President Muhammadu Buhari has absolved himself from the spate of killings rocking Zamfara State as a renowned broadcast journalist on Saturday vented anger on Governor Abdulaziz Yari describing him as the “most useless governor in the history of Nigeria.”
Kadaria Ahmed, broadcast journalist and media entrepreneur, while addressing journalists in Abuja on April 6, during a protest over the killings in Zamfara passed a vote of no-confidence on Governor Yari and by inference All Progressives Congress (APC) his party for failure to stem the killings spree.
The visibly angry Kadaria reacted to perceived docility of both the Zamfara government and the Buhari-led Federal Government in the killing of at least 50 people in the northwest state which for a long time has become a theatre of mindless killings, rapes and kidnappings by unknown bandits.
While some Nigerians applauded the journalist for making the aforesaid remark, others criticised her for not condemning President Buhari, Nigeria’s commander-in-chief for -.
But as a way of dodging Ahmed’s barbs, President Buhari, through his new Media aide, Bashir Ahmad, on Sunday absolved himself from the killings, and wondered how he could be unconcerned about the killings and the pain of the families of those who had lost their lives to bandits.
President Buhari tweeted, “Let me again offer our deepest condolences to all the victims and their families and loved ones. We feel your pains, and there is nothing more important to me at this time than ensuring that these bandits and criminals are completely neutralized.”
Let me again offer our deepest condolences to all the victims and their families and loved ones. We feel your pains, and there is nothing more important to me at this time than ensuring that these bandits and criminals are completely neutralised.
— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) April 7, 2019
Earlier, Sanusi Rikiji, speaker of the Zamfara State House Assembly, had on Friday, April 5, revealed that no fewer than 50 persons, including members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, were killed in Zamfara last Tuesday.
Straightnews gathered that revered journalist Ahmad during the press interview had said: “Quote me, he is the most useless Governor in the history of Nigeria. This is a governor whose reaction to the killings in his state was to resign as the Chief Security Officer. He went on the record to say that he cannot be the Chief Security Officer. So, I don’t know what he is still doing in office; he doesn’t care.
“He only cares about the people of Zamfara when it comes to politics. The fact that they are getting killed does not concern him. He lives most of his time here in Abuja. How can you govern a state for eight years from Abuja? What sort of leadership is that? We are so happy he is on his way out.
“He is hopeless as a leader. He has not done well for our people. Under him, Zamfara has deteriorated.”
Ahmed also said she grew up in Zamfara adding that the state has lost the peace and prosperity she used to know.
She, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to either see to the security issues in the state or declare a state of emergency in Zamfara.
“We are asking for Muhammadu Buhari, the president of Nigeria, to show the people of Zamfara the same regard they have shown for him.
“For two elections, they have come out now in large numbers to vote for him, can he for goodness sake show that he cares about them. Can he provide security so that we can sleep in our homes.”
“For eight years we have seen the security situation of the state get worse under him. It is not late for a state of emergency to be declared in the state. Yari has failed woefully. Buhari should act now,’’ she said.
Despite the deployment of a thousand security personnel on the orders of President Buhari in July 2018, to the state, the security situation has further deteriorated.
