The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) felicitates with the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria on the 1446AH (2025) Eid-el-Kabir celebrations as solemn reminders of the need for humanity’s values of sacrifice, fellowship and devotion in apprecia-tion of Almighty God’s Benevolence. ACF also wishes Nigerian pilgrims in the Holy land Saudi Arabia a fruitful observance of one of Islam’s ritual injunctions, the Pilgrimage to the Ka’abah and other Holy Sites. ACF trusts that the pilgrims have included Nigerians in their prayers for Divine Providence in all aspects of lives as the auspicious Season is for deep and sincere reflections and goodwill. The celebrations are coming amid struggles under economic-cum-existential challenges, ranging from, dire costs of living expenses, inflation, rapid deteriora-tion in the value of wages and salaries, etc. These are in addition to the tough ex-periences of insurgency, terrorism and banditry in several locations but more acutely in the Northern states. These experiences may not be new. It is however disturbing that public policy responses to them have remained ineffective even as profligacy and reckless expenditures by public officials are in contrast to sacrifices by citizens. A most perverse illustration of reckless profligacy of public expenditure has been the revelation about insertions, in the 2025 Federal budget, for the provision of streetlights at a staggering and unimaginable costs of over N260 million Naira each. That there has to date been no official denial of such crassly reckless and surreal insertions attests to the insensitivity of public officials and political repre-sentatives to the plight of ordinary Nigerians, whose living conditions continue to deteriorate all round (insufficiencies in or escalating costs of food, energy, health, educational opportunities, transportation, water supply, weak Naira, etc.), going by precedence, such budgetary insertions are replicated in various ways at states level.
As ACF observed a year ago, the existential challenges above are symptomatic of fundamental malaise in the political economy calling for urgent public policy attention. Disappointingly, it will seem to be the case that the ruling party at the centre is more obsessed with unprecedented early campaigns, defections to it and other maneuvers for re-election in 2027, amidst putative celebrations of mid-term policy successes. Delusional hubris and head-in-the-sand claims continue to characterise pronouncement by officials charged with responsibilities for security in contrast to cries of state governors on ground in locations. Such obsessions and claims only ignore or give blind eyes to possible mass disillusionment, despair, discontent, hopelessness and angst of the populace. That Nigerians continue to endure and could even celebrate occasions such as the Eid is a telling testament to their admirable resilience, which ought not to be taken for granted. ACF praises Nigerians over such resilience.ACF asserts that national challenges enumerated above can be overcome by the entrenchment of the principles of good governance in public officials at local, state and federal levels. Finally, ACF calls continued prayers for Nigeria such that a peaceful, secure, vibrant and prosperous country can be achieved; all should continue to support Nigeria’s security agencies for their efforts in fighting criminality.
Prof. T. A. Muhammad-Baba
National Publicity Secretary