The Labour Party's presidential candidate, Peter Obi, paid tribute to the state's residents on Thursday in Bauchi for their late first prime minister, Abubakar Tafawa Belewa, whom he called a remarkable and outstanding Nigerian patriot.
Obi said to the people of Bauchi State that he visits the state frequently and is always reminded that it was the birthplace of a great leader who fought for a united and peaceful Nigeria.
The former governor of Anambra state recounted how Tafawa Belewa fostered a united and peaceful nation while serving as prime minister by collaborating with Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first president of Nigeria, who is from his state and lives in Onitsha.
Obi claimed that due of the poor leadership that has been imposed on the nation throughout time, Nigeria is not only divided but also nurturing poverty.
He recounted that on June 17, 1964, Belewa, then the Prime Minister, sought for and received a loan of $82 million for the construction of the Kainji Dam. Belewa wisely used the money, and the project is still in place today, 59 years later.
“Today, we have borrowed over N77 trillion and can hardly account for it and this is responsible for the level of poverty all over the place, North and South,” he said. He pledged that if voted in he and Datti would build a new and great country of Belewa’s dream.
“We will always remember Bauchi as the great city where a man who wanted to build a great Nigeria came from. It’s in fulfilment of his aspirations that I and Datti are seeking to build a great Nigeria, a secure and united Nigeria where the people will be educated and empowered.
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