Sunday, October 31, 2010

IBB, Atiku, others' selfishness detrimental to the North - Niger governor
SEGUN OLATUNJI


Niger State Governor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, on Saturday in Kaduna blamed the inability of the North to come up with a consensus presidential candidate on the selfishness of Peoples Democratic Party aspirants from the region.

The failure of the aspirants to harmonise their differences and allow one of them to emerge as the consensus candidate, he said, was detrimental to the desire of the zone to produce the nation's president in 2011.

Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar; former National Security Adviser, Aliyu Gusau; incumbent governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki, and former military president, Ibrahim Babangida are among the PDP presidential aspirants from the North.

Aliyu added that the self-centred attitude of the aspirants would eventually weaken the current agitation of the North in its quest to have one of its own controlling the reins of governance in the country from next year.

He noted that the current deadlock over the emergence of a consensus candidate was an indication that the once valued unity in the region no longer existed.
Aliyu, also the chairman of the Northern Governors' Forum who stated this at the launch of Northern Women Development: Focus on Women in Northern Nigeria, written by Hajiya Hajara Kabir, added that the lack of having a consensus candidate had become an issue of great concern to the zone.

He said, "Zoning or no zoning, we (north) should be able to collectively give the direction of political leadership of this country.

"Hence, it is an embarrassment to the legacies left by our founding fathers, who in spite of political differences, would not compromise the unity of the North, for selfish gains.

"We must (also) use this opportunity to place on record the need for our leaders to amend the existing disconnection with the common people.

"It is not an understatement that today; leaders are unaware of the needs of the common people. This, you will agree with me, has dealt a devastating blow on our valued unity."

He expressed regret that in spite of their contributions, women in the country and especially in the North continued to face enormous challenges.

http://odili.net/news/source/2010/oct/31/873.html

A sign of an iminent defeat for the north