A video depicting the Katsina Governor, Ibrahim Shema,
prodding his party members to physically assault and possibly “kill” opposition
politicians in the state, has gone viral on the internet.
The amateur video was first posted on the internet on November
12.
It shows the governor, dressed in white agbada and brown
sandals, standing on a red carpet, and addressing a crowd in what seemed like a
political rally. He spoke in Hausa.
Mr. Shema likened opposition politicians to “cockroaches”
before asking the crowd what to do if they found the nocturnal insect in their
apartments.
The crowd chorused “Kill them!”
“Crush them!” the governor responded, agreeing with the
crowd.
Similar calls have triggered violence in other countries
including the East African country, Rwanda, where the majority Hutus’
description of the minority Tutsis as “cockroaches”, helped fired a 100-day
murderous campaign that saw over 800,000 Tutsis killed.
Mr. Shema is a second term governor and a member of the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
In 2011, he fought hard to secure a second term after the
state’s main opposition then, the defunct Congress for Political Change, CPC,
expanded rapidly and gained influence in the northwest state. CPC is now part
of the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC.
Katsina State is also the home state of Muhammadu Buhari, a
leader of the opposition APC and a contender for the APC Apresidential ticket
for the 2015 election.
Katsina has a relatively minimal history of violence,
although the state has been noted by election observers for a significant
incidence of underage voting in previous elections.
The video which has drawn stringent backlash online ended
with the governor emphatically asking his fans to reprise any attack from the
opposition.
“Before now people from the opposition will humiliate us in
the PDP and we will say don’t do anything about it. But now I am telling you to
fight back and ‘quote me’,” the governor emphasized.
Mr. Shema could not be reached for comments on the story.
His aide, Sani Malumfashi, a Special Adviser on media, said he was away and is
only expected back on Saturday.
Watch video
A transcript of the
video is posted below.
“PDP has touched the lives of every citizen of Katsina
state, either as an individual or your family in general.
“If your child is sick you must take him to the hospital to
receive treatment for free.
“You must use the well-built road that PDP constructed to go
to your house.
“Your children have never paid a single dime for his
education in this state since I became the governor in 2007 and that includes
WAEC and NECO.
“We should thank Allah for this.
“If you look around, some states that I will not mention
here, they keep making the headlines that PDP could not do this or that, but
they should know Katsina state is PDP and we have done it.
“You should not be bothered with ‘cockroaches of politics.’
“Cockroaches are only found in the toilet even at homes.
“If you see a cockroach in your house what do you do?
Crowd responds: “You
kill it!”
Gov. Shema agrees: “Crush them!
“Anyone who does anything against you we’ll retaliate, am
telling you now.
“Before now people from the opposition will humiliate us in
the PDP and we will say don’t do anything about it but now I am telling you to
fight back and ‘quote me’”.
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