El-Rufai, Tinubu Vote For Stiffer Actions Against Bandits, Terrorists
All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Kaduna State Governor agreed yesterday that urgent steps should be taken to secure the country.
They spoke in Kaduna during a visit by the one-time Lagos governor to Northwest state to commiserate with the government and the people over last week’s attack by terrorists on a Kaduna bound train.
Tinubu, who noted that the country was bleeding, spoke of the need to fight banditry and terrorism with all energy.
His host described Nigeria as a nation at the cross-roads. El-Rufai said difficult decisions must be taken in picking leaders who will lead the country out of its challenges.
Tinubu described an attack on one Nigerian as an attack on all, saying no effort should be spared in the battle against those he called “enemies of peace.”
The APC presidential aspirant visited El-Rufai at the Government House and the injured at the St. Gerard Catholic Hospital, Kaduna.
He urged all Nigerians to contribute their quota to the rehabilitation of victims of the attack and pray for the repose of the souls of those who died in the incident.
Tinubu said: “I’m here to sympathise with Governor Nasir el-Rufai and the people of the state over the train attack. It is a national disaster. It’s a blow to all of us.
“Nigeria bleeds. We need to fight terrorism with all we have. I understand some people were killed while some others are missing. It is frustrating.
“We will support Governor El-Rufai on the rehabilitation of the victims. The governor is a symbol of our unity. Once in a while, we still remember the first stanza of our old national anthem – ‘Although tongues and tribes may differ, but in brotherhood we stand’.
“If enemies of peace and progress think they can deter us as a nation, we must together stand against them and say no.”
He announced the donation of N50 million towards to the rehabilitation of victims of the attack.
E-Rufai expressed gratitude to the APC stalwart for taking time to come and commiserate with the state, saying that the visit preempted his plan to come to Lagos to thank Asíwájú for honoring the people of Kaduna State by canceling his 70th birthday on the day of the event because of the train disaster.
The governor said: “This gesture is a powerful show of leadership and empathy unprecedented in our national history.
“The government and people of Kaduna State will not forget this. We are grateful to you for your sacrifice and commitment to the greatness of our country.”
El-Rufai said Nigerians must elect leaders who would take the country to the next level during the general elections next year.
According to him, the challenges bedeviling the country are human and therefore not intractable. They could be solved, he told his guest.
The governor said: “We need a society that can be just and equitable where no group of people will lord it over others.”
On Tinubu’s presidential aspiration, El-Rufai said: “We are aware of your aspiration to lead this country. We look forward to further engagements on this.”
– The Nation
