. Islamic cleric condemns attack
By Mohammed Audu,
Minna
The one-day visit by Governor Abubarkar Sani Bello of Niger State to Bida in Bida Local Government Area of the state on Thursday almost turned bloody as youths in the area attacked his convoy over alleged poor performance, lack of care and for his penchant for overseas’ trips under the guise of scouting for investors.
Though the windscreen of one of the vehicles on the governor’s convoy was shattered by the youths, the state’s number one citizen was equally prevented from accomplishing his mission of visiting the scene of the old Bida central market fire disaster, which happened recently.
No life was lost.
It would be recalled that fire burnt the market, while the governor was outside the country looking for foreign investors.
Eyewitness told our correspondent that the people, mostly youths were not happy that ‘‘for almost three years gone the governor spends more time global-trotting to satisfy his penchant for overseas trips and shows little or no concerns over citizen’s poor living conditions.”
The source further explained that the youths instead of welcoming the visitors started chanting anti-APC slogan and telling Governor Bello, who was still inside the vehicle at the scene of the burnt Etsu Musa market that he has disappointed Nigerlites and would be voted out in 2019.
It took the timely intervention of the escort policemen and SSS to quickly rush towards the Coaster bus conveying the visitors to protect the occupants from being manhandled by the angry youths.
The police later shot into the air to scare the intruders whose rains of Bamu-so. Sau-daya meaning, (We don’t want. Only one term), and similar anti-APC slogans rather increased as more people got attracted to the scene.
Meanwhile, an Islamic cleric in Niger State, Mallam Muhammad Rabiu Abubarkar or 1-2-3 Juma’at Mosque, Minna, has condemned the attack.
Mohammad Rabiu in a sermon during Friday’s Juma’at prayers urged Nigerians and Nigerlites in particular to learn to be praying for their leaders for Allah to guide them right instead of raining curses and public assaults on those they voted into offices.
His words: “Learn to pray for our leaders. They are like peddlers of ships in which we are traveling, they could easily be distracted when abused and when the ship capsizes they may escape unhurt and we passengers could end up being shipwrecked”.
