By Chesa Chesa
Former Governor of Zamfara State, Sani Yerima, on Friday joined the growing list of aspirants declaring to run for the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The ex-Senator Yerima, who represented Zamfara West at the National Assembly, visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa to inform him about his intention to go and pick the N100million nomination for the contest.
Speaking to State House correspondents afterwards, Yerima said that if elected President, he would focus on fighting insecurity, poverty alleviation and ignorance of the mind which many Nigerians are living with unknowingly.
The former governor, who is famous for introducing the Sharia legal system in his state, debunked claims that he is a religious extremist.
According to Yerima, that perception people hold about him is one of the reasons he would work on the ignorance of Nigerians and give every citizen a sense of belonging.
Yerima said his three-point agenda encompasses fight against insecurity, poverty and ignorance, following up on the gains recorded by Buhari.
His words: “I have three points as well; to fight insecurity, fight poverty, and ignorance. Some people think that if you say ignorance, you’re talking of only western education, no. Illiteracy is different from ignorance. There are people who are professors, who are well educated in western terms, but they’re ignorant of their society.
“That is why you see people talking about rotational presidency, as if it is an allocation of power. Constitution of Nigeria is very clear, every Nigeria is qualified to contest so long as he reaches age prescribed on different offices.
“So, every Nigerian is qualified so long as he follows the constitutional provisions of this country to contest for any office and aspire to in any office of this country.”
Specifically on his plans for security, especially in the North, the ex-Governor said: “Look at the Ethiopia today, they have a population of just a little over 50 million and they have more than one million policemen and women. Nigeria today, I don’t think we have up to one million police and we have a population of 250 million people.
“So, I believe that what we need to do is to employ more police officers and military officers, empower them, give them adequate training and equipment. Mr. President has already started buying aircraft for the Air Force and so on.
“So, we need to increase the number of police officers and the military officers, give them adequate training and equipment and by the time we take care of their welfare, I’m sure this issue will be resolved.”
Asked how he intends to convince Nigerians that he is not a religious extremist given his controversial introduction of Shari’a in Zamfara as Governor, he replied that “I’m a Muslim and I say everywhere I go, that I am a Muslim and I want to die as a Muslim.
“I’m going to fight the problem of ignorance and this is one of it. People don’t know, a lot of people don’t know that the Constitution of Nigeria, Section 38, has provides for freedom of religion, including freedom to change your religion, if you want to. To practice alone, or in community with others, in private or in public.
“So, as a Governor of the State, I followed the constitutional provision, prepared a law, sent it to State Assembly and they passed it into law and I implemented what the Constitution of Nigeria has given me the powers to do and even in the Zamfara State, I have never, never required or asked or forced any Christian to follow Islamic faith because I would have done an unconstitutional act.
“So, if I’m elected, by the grace of God, I’m going to be elected under the Constitution and I’m going to take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of Nigeria. So, I will never do anything unconstitutional.”
