Jonathan Vatsa, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Niger State Commissioner for Information, Culture, and Tourism, has observed that the days of exploiting ethnic and religious identity to win favour or sympathy are long gone in the north.
Speaking in Minna, Vatsa was responding to the recent criticism of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike by Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmed Gumi on the FCT minister’s regional origins.
According to Vatsa, Gumi has been disconnected from reality in the north due to his interactions with robbers in the forest.
As to his statement: “Any area asserting ownership of Abuja is essentially asserting ownership of Nigeria.” The resources from all throughout Nigeria were used to build Abuja as it is now, including cocoa, cattle husbandry, and oil.
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He went on to say: “Some people wouldn’t have been allowed to contribute to national discourse if Nigeria had proper means of identifying who is truly a Nigerian.” Therefore, I don’t hold it against Gumi, a political cleric, for anything he says or does now because in Nigeria, we lack the tools necessary to distinguish between foreigners and Nigerians.
According to the APC leader, obtaining Nigerian citizenship is simpler.
Being a Christian or Muslim and speaking Hausa or any other native language is all that is required for your passport. That’s also the reason why there are so many security issues across the nation, he stated.
Vatsa went on to say that Niger State, whose territory makes up 80% of Abuja, should lead the current movement for the Minister of the Federal Capital.
