Presidency Flays Buhari, CPC’s Comments on Emir of Kano

Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd)

The presidency Tuesday lampooned former Head of State and national leader of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), describing his comments on the attack on the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, as irresponsible and reckless.

However, Kano State Government Tuesday announced the banning of commercial motorcyclists from operating in the state.

Bayero was attacked by unknown gunmen last weekend, which claimed the lives of six persons. 

But the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, while reacting to the incident, cautioned against politicising the attack on the monarch, explaining that Buhari, CPC and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) attempt to trivialise the issue was uncalled for.

Buhari and CPC had condemned the attack on the Emir of Kano, stating that: “The portent of this latest security challenge is that: the Nigerian state is not just under an ominous cloud of insecurity but all the citizens (under the Nation space) are also victims.”

Okupe said: “the statement by General Muhammadu Buhari, his party the CPC is unfortunate, reckless and opportunistic.”

According to him, “any attempt to politicise this unfortunate attack on the revered Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, and members of his family is irresponsible.  Though, the attack itself is regrettable, it is difficult at present to blame it on the Boko Haram or terrorism or in fact on some criminal elements within the society that hid under the spate of insecurity in the state to perpetuate this heinous crime.”

The presidential aide said the police and other security agencies were working round the clock to ensure that the perpetrators of the attack were arrested and persecuted.

Okupe said though much as it is difficult to prevent crimes anywhere in the world, as the recent killings of school children in Connecticut in the United States will prove, “At that moment in the United States, no American citizen or group blamed the killings on the President or the government, in spite of avalanche of security apparatus and expertise available to the United States Government.”

According to him, “what any responsible government must be able to do is to ensure that the perpetrators of these heinous crimes are arrested and prosecuted according to the laws of the land.”

He also condemned the comments by the NLC, saying, “we are, however, not impressed by similar stance by the NLC that is supposed to be non partisan in nature and in all approaches. There is indeed absolutely no need to politicise this unfortunate attack on the emir.”

Okupe said: “In times like this, like in all emergencies, what the nation ought to do is to pull together in the same direction and encourage the citizenry to give full support to government and all security agencies, so as to ensure that the culprits are brought to justice. We wish to reiterate and confirm the express commitments of the Federal Government to get to the bottom of this unfortunate incident.”

Meanwhile, in a special radio and televised broadcast, the state Deputy Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, said the state government, after reviewing security report, decided to ban the activities of the motorcyclists in the state, adding that henceforth no passenger would be allowed on it in any form whatsoever.

“The action became imperative so as to ensure that all commercial activities of motorcyclists in the state were registered in their local government as part of government measures to ensure security in the state,” he stated.

According to him, the banning of the commercial activities of the motorcyclists begins on Thursday this week, adding that the attack on Emir’s convoy shook the ancient city of Kano.

But reacting to the ban, the National President of the Amalgamated Commercial Owner/Ridders Association of Nigeria, Muhammad Sani Hassan, described the development as “unpleasant and highly devastating”.

Hassan, who also doubled as the chairman of the local chapter of the association, disclosed that about 1.5 million people, by virtue of the action would be rendered jobless in the state.

He called on government to come up with a new measure that could create job opportunities to the people, who have been rendered jobless.