Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state has revealed how his intervention staved off a brewing crisis between the North and South.
He also spoke on his presidential ambition and the controversial issue of zoning.
The governor spoke at an interactive session with editors in Abuja at the weekend. He revealed how the peace deal brokered by him did not go down well with some people.
He said: “I was not invited to broker the peace deal, which invariably has saved the country from a near civil war. I intervened because of the tension that was building up in the North due to killing of some traders and destruction of their means of livelihood in the South. The Northern youth calmed down and food supply to the South was restored”.
In the aftermath of the Shasa killing of Hausa traders, and the resolve of Hausa traders to stop the supply of food to the South, tension had been building up before the governor’s intervention.
Governor Bello who said his action was backed by the presidency, also revealed that a few people from the Villa and among his colleagues were not happy with the outcome of his intervention, which in any case, calmed frayed nerves.
“Somebody drew my attention to the fact that Nigeria was heading to the precipice. Food stuff and cows became so expensive in the South. A cow that is about N200,000 in the North could cost as high as N800,000 in the South. The price of tomatoes too rose. Since I am in touch with the youth of the North, when I heard of their mobilisation and that they were probably being sponsored, I had to broker peace. Like such other crises in Nigeria, before you know it, they would say the Igbo and Yoruba in the North are being targeted, such a notion can lead to a conflict that can consume us.”
On his 2023 presidential ambition, the governor said, though he is waiting on God before taking a decision, he decried the idea of zoning even as he emphasised that the AP has no zoning arrangement. He advised the party hierarchy to jettison so the best can emerge.
