Activist, Aisha Yesufu, has slammed critics of Southern governors, adding that those against the communiqué issued at the end of the governors’ recent meeting in Asaba, the Delta State capital, are on expired drugs.
The activist, in a video uploaded on her Twitter handle on Saturday, said nobody has the monopoly of intolerance or self-centredness.
A former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf had criticised the move by the Governors to ban open grazing, saying they did not consult with Fulani leaders.
The 17 Southern state governors had met on Tuesday and called for the restructuring of the country along fiscal federalism, devolution of powers and state policing. They also called on the President to address the nation and convoke a national dialogue to address widespread agitations amongst various groups in the region.
In her reaction, Yesufu said, “I see some people coming out to say the southern governors do not have a right to make the decision for A, B, C, D.”
“The decision that you had as northern governors with what right did you make them? The southern governors do not have a right to make laws in their own states but you have a right to make laws in your own states? In short, the Igbo (Indian Hemp) that you smoke has expired.”
She added, “Nobody has monopoly of intolerance, nobody has monopoly of being selfish, nobody has monopoly of being self-centred; everybody has the capacity to be, that some people don’t do it does not mean anything.”
She hailed the southern governors, saying she was proud of them. She further urged them to increase their meetings like their northern colleagues in order for the country to “move to that Nigeria for all of us, we will start the restructuring that we want”.
Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa on Saturday said the decision of Southern states’ Governors to ban open grazing and call for restructuring was geared towards strengthening the unity of Nigeria.
The Governor made the comment on Saturday at an event in Asaba.
On Friday, Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, also said Governors should be careful in how they approach the issue of restructuring.
But Okowa, who had hosted Tuesday’s meeting, said the Southern Governors were only re-echoing the voices of their people.
“We thank all our brothers in the south for coming together to speak for our people. The things that we’ve said are not new. It’s just the voice of our people that we have continued to echo.
“But unfortunately I read in the papers that somebody says we ought not to talk about certains things, being elected people. If the voice of your people has been heard madly and they’ve continued to talk and you are an elected person and you shy away from giving further voice to their voices, then you ought not be in the position that you occupy.
“We reaffirmed that as a people, as elected Governors, we believe in the unity of our country. But we also went forth to advance the need for certain things to be done in order to give strength to that unity. That cannot be a reason for us to be vilified, obviously not.
“We talked about restructuring, which has been on the table for so long. Both the voices of the PDP and the APC itself have endorsed restructuring. And restructuring is all-inclusive and all-encompassing. We may have different views, different approaches to the restructuring, but when we sit on the table in dialogue, we will be able to agree best what is good for Nigeria and what is good for the component parts of Nigeria.”
