Arewa leader in the South, Alhaji Musa Saidu has berated a northern group, Arewa youths for peaceful coexistence for alleging that Chief Edwin Clark was part of those fueling the crisis in Rivers state....READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE ▶▶
Dismissing the group as non-existent Saidu said Chief Clark remains a very respected and patriotic nationalist in the country, adding that he was among those who fought alongside Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye for the establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.
He said he was shocked when he read the position of the group in a national newspaper, adding that members of the group cleverly ensured their names were not in the publication since they knew they were a faceless body allegedly sponsored by politicians determined to mischievously drag the revered name of Chief Clark into the ugly politics in Rivers state.
Saidu said Chief Clark has a reputation for being on the side of truth at all times in the country, noting that he was a very dear friend of the north.
His words: ” It’s a faceless sponsored group used to hurl insults. They don’t know that they attacked the wrong person this time. Chief Clark is a man who has contributed to the unity of this country.
” Chief Clark fights for everybody. As somebody close to him, I was Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye’s aide and Chief Clark was his deputy so I know him very well. Chief Clark worked with Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye to fight for the creation of NDDC. If he tells NDDC what to do he has the right to do so. They fought using the South-South People’s Conference, SSPC for NDDC.
“Clark is a nationalist. I am the leader of the Arewa Initiative for Peaceful Co-existence in southern Nigeria. So who are those Arewa youth who spoke against Clark? They stated without any name. They are faceless youths. We don’t have any youth body. There is no name in their story. There is no organisation as Arewa Youths Initiative. They don’t exist, they are faceless. We condemn them for the attack on Chief Edwin Clark, our elder statesman.
“You can hate Clark for saying the truth, he is a man always on the side of truth.
“The body doesn’t exist that is why they wrote a press statement without any name. Who and who are the leaders of the body? Certainly, they don’t have any. They are not registered. I am one of those who registered the Arewa Initiative for Peaceful Coexistence. If they exist let them come out.
“When the Arewa consultative forum was formed, it went into alliance with the South-South Peoples Conference, SSPC on November 17th, 2000. The alliance was a continuation of the alliance between the Northern Peoples Congress led by the late Ahmadu Bello, the Sauduna of Sokoto and the Niger Delta Congress led by the late Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye Biriye.
“Chief Clark was the deputy in the SSPC while Chief Biriye was the Chairman. They should know who Clark is. It was at one of the meetings in Arewa House Kaduna I moved a motion for the creation of an interventionist agency as president Nigeria Youth Federation to replace the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission OMPADEC. They should respect our nonagenarian, Chief Clark, we adore him , we Love him. All part of Nigeria is Clark’s village as a nationalist. “
He further flayed a former local government council Chairman in Rivers state, Mr Chidi Lloyd for also attacking Clark over his call on the Inspector General of Police , Mr Kayode Egbetokun to arrest and prosecute the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT Nyesom Wike for of his alleged incisive comments on the political crisis in Rivers state.
“We condemn Chidi Lloyd for attacking Chief Clark . Chief Clark is a nationalist and has been Minister of the country. This attack on Chief Clark, I will not take it, I must condemn it. The whole Arewa condemn chidi Lloyd over his careless comment on Chief Clark. If they are fighting Clark because of Wike they made a mistake because he ( Chief Clark) is a man of truth, a respected nationalist and a man of peace”.
