The senator representing Kaduna Central, Mr. Shehu Sani, has said that persons strategising for President Muhammadu Buhari to contest the 2019 elections in the face of massacres by Fulani herdsmen are enemies of the polity.
Reacting to the recent killings in Benue State, the lawmaker said the federal government and the presidency have a duty to restore law and order in the country.
“They (herdsmen) kill people in Benue, Taraba, Niger and Rivers States. But Nigeria’s political class are more interested in the 2019 elections than in the lives of people who are being killed by the herdsmen.
“There is more time to meet and strategise for the next elections. There is very little time to pay attention to the lives of the common people. My only advice for people who are advising the president and strategising for him to contest the 2019 elections is: they should spare him some time, advise him and provide a solid strategy to end the carnage and atrocities that are going on in the country today. Human life is more important than politics because you cannot preside over dead people,” he said.
He added: “It makes no meaning if the life and property of Nigerians are not safe. If we allow this trend to continue, it will amount to threatening the peace and unity of this country.
“The federal government and the president have a duty to restore peace and order and law in Nigeria. The most prone and vulnerable area in this country is the North Central states and part of the North West. There is a vast expanse of land that stretches from Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger and empties itself in the southern part of Kaduna. This is the North Central’s version of Sambisa Forest where thousands of armed criminals hide and commit atrocities with impunity.”