Nigeria Content Online

The presidential candidate of the
Democratic People’s Party (DPP) in the 2007 general elections, Attahiru
Bafarawa, on Tuesday described the death of former governor of Kano
State Abubakar Rimi as “a political tragedy to Nigeria.”

This is even as new leader of the Mega
Party, Pat Utomi, and the Nigerian Labour Congress blamed the state of
insecurity in the country for the late flamboyant politician’s death.

“Rimi’s death remains a political
tragedy to our dear nation. We will miss him for his genuine views and
comments toward sustaining our nation’s democracy and the rule of law,”
Mr. Bafarawa said.

He said the late Abubakar died an
accomplished political genius and statesman who fought for unity and
equity in the nation’s democracy.

State of security

Mr. Utomi said the death “is a pointer
to the worsening situation of the state of security on one hand, and
the state of our health institutions on the other.”

“Because of the prominence of Rimi as a
former governor and foremost politician, we got to hear about this
incident,” he said. “But hundreds, maybe thousands, of this morbid
drama play themselves out daily in the lives of Nigerians all over this
nation.”

He said it is time for policy-makers to face up to the challenge of
our social infrastructure, saying “the dismal state of which
constitutes one of the major impediments to foreign investment in
Nigeria.” The Nigeria Labour Congress says the death “symbolised the
tragic state of our nation, marked by profound insecurity of lives and
property. The instances of serial sad incidents like this create the
notion, rightly or wrongly, that our leadership attaches little or no
value to the lives of the citizenry.”