As insecurity reigns supreme in most parts of Northern Nigeria, a former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa,? has urged the northern political elite to look beyond President Goodluck Jonathan for solution to the insecurity problem.
The erstwhile two-time governor told LEADERSHIP WEEKEND that the solution lies with the elite, the political class and members of the National Assembly from the region.
Bafarawa said that the Boko Haram insurgency has political undertone and expressed the view that the political class from the region would be able to address the issue.
He said: “I blame the politicians because we know what is right and what is wrong. This issue of Boko Haram is political. If we the politicians, whom I believe are the ones controlling the north, and we are waiting to see what President Goodluck Jonathan can do, we are just wasting our time. President Jonathan alone cannot save the north. I believe this is the time for both northern Christians and Moslems to come together.
“The fault is ours – the political class, especially the members of the National Assembly. The NASS is controlled by the north and, if this is democracy, they should take resolutions and government must implement.”
Buttressing his claim for a concerted action to solving of insecurity in the country, especially in northern Nigeria, the former governor remarked, ‘‘President Jonathan has not done enough, so we have to push him to come and join us to solve this problem.’’
He said that all the political interests in the region should come together, in conjunction with the members of the National Assembly from the zone, and come out with a resolution on the matter.
‘There is political Boko Haram, social Boko Haram, economic Boko Haram and corruption Boko Haram. It is not just Boko Haram. It is our duty to come together and tell ourselves the truth, both Christians and Moslems. We don’t have any other place to go except the north,’’ the former governor advocated.
Bafarawa also frowned at the northern leaders plotting for the 2015 general election instead of joining hands to find lasting peace in the region.