By Umar Tata
This truly is not the best time to be the Governor of Katsina state. From every angle salvos are being thrown at him, rightly or wrongly, since the unfortunate massacre that took place in Mantau.
What amplified this tragedy is not because it is first time to kill in Katsina state, no it is simply because it happened in the mosque, and religion here has nerve.
Such similar tragedies have been almost a monthly occurrence in Katsina state, with the most recent that I cannot forget happening in Kuki village in my own Dutsinma local government, where innocent lives were killed and some burnt beyond recognition for the whole night without a whimper from the security.
But Bakatsine, being what he is, we have already forgotten about that and now Mantau is the new rendezvous where every concern has made a confluence.
Blame Governor Radda as much as you want he has no solution to this problem.
He is by name the Chief Security Officer of Katsina but with only yan banga available to him to confront a horde of AK 47 wielding beasts.
Those with the power to stop it have either gone tired of listening to him or have gone deaf to our plight.
This tragedy I am telling you will happen again and the same razzmatazz and hullabaloo will again resurrect and fizzle out in no time.
Trust me, in the next two weeks Mantau za a mance da ita until another tunau happens. For how long can we live like this?
You may not believe it, the most affected in this tragedy of bloodletting are we the APC. Atleast, we are the ones being blamed every day.
At the risk of sounding a bit immodest, I will say the opposition is the major beneficiary of these tragedies. To them, our loss is their gain and all they are waiting for is the time to throw us out. If this will bring peace to my state and save lives I wish them success, but before then we have two years of rivers to cross so why don’t we do something to salvage not only our state and people but our names?
If we as Katsinawa want solve this problem we have to look beyond Dikko Radda. We know what he can do and we can equally assume what he cannot.
Can we help him and help ourselves? This is not a matter of choice it is MUST. TINUBU is the one responsible for our security and it is him we should talk to. And the best way to talk to him is to talk politically. Thank God he wants a second term and only the living votes!
In 2023 Tinubu received 482,283 votes from Katsina state including my own. Me and every person that voted for him have a vicarious responsibility before God for all that is happening in Katsina today.
That is why I said talking to him is not a matter of choice too. If for once we can have an umbrella to operate upon, like APC YOUTHS VANGUARD, APC SUPPORT GROUP or whatever name we can make a difference.
This tragedy, eventhough is not our making but we are forcefully being made its forebears. Let us, all of us, the 482,238 people that voted for Tinubu sign a petition that we are INVITING HIM TO A TOWN HALL MEETING in Katsina to tell us WHY WE ARE BEING KILLED DAILY AND WHY IS IT DIFFICULT TO ALLOW US LIVE? He owes this to us atleast, as we equally owe it to those who are seeing us as a walking tragedy in the state to answer same.
We can sponsor this invitation with the signed petition on national dailies, media outlets both broacast and social for a period of one month until we receive a response.
If no response is received then we know we are not his ambassadors in the state and we cannot claim to be so any longer as he has shown we are not.
Then may be he can do his job by himself and even the Governor cannot make us do it. We love Katsina state more than APC and that is non negotiable!
If he comes we listen to him after which we can convene to chart a way forward. But, before this we must have a unified voice, a coordinated front and a formidable agenda.
We are what we are because we have no sense of direction. Take it from me, the radical Dikko I know will have no problem with anything that can save live and he too needs a helping hand.
Every change begins with an innocuous idea given life by selfless people with the zeal and commitment to succeed. If we cannot try this I am open to your ideas and I am ready to be your disciple.
May those whose lives were lost find mercy with Allah and may we have a peaceful Katsina of old where everyone is free to thrive in whatever his chosen field is.