2015: Northern Elders can’t deliver north to Jonathan – Junaid Mohammed

Second Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, yesterday, dismissed as non-existent northern groups parading themselves as the major political platforms whose support President Goodluck Jonathan needed to win the 2015 election.

Mohammed, who was reacting to the inauguration of the Northern Elders Council, NEC, in Kaduna on Thursday, described the group as alien to the political history of the north and its people.

The politician said the emergence of the NEC was meant to curry political patronage from the Presidency for the rehabilitation of most of the members, who were in dire need of help, as they did not enjoy the mandate and support of the people of the north.

Mohammed said, “The so-called northern leaders and elders are not speaking for anybody in the north but themselves. They like to embellish the truth in order to get cheap political patronage from the powers that be.

“I want to put it on record that none of these so-called northern leaders can deliver the region to Jonathan in 2015 because the people of the area are not with them. When the chips are down, they will run away.

“It is unfortunate that political prostitutes who have access to the media have been taken seriously by the government and heavily supported to blackmail the genuine political leaders in the north for selfish reasons.

Mohammed asked those fraternising with the group to beware, as the members cannot usurp leadership from the genuine political leaders in the north to be able to salvage President Jonathan’s political future.

He said, “It is common knowledge that none of the groups claiming to be representing the North, either as elders’ council or group is genuinely interested in the wellbeing of the people of the north.
They are mostly working for themselves and cannot save the political interest of any President. They do not have the political history of the north, which they are claiming to represent.

“We know who they are working for, how the script they read was written and who wrote it and who is behind the entire shameful show put up in Kaduna on Thursday,” the politician said.

On the allegation that northerners were making inflamatory statements over the forthcoming elections, Mohammed warned that nobody should attempt to blackmail the people of the region while the supporters of other well-placed politicians were making incendiary claims and walking the streets free.