Arewa Consultative Forum

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is a political and cultural association of leaders in Northern Nigeria formed in 2000 which has considerable influence in the political scene. (Arewa means "Northern" in Hausa, the primary language of the region.) The forum is a successor to the Northern People's Congress, which collapsed after the coup of 1966. The ACF has been associated with the Arewa People's Congress (APC), a militant group set up to protect the interests of the Hausa-Fulani people in the north. However, the forum is committed to democratic processes within the Federal constitution.

The forum originated from a meeting held on 7 March 2000 in Kaduna at the initiative of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido. The purpose was to establish unity of Northern leaders, working through elected officials to achieve progress in the Arewa area within the democratic framework. In September 2000, former head of state General Yakubu Gowon agreed to act as chairman of the Board of Patrons of the forum. The forum appointed a retired Inspector General of the Nigerian Police, Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko Yusufu, as chairman. Belying its common image as a champion of the interest of the Moslem Hausa and Fulani, the ACF appointed Sunday Awoniyi, a Christian Yoruba as chairman of the Board of Trustees in 2000, a position he held until his death in November 2007.

On 8 August 2001 the ACF announced that it was forming three teams to visit the 19 states of the North and Abuja, to be led by All People's Party (APP) leader Olusola Saraki, ACF Chairman M.D. Yusufu and Lt. Gen Jeremiah Useni. The goal was to meet and discuss common goals with state governors and other leaders. The group met a cool reception in Jos, Plateau State from members of the Middle Belt Forum, who felt that they would be marginalized in a forum dominated by northerners.

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