John Shiklam in Kaduna and Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano
There was wild jubilation in some parts of Kaduna and the commercial city of Kano early yesterday following the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari of All Progressives Congress (APC) in last Saturday’s presidential election.
While it was a mixed feeling in Kaduna metropolis, it was celebration galore in the Muslim-dominated northern part of Kaduna metropolis, as residents of the area, mainly supporters of APC, took to the streets in jubilation as soon as Buhari was declared winner.
A resident of Kurmin Mashi, who identified herself simply as Ummi, said the celebrations started by 1.00 a.m. yesterday.
She said the area was agog with celebration which lasted till dawn.
She said; “We did not sleep at all with the celebration of Buhari’s victory. These people were going from house to house, disturbing people and knocking on our gates in the name of celebration. They didn’t allow us to sleep.”
The situation was said to have been the same in areas like Angwan Sarki, Tudun Wada, Rigassa, Angwan Dosa, Kawo among several others.
The city centre was deserted yesterday as most shops were yet to open since Saturday’s election.
The area was therefore taken over by the celebrants who drove round some of the streets in convoy of cars and motorcycles with party music from loud speakers mounted on a vehicle.
Many shops in the city centre, especially along the busy Ahmadu Bello Way, Independence Way, Lagos Street and Katsina road among others, had been closed since after Saturday’s elections.
However, in the Christian-dominated southern part of the metropolis, there was no such celebration as everywhere was quiet and solemn.
One of the residents of the area said the traders, stayed away from the city centre to “avoid any form of provocation in the name of celebrating Buhari.”
One of the residents in the area, Clement Joseph, said: “There is nothing wrong in celebrating your victory, but when you do it provocatively in other to anger your opponent, it is better to stay away for the sake of peace.
“Some of us didn’t go to the town because we want to avoid such provocation.”
In Kano, many youths took to the road leading to the Government House after the news broke out that President Buhari had been re-elected for another term in office.
An APC chieftain, Atiku Dungurawa, commended the electorate for listening to the voice of reason by giving the mandate to President Buhari for another four years in office.
According to Atiku, “I am very happy and hoping that President Buhari should return in order to embark on infrastructural development since he has already retrieved a lot of money from looters.
“We don’t want someone to come and embezzle the retrieved loot or divert it to some looters again. That is why we want him to serve another term.”
He also expressed optimism that the victory of Buhari would improve the country’s economy, adding that the country situation might improve.
In her view, Hajia Balaraba Ibrahim said the world had accepted the president as trustworthy and transparent.
Stegert, who is a member of presidential campaign council (PCC), assured the people that the next level agenda of President Buhari would change the country to greater level.
Speaking also, Muhammad Kabir Yau of Tudun Wada quarters in Kano promised to construct a borehole and donate it to a Kano community and name it ‘Buhari Next Level’.
Yau pointed out that “I have been admiring Buhari’s policies and programmes since his military regime till date. I am in politics because of Buhari and I will retire from politics after his tenure ends in 2023.”
