Former Sokoto State Governor, Attahiru Bafarawa, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of not valuing the lives of the people of the state over his failure to visit and condole with the them following the burning of travelers by terrorists last week.
Bafarawa who spoke on a BBC Hausa Service programme on Saturday, expressed his disappointment over Buhari’s failure to visit and condole with the people of the state over the incident, but chose to visit Lagos to grace the launch of a book by former Osun State Governor, Bisi Akande.
Bafarawa lamented a situation where innocent citizens are burnt to death and the President did not find it imperative to visit and condole with the people but found it convenient to attend a book launch.
The former Governor also bemoaned Buhari’s failed to address the growing insecurity and killings in Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina and other states in the northern part of the country, accusing the president of not valuing the lives of the people that elected him.
“The way the lives of our people are being treated as worthless is the most disturbing thing. See the lives lost just within the last four to five days,” Bafarawa said.
“People were burnt in a vehicle after they were shot, but President Muhammadu Buhari went to Lagos for a book launch, a book that is neither the Qur’an or the Bible. It is just a biography.
“He did not come to Sokoto to commiserate with us over the lives we lost but he sent some people to represent him.
“When he was campaigning, he didn’t send anybody to represent him, he came by himself. That was because he wanted to be elected.
“What stopped him from coming to condole with the people? But he went to Lagos for a book launch. We can only say “Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Raji’in” (From Allah we come and to him we shall return). Sabon Birni, Shinkafi and Goronyo are in a very dire situation.
“We only depend on God for protection. It is only on God that we depend for his protection, not anybody. We are sad and disappointed with the way Buhari’s administration is treating our region.
“I was a governor for eight years and I know the responsibilities placed on me. Whenever a governor or a president is sworn in, he swears with the Qur’an or the Bible that he will protect the lives and properties of the people. Nobody says that the people will be responsible for the protection of their lives and properties.
“The leader who swore that, he can do it, by going to the people in their villages and houses and asked them to vote for him, must fulfil that promise.
“The saying that, security is everybody’s business is true, but the onus rests with the leader, like President Muhammadu Buhari who swore with the Qur’an to protect their lives.”
