I am mobilising 10m Northerners in South for Jonathan- Bafarawa

FORMER Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa penultimate Saturday mobilised about 10,000 northerners who represented about 10 million northerners living in the 17 states of Southern Nigeria on
the banner of the Arewa Initiative for Peaceful Co-existence in Southern Nigeria (AIPCN) to Asaba, the Delta State Capital to endorse President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election. In this interview, he spoke on why he initiated the move, why non-indigenes must be accommodated and why northerners will back Jonathan’s re-election.

Why did you initiate the Arewa Initiative for Peaceful Co-existence in Southern Nigeria (AIPCN)?

It is a registered foundation. It is important because of the way our people in the South found themselves. Also southerners in the North find themselves in the same problem.

We have almost 10 million northerners residing in the17 southern states. Some of them were born here and even their parents were born here. They were brought up here. They cannot go back to the North because this is their home base.

Unfortunately, they have no place they can call their own. They are always non-indigenes. They are not benefiting anything from their indigenous state and here people see them as non-indigenes. As far as these people are concerned, they don’t have anywhere in the North to stay.

Some of them who were born in the South-West speak Yoruba language such that you cannot differentiate them from the Yoruba. So also some who were born in the South-East speak Igbo. Unfortunately, getting admission into government schools is difficult. They are not getting any patronage from the states they are residing and they are Nigerians.