A former Governor of Jigawa State, Senator Ibrahim Saminu Turaki has said that Northerners are their own greatest enemies. He stated that Northerners suffer from crab in the bucket syndrome and would rather pull each other down to succeed. Turaki also absolved the Goodluck Jonathan administration of being anti-North, saying that South-South people had been very good to he and his associates,
Turaki spoke over the weekend during the launching of his political movement, ‘Saminuya’, at his Bandawa farm in Kazaure local government area of the state.
“The people that destroyed the North are northerners,” he said, adding, “We have a crab culture in the North. You know, when the crab wants to climb it brings others down.
“In the North, we don’t like ourselves. Anybody that is in power wants to destroy his predecessor. The northerners are willing tools for whoever wants to destroy somebody.”
He described the emergence of the All Progressives Congress as a good omen for democracy in Nigeria saying that opposition would make it difficult for the executive to have the legislative and judiciary in its pocket.
“When there are two parties struggling, then people will be serious and the executive will take the legislature serious,” he said.
“The problem has been the party that controls the executive also controls the legislature and by extension the judiciary.
“A governor will call a judge to his office and ask him to issue a warrant to arrest an opposition member, by compromising the judiciary. It has happened in many states.”
He said in such a situation the idea of separation of powers will be defeated and there will be no difference between that sort of democracy and military rule.
“Then, there is no democracy; it is better to go back to the military,” he said.
He added: “When you have a two-party system, then there would be real democracy.
“It took America 200 years to reach where they are; so, it is not done in one day.”