Residents outline demands as Tinubu takes campaign to Birnin Gwari

The Birnin-Gwari Emirate Progressive Union (BEPU) in Kaduna State, has presented the key demands of their residents to the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, when they visited the palace of the Emir of the town, Zubairu Maigwari.

Mr Tinubu and his entourage visited the Birnin Gwari town Monday night to canvass for votes in the forthcoming presidential election.

During the visit, the Emir conferred on Mr Tinubu, the traditional title of ‘Dakaren Birnin Gwari’.

The title means “a great warrior of the emirate.”

Birnin Gwari is one of the most terrorised towns in Kaduna State.

Terrorists commonly called bandits have carried out relentless attacks on communities in the area. The gangs of criminals that operate in the area have killed or kidnapped hundreds of people in the area.

It also shares boundaries with the troubled Rafi Local Government of Niger State, Maru Local Government of Zamfara State and Sabuwa Local Government of Katsina State.

In the first six months of 2022, 645 people lost their lives in Kaduna, most of the casualty figures were from the Birnin Gwari axis – Giwa, Chikun, and Igabi local government areas, the state government stated.

Mr Tinubu, who was led on the visit by the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, arrived at Birnin Gwari at about 7 p.m. by road with a fortified security cover and went straight to the Emir’s palace amidst a rousing welcome by the residents.

He returned to Kaduna after the night event.

Citizens’ demands

The leader of the Birnin Gwari Emirate Progressive Union, Ishaq Usman, told reporters in Kaduna that the visit is one of many kinds by politicians seeking elective positions.

He said the state’s governor, Mr El-Rufai has not fulfilled the pledge he made to the Birnin Gwari Emirate following a similar visit during the 2015 general elections.

“The union recalls that a similar visit was made by Mallam Nasir El-Rufai in 2015 where he pledged that even if it would take him to move Government House to Birnin-Gwari, he would make sure that he addresses our security challenge. However, the security problem persists. Though the renewed commitment to addressing the issue is recently being observed,” the union said.

READ ALSO: 136 Niger school pupils freed 86 days after abduction

The union said any politician seeking their votes should first consider their demands otherwise should forget about their support.

Mr Usman said residents of Birnin Gwari are in dire need of peace and security.

“We want him (Mr Tinubu if elected) to give priority to security. For Birnin-Gwari, security is our number one and main priority. We all believe that if our security problem is addressed, then half of our problem is solved. This is because insecurity is what cripples all aspects of development be it agriculture, trading, education, or health among others,” the union leader said.

Mr Usman said reconstruction of dilapidated Birnin-Gwari/Kaduna and Birnin-Gwari/Funtua highways – which were constructed during the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida should be considered by Mr Tinubu if elected.

“We want these roads to be reconstructed to ease transportation and enhance businesses and other economic activities in the areas,” he added.

Addressing humanitarian crisis

Mr Usman said “as of now, we have about 50 Internally Displaced Persons camps (IDPs). We want if he successfully becomes the President to collaborate with relevant stakeholders particularly NGOs in addressing the challenges affecting the IDPs.

“For instance, the relief materials recently secured from NEMA by Sani Dattijo and Shattima were only shared among politicians but have never reached the IDPs because relevant stakeholders were not involved,” Mr Usman alleged.

“On water scarcity, our communities are facing water scarcity and nothing reasonable has been done by this outgoing administration to address it. We want him in collaboration with the State Government to facilitate the the reconstruction of Birnin-Gwari Dam.”

Also present during the visit were the Governors of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje; Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu; Jigawa State, Muhammad Badaru; and Plateau State, Simon Lalong among other party chieftains.