Yesterday, at the Murtala Mohammed Square in Kaduna where the new state governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai was being sworn-in, the emir was pelted with stones as soon as he was invited to the podium. After Governor El-Rufai presented his address, the venue was thrown into confusion as security agents struggled to control the situation.
According to the angry mob, the emir refused to receive Governor El-Rufai during the campaigns, because he was a PDP agent. Despite the fracas, however, the swearing-in ceremony proceeded as planned, with Governor El-Rufai saying his administration would focus on job creation, security, education and health, while he and his deputy, Barnabas Bala Bantex, would only receive half of their salaries until the finances of the state improved.
Governor El-Rufai, who was reading his speech when the stoning of the emir happened, abandoned his address half way through to inspect a guard of honour mounted for him after which he was driven out of the venue amidst tight security. Even after he left, hoodlums were engaged in a running battle with the police as they continued to throw stones and shoes directed at the emir who was seated at the VIP stand among other guests.
To protect him, the emir was immediately taken to one of the guest waiting rooms at the Murtala Mohammed Square by armed policemen where he was kept before he was eventually smuggled out. One of the angry youths at the venue explained that the emir refused to grant audience to El-Rufai on three occasions during the campaigns.
"He is a supporter of PDP and we don't expect to see him here because during the campaigns, El-Rufai visited him three times but he refused to grant him audience. His presence at the swearing in is out of hypocrisy" the youth said.
Apparently, the hoodlums smuggling stones into the venue in their pockets with a view to attacking the former governor Alhaji Mukhtar Yero and the emir. However, Governor Yero did not turn up for the event, so was spared.
Speaking shortly after being sworn-in, Governor El-Rufai noted that Kaduna was the second most indebted state in the country, stressing that the state could not meet its obligations without handouts from the federal government. He said the time had come for citizens of the state to make sacrifices for a better tomorrow and for the future of their children.
"I say to you today, my fellow citizens of Kaduna State, that the time has come for us to face up to our responsibilities as citizens. We must take many difficult decisions and we have no choice but to postpone immediate gratification and sacrifice the fleeting comforts of today for a better future for our children," Governor El-Rufai added.
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