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Olabode Adaramola
Former Abia state governor, Orji Uzor Kalu has said that the late former governor of Niger state, late Engineer Abdullahi Kure would be remembered for the role he played in ensuring that the third term ambition of former President Olusegun Obasanjo did not come into fruition.
“It was Engineer Abdulkadir Kure, my humble self and Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu that stood our ground then that third term agenda must not be allowed to succeed. We went through hell in the hands of the state security service (SSS) and the Nigeria Police Force.
The former Abia state governor who spoke in Minna on Wednesday shortly after paying a condolence visit to the family of late former governor Abdullahi Abdulkadir Kure at their GRA, Minna residence pointed out that that singular role ensured the survival of democracy in Nigeria.
“Without that fight against third term, there wouldn’t have been President Goodluck Jonathan,nor President Mohammadu Buhari today. Kure was our arrow head in killing third term and he will be fondly remembered for that role that we all played.
“But I paid dearly for that fight against third term, they ensured that they grounded all my businesses, including Slok airline and Hallmark Bank in fighting for the survival of democracy in Nigeria.
“We were prevented from holding our meeting in every places we went, at a point they even sealed off the Niger state governor’s lodge at Abuja after which we took it to Abia state governor’s lodge in Abuja”, he recalled.
He said that many Nigerians did not know what happened during the struggle against third term, stressing that “people continue to deny that there was nothing like third term but I can tell you categorically that there was serious plan for third term, money exchanged hands and we fought them”.
Speaking further on the unity of the country, Kalu said that no country had ever fought two civil war and survived it and therefore warned that there must be peace at whatever cost in Nigeria.
He described as very unfortunate, the recent killings in southern Kaduna, stressing that Nigerians should not be killing one another ‘because we are one Nigeria’.
He said that the activities of Movement For the Actualization of Biafra People MASSOB) does not in anyway posed any significant threat to the unity of the country, saying that “the IPOB or MASSOB are harmless group, they are different from the dreaded Boko Haram terrorists , so we will continue to appeal to Nigerians because there must be peace and unity in this country. Like what is happening in Southern part of Kaduna state is not right and acceptable, people should stop killing their fellow Nigerians, we should manage rumours very well.
“We are Nigerians and we will remain in Nigeria because Nigeria is our place, we have no other place to go and there is no basis to compare the activities of Boko Haram insurgents with those of the Biafran agitators in MASSOB and IPOB, even as he warned that Nigeria cannot afford to engage in a second civil war.
According to Kalu, Boko Haram is by far deadlier than the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), saying, “none of these agitators for Biafra state carry arms, they are not violent”
Kalu stated this at the residence of former military president, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida as part of his condolence visit to the family of the late Engineer Abdulkhadir Kure, former governor of Niger state.
“Those agitating for Biafra do not constitute threat to the unity of Nigeria ” but warned that no country survives two civil wars
“MASSOB are not carrying arms, the Bioko haram sect are more dangerous. We will continue to warn you people to live in peace. Like what is going on now in Southern Kaduna is not right, people should stop killing their fellow Nigerians.
“Politicians should manage rumours very well and stop dishing out rumours i n social media to impress anybody. We are Nigerians and we will continue to be Nigerians and Nigeria is our home. We have no other country to go.
