A few days after brokering a truce between Northern food producers and southern buyers, Kogi Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has expressed satisfaction that God used him to avert another bloody civil war in Nigeria.
Governor Bello, who spoke to some journalists in Abuja at the weekend, said his decision to intervene in the face-off between the food production union and buyers was borne out of his patriotic desire to consolidate peace and security in Nigeria and make the country stronger.
The governor pointed out that his timely intervention staved off another brutal war between aggrieved Northern youths and those in the South they felt were responsible for the killing of their kinsmen and the destruction of their property in the Southern part of the country.
Bello pointed out that contrary to the insinuations that he was dispatched by the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress to intervene in the crisis, he was neither contacted by the president nor the party to broker the peace, which saved the country avoidable war.
Governor Bello said: “I was not invited by anybody, group, or party to broker the peace deal that has saved the country from the bloodbath. I had to intervene because of the tension that was building up in the North due to the killing of some traders and the destruction of their means of livelihood in some Southern states without any intervention by anybody.
“By God’s grace the strike was called off and the supply of food restored by the traders. This country needs peace and stability to survive and nothing should be done to truncate the peace,” the governor said.
The governor also accused some people in position of authority of stoking crisis in the country and looking for more ways to bring down the country.
He pointed out that after his intervention and resumption of food supply to the south, some unnamed governors called and chastised him for intervening and bringing the problem to an end.
On his presidential ambition, Bello made it clear that he was not flying a kite but was dead serious about leading Nigeria so as to make it work particularly for the younger generation, the downtrodden, women, and the weak so as to provide adequately for them.
The governor boasted that he would win the APC primary and go on to win the presidency if a level playing field was provided by the party, arguing that he was not afraid of anyone in the pursuit of his presidential ambition.
Bello also stated that the APC should jettison any attempt to pick its presidential candidate based on the north/south dichotomy and choose its flag bearer strictly on merit so as to serve the interest of the nation better.
“Nigeria is ill and we need to get it fixed and I believe the younger generation has the solution that the country needs to thrive. That is why I am pleading with all to jettison all the things that divide us and explore what can unite us.
“In 2023, it should the door should be left open for anyone to contest and for the best to be chosen to provide leadership for Nigeria,” the governor said.
The governor said some of those who have been holding Nigeria down over the years were already afraid of his presidential ambition since they know that they would atone for their sins once he takes over the leadership of Nigeria but did not mention their names.
He said Nigerians must rise up against those who want to set Nigeria ablaze because of their personal interests.
