appeared irredeemably bent on having their way, regardless of the dangers their actions pose to the nation.

"The act of pelting northern leaders has in the past, proved to be dangerous to national cohesion and we must stress here that the action of some misguided youths in Port Harcourt against the four visiting northern governors has the potentials to be interpreted as a calculated attempt by the Jonathan presidency to humiliate our leaders.

"It also appears to be an attempt to kick start the beginning of a larger anti-north movement aimed at facilitating the disintegration of the country in the event that Jonathan loses his bid for another term.

"The north has received enough humiliation in the course of the Jonathan presidency with criminal war lords calling our leaders unprintable names, calling for war against the North, making very inflammatory statements and challenging the basis of our nationhood without any effort by the presidency to call them to order.

"We would like to warn that the North will not tolerate a situation where our leaders are made to face a gangster-like humiliation in the way it was done in Rivers State.

"We equally have many options including the option of retaliating and if anybody is in doubt, then Jonathan and his cohorts should be held responsible if a repeat of the Rivers show of shame leads to other unpalatable events that may follow".