Jang to Aliyu: You Are Number One Betrayer of the North

Aliyu Babangida

Jonah Jang

The Chairman of the factional Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF) and Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang, has described Governor Aliyu Babangida of Niger State as the number one on the list of those people who have betrayed the northern region.
The Niger State governor had, at the 25th anniversary of the enthronement of Alhaji Umaru Bahago as Emir of Minna at weekend, said the north was on the look out for a list of its elite who would be induced by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, so that it will tell the people of the region that these are the people that want to betray them.

“We heard a rumour that some people have a list of 400 prominent northerners that they are going to settle and that they are sure if they settle the 400 persons, everything will be okay in 2015”, adding that the north had nothing to be afraid of in 2015 since election is a game of numbers.

Babangida Aliyu said: “No matter what happens in 2015, we (northerners) should not be afraid because politics is a game of numbers. Through the ballot box we can always determine who becomes our leader. Do not be afraid, let there be 200 candidates, God will allow only one to emerge.”
But in a reaction yesterday, Jang said in a statement signed by Kassim Yakubu that if there was any betrayer from the north, the search would not have to go too far, as Aliyu would be the first person on the list of those that have betrayed the north.

Jang said the ultimate betrayer was Aliyu, explaining that this occurred when the northern governors met and agreed on the Plateau State governor as the consensus candidate of the north to become the chairman of NGF, only for Aliyu and his cohorts to betray the northern governors’ agreement.
According to Jang, “Maybe Governor Aliyu and his group do not see me as a northerner and perhaps need to explain to us what makes you a northerner if they can so flagrantly disregard the collective decision.”

He advised Aliyu to always look in the mirror before he accuses anybody of distrust as he Aliyu as chairman of the Northern Governors' Forum sowed the seed of betrayal and distrust that caused the present division in the NGF by the lack of sound judgement shown in using the Northern Governors' Forum to further a sinister agenda.

"If Governor Aliyu is accusing anybody in the north of betrayal maybe he should think hard to find out if these people did not learn the act from him. Nigerians are not stupid, the more the issues unravel, the more they see the root cause of some of the issues plaguing our polity today and those responsible through their deceit and dishonour which now means that state governors can no longer sit down together and believe anything they agree on collectively,” Jang further stated.

November 25, 2013