Governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Kwara State in the 2011 general elections, Mohammed Belgore, on Monday accused Senator Bukola Saraki of killing residents of Kwara each time he shared his gifts to the people.
So far, records show that many people have died from stampedes during the rush to get the gifts he distributes each year. And according to Belgore, the most recent incident resulted in the death of up to 47 people.
In a statement signed on his behalf by his spokesperson, Rafiu Ajakaye, Belgore said the time has come to call the former governor to order and make him realise that he has to stop his festival of death.
“This carnival of death, disguised over the years as some political philanthropy, must end,” he said. “We condemn in strong terms what has almost become an annual ritual where dozens will die queuing to collect amala and ewedu, N50 notes and five yards of ankara under the guise of political philanthropy.”
He said the most recent incident, which resulted in the death of several people in the state, would be the third since the ‘philanthropy’ started.
According to the statement, every time this happens, the government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) play down the casualty figures and end up doing nothing more than issuing ready-made statements to commiserate with the families of the dead, while doing nothing to tackle the cause of the deaths in the coming year.
“For how long can anyone continue to waste precious lives in the guise of whatever philanthropy? It has to stop! Rather than continue this demeaning practice of queuing people up for whatever gift, the alternative is to set up a foundation to assist people to outlive the poverty that made them queue for food that costs no more than N100
“This cycle of death must stop. Innocent lives must not continue to be exploited for political gain. We call on the Nigerian Police, the National Human Rights Commission and other relevant agencies to investigate this annual tragedy and pass their findings to the appropriate bodies for further steps. Enough is enough.”
