In an unprecedented display of solidarity, Ebonyi state Hausa Community unanimously visited and threw their weight behind the People’s Democratic Party governorship candidate, Dr. Ifeanyi Odii. They also pledge to work assiduously to ensure his victory at the polls. They made this assertion after paying Dr. Odii a visit Thursday at Abakaliki.
Speaking on the visit, leader of the delegation, Alhaji Idris Datti noted that the PDP candidate is the only one who has a plan for inclusion in his campaign manifesto. Datti said the Dave Umahi administration has neglected the Hausa Community and treated it with a lot of disdain.
He said the Hausas in Ebonyi have endured untold hardship under Umahi who has continued to isolate and targeted them in his avowed war against political opponents.
According to Datti the Hausa Community have never had it so bad in the hands of the state government, stressing that Ebonyi state Hausas have no where else to call home other than the state. He recalled that the government of Dr Sam Egwu recognised the Hausas and even made him a Special Adviser but Umahi completely neglected them.
He said, “even when I go to Kano with my children they always say let’s go back home. I tell them Kano is home but they insist that they only know Ebonyi. My father’s house at Abakaliki is over a hundred years old. I probably speak better Igbo than some of them. Yet Governor Dave Umahi has treated us as third class citizens and have shown us that we are not welcome.”
Datti also decried the activities of Ebubeagu militia, noting that the outfit have specially targeted Hausas for ethnic cleansing. He said, “the militia group normally harass everyone but they have a special eye on us the Hausas. They have attacked us unduly and profiled us ethnically. We live in fears of our lives. Yet Umahi will go up North and lie that he’s taking good care of us. He lying to our leaders in Abuja.”
On the political atmosphere of the state, Datti said the Hausa Community have endorsed the PDP candidate as he (Dr. Odii) have promised to carry them along. He said, “the PDP candidate has clearly shown us he’s not going to discriminate against us as Dave Umahi has done. Umahi has enacted policies that have excluded us. One of our big traders here lost close to 80 shops when Umahi suddenly moved the markets. This has led to a serious economic hardship in our community. Umahi has also earmarked our houses for demolition. It took the intervention of the Sultan of Sokoto and other well meaning Nigerians to stop the ugly plan. Some of the houses are as old as a century. He has isolated our traditional leadership by refusing to extend any courtesy to our Sarki (king). He stopped his salaries for no reason. Even when he shared cars, he neglected him.”