Buhari under fire: Your village not Nigeria, Niger gov tells CPC presidential candidate, supporters

For the second time in a week, the Governor of Niger State, Muazu Babangida Aliyu has lashed out at former head of state and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari reminding him and his supporters that Nigeria is not their village. 

“I am emphasizing this fact because of what happened after the presidential election. Many of us are so myopic that we think our village is Nigeria. No, we’re a part and never can a part be a whole. Your village is not Nigeria. Your village is a part of Nigeria. So, if somebody wins or loses election in your village, that does not mean he has lost election in the country,” Aliyu said at the celebration of the 2011 Workers’ Day in Minna.   

 According to him,  those who perpetrated the post presidential election violence were myopic and refused to go beyond the variables that divide the nation, stressing that some people thought that the winning of a particular part of the nation meant victory in the whole country for any candidate in an election. 
Aliyu posited that what happened in any part of the country cannot be used to represent the whole nation.
He said the people should learn to live beyond ethnic, religious and regional attachments to appreciate the nation’s diversity. 

“It is important that when we look at issues we look at it in relation to the whole nation in Niger State. It is important that whenever we talk we remember that we have a population of four million people and each of them has the right of the government and the people of this state. “Everyone now knows that before you win election you must go beyond your village, your state, region and religion. You know that we are a nation united,” he said. 

Governor Aliyu restated that there was no going back in the resolve of his government to implement the new minimum wage for workers in the state. He maintained that the payment of workers bonus for 2011 will depend on the resources available to the government.  The Governor urged civil servants to expose corrupt practices in their offices and avoid wastages to complement government efforts in catering for their welfare. 

He emphasised that outstanding workers will always be rewarded to serve as example to others.