Settler-Indigene Feud Unnecessary, Says Atiku
From Chuks Okocha in Abuja
Vice President Atiku Abubakar has described as totally unnecessary the raging feud and controversy over settler/indigene status.
Atiku lent his voice to the debate on the issue in Abuja yesterday at the public presentation of the autobiography of elder statesman, Tanko Yakasai.
Using his own ancestry as an illustration, the Vice President said: "My great grand parents migrated from Wurno in the far North. By the time this was taking place, Tanko Yakasai's parents left the present day Adamawa State for Kano. In fact, his village is about four to five kilometers from my own village in Adamawa State."
The Vice President, who acknowledged that almost every one is a settler wondered then "why we should be fighting" over the settler/indigene controversy.
Extolling Yakasai, Atiku described the elder statesman as a friend whose advice he has always found invaluable, adding his counsel on political issues is even far better than those of some political experts.
He said Yakasai was one of the founding members of the Northern Elements Peoples Union (NEPU), who later joined the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the political dispensation of the Second Republic.
In spite of that, the Vice President said "Tanko Yakasai still keeps his friends in NEPU and has the ability to mix freely and blend with all," adding "This is a unique aspect of the man, Tanko Yakasai."
Atiku while describing Yakasai as a self-made man called on Nigerians who have held positions of authority to write their experiences for others to learn and emulate from.
Also commending the elder statesman, President Olusegun Obasanjo in a letter read on his behalf by his special Adviser on Manufacturing, Alhaji Ahmed Abdulkadir, described Yakassai as one of the political engineers of our time and one of the few friends of late Malam Aminu Kano.
Chairman of the occasion and former head of state, General Yakubu Gowon also poured encomiums on Yakassai describing the author as a great agent and follower of Malam Aminu Kano, while describing the book as a collector's item.
The public presentation of the book, 'Tanko Yakasai: The Story of a humble life' attracted Chief Ernest Shonekan, Head of the defunct INg, the governor of Nasarawa, Abdullahi Adamu, his Jigawa State counterpart, Saminu Turaki, Wada Nas, Joseph Wayas, Minister of Defence Ibrahim Kwankwaso, Isiyaku Ibrahim, Sule Hamma, Chief Ben Obi, Adamu Maina Waziri, Saleh Jambo, Adamu Ciroma, Gambo Jimeta, M. D. Yusuf, Mahmoud Waziri, Umaru Dikko, Abubakar Rimi and Sule Lamido among others.
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