News Editor
…Says Elrufai is part of the APC government that has failed to secure the nation
By Steven Kefas
A former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Professor Usman Yusuf has berated the Kaduna state governor, Nasiru Elrufai over his threats to import mercenaries to fight terrorists attacking the state.
Professor Yusuf while answering questions on channels television political program ‘politics today’ said the Kaduna state governor only talks and grandstand. He also accused the governor of not doing anything to protect the lives of his citizen.
When asked about his view on Elrufai’s threat to import mercenaries to come do the job if the federal government fails to do it, Professor Yusuf has this to say;
“That’s Elrufai doing what he knows best and what does he do best? To talk and grandstand. This is political grandstanding, end of story, in an election year. This is a political grandstanding in an election year. He knows that he does not have the power to do so.
“He knows that on the 11 of March 2021, all the security heads and the NSA met with the president and the NSA came and briefed the nation’s about the results that no foreign mercenaries clearly. And governor Elrufai has had security issues in his state and he never does anything about it.” He said.
Usman went further to say that school children were abducted in Kaduna, five were lost but all Elrufai does is to talk and talk.
“I have taken him (Elrufai) on by writing on pages of newspapers, they have abducted school children, he never said anything and we lost five of them. So he and honourable minister Amaechi are doing nothing but grandstanding. They are too clever by half, they are looking for an off ramp to jump off this ship that they are part of. They are part of this government that has failed to secure the nation and protect its people.
“Now they are looking to blame somebody else, ohh is the military, is that …… Who in the world thinks in an election year, any mercenary thing will happen? When they are disconnected from their reality but they want.., they are scrambling for offices. This one says if you do not bring mercenaries I will do like…, He does not have that power.
“They cannot even, all the northern governors could not even meet to do the basic simple things together as northern governors to protect our people. We went to Niger state, all the chemists there close to the forests are selling drugs, are selling tramadol, Pentax, boska and everything, governors cannot even meet to do the simple things that fuel this banditry and a governor is coming to grandstand and say let’s go bomb the forest, let’s go get mercenaries.”Usman said.
Professor Usman further said that states are poor and might now have resources to employ mercenaries even if they are allowed to do so.
“States are poor, so poor that after paying salaries there is no much left, where are you going to get mercenaries?.” He said.
Recall that governor Elrufai had last week vowed to employ foreign mercenaries to secure his state if the federal government fails to do so. The comment attracted wide condemnation from political elites and the citizens of Nigeria with many questioning the legitimacy of such action by the governor.
