President
Muhammadu Buhari appears to have finally bowed to the criticisms of his alleged
uncaring response to crises across the country.
After the
massacre of dozens in Taraba, the president visited the state only yesterday
and is expected to also reach Benue, Zamfara, Yobe and Rivers states where
hundreds of citizens have been murdered in recent months.
A statement
from the presidency noted that Buhari, having studied a report by the armed
forces and other security agencies, is embarking on the trip to assess the
situation.
What the
statement didn’t acknowledge, however, is the overwhelming pressure by enraged
Nigerians who watched the president at the wedding in Kano State on Saturday of
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje’s daughter and the son of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of
Oyo State.
Ekiti State
Governor Ayodele Fayose described the visits as insincere, belated, and a ploy
to boost the president’s chances of re-election ahead of next year’s polls.
In a
statement by his spokesman, Lere Olayinka, Fayose said: “Obviously, the
president is more concerned about his re-election in 2019 and his visit to
those states he abandoned during their times of trouble is to seek votes, not
to sympathise with the people on their loses.
“On January
9 and 12, this year, 88 victims of herdsmen attacks were given mass burial in
Taraba State. Also, on January 11, 2018, another 73 persons killed by suspected
Fulani herdsmen in Benue State were buried in a mass grave in Makurdi, the
state capital.
“Meaning
that in Taraba and Benue States alone, 161 Nigerians were given mass burial
within three days! This never caught the attention of our president. Rather, it
was a visit to Nasarawa, a neighbouring state to Benue that was important to
him.”
Fayose
accused Buhari of showing a lack of compassion for Nigerians. According to him,
“While the entire nation, especially parents of the 110 abducted school girls
in Dapchi, Yobe State, were still in anguish, Buhari went to Kano, last
Saturday, to attend a social function, thus sparking negative reactions from
Nigerians.”
He said:
“Apparently, it was the negative reactions of Nigerians, especially on social
media and the effects on the president’s re-election bid that necessitated his
hurried visit to Taraba State today, and planned visits to Benue, Zamfara, Yobe
and Rivers.”
The governor
expressed hope that the people of Taraba would not be “hoodwinked” by the
“cosmetic sympathy, show of concern and crocodile tears he never bothered to
shed when hundreds of indigenes of the state were being killed by suspected
herdsmen.”
He
concluded: “Nigerians can no longer be deceived by a president who never cared
for them when they needed him most. Therefore, no amount of hurriedly organised
campaign visits will sway the people.”
According to
Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, the wedding, which took place
two days after Boko Haram killed UN aid workers in Rann, Borno State, portrays
the insensitivity of Nigerian leaders.
He wondered
why the two governors would stun the public with the pomp of their children’s
wedding when the nation was still reeling from the horror of dozens of
schoolgirls abducted in Yobe State.
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