By; MOHAMMED KAWU, Bauchi
Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed has noted with concern that nobody from Bauchi or the state in its entity has ever since the brutal assassination of late yprime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa threw his hat into the presidential ring except him.
The governor said, “I’m just coming back from Abuja after the PDP convention where on your own representation, I presented myself with humility as presidential aspirant. Since the demise of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa there was nobody from Bauchi state that was drawn as a presidential aspirant except me”.
Senator Bala Mohammed was on Sunday, speaking to communities in Yelwan Tsakani, a suburb of Bauchi metropolis where violence erupted between two warring youth factions in which fracas two-person loss their lives, scores injured and some houses set ablaze.
“I was not doing it for myself, I was doing it for you because Nigeria belong to all of us. Yesterday I gallantly lost, but I did not only in that place, I only lost here, my mind was here, I lost about two or three people, I’m not smiling the way I have always been doing because I feels sad, this is bad development too many.
He recalled that majority of them voted him into power, saying, I’m part of you because I’m a minority like you. I’m very conscious of my background, I’m not taking consideration of religion or tribe, I’m for everybody in Bauchi and I must do something to ensure we sustain the peace”.
“Since we came on board, we deepened inclusion, people from different background, different religious persuasions, and different tribes are included in this government, so that you can identify with the government because I was voted massively by everybody”.
The Governor further explained that what the state has today as a takeaway is the peace that everybody in the Northeast is saying we are the most peaceful state, “In the Northern part of the country we are the most peaceful state. At least, people can go to school, farm, and go about their businesses”.
Governor Bala observed however that some people within our society neither don’t want peace nor wanting it to continue happening, hence what happened between Friday night and Saturday was the handiwork of some hooligans who might have come from somewhere.
Senator Bala Mohammed therefore directed the police, the State Security Service and other security operatives to fish out the culprits, stressing “What has happened in other places, we have already gotten them. Sorry for what happened, continue to imbibe patience, live and let live, lets respect each other, lets respect our different persuasions because we are all one”.
Bala, who said he believe in unity, equity and justice, pledged to make sure that no perpetrator is secured and there shouldn’t be any king god or untouchable in whatever the government is doing in terms of reward and punishment.
‘Life must be sacrosanct, the sanctity of life must be respected, I’m here with all your leaders to plea to you to come down, calm down your nerves, we would make sure justice is done to whoever perpetuate this. And as an interim measure, we would be sending SEMA to take valuations of the losses incurred for which as a government we would take responsibility”.
The governor who also pledged to establish a police unit in the area to be manned by the police with all the patrol vehicles to forestall reoccurrence, warned that nobody would henceforth come and dilute the relative peace the state enjoys which is the basis of our common heritage, co-existence and development.
