Northerners Offered N500 and Noodles in Exchange for Four Years, Usman Claims

Former chairman of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Yusuf Usman, has condemned the deployment of 30,000 security personnel to Osun State during its gubernatorial election.

He called the move an attempt to intimidate voters and said it was unnecessary.

Usman is reported to have discussed his thoughts on Wednesday’s appearance on DCL’s show.

He called on the electorate to learn from the recent political developments in Osun State as well as the power of their votes.

He said the Osun State people were not cowed by the security presence, and still exercised their right to vote.

“Despite that, the people of Osun were not intimidated by the presence of security agents in their state, they were there to assist them to vote.

They deployed over 30,000 security personnel to Osun State to intimidate the people. 30,000. “If you sent 30,000 to Zamfara, all the insecurity in Zamfara will be gone,” Usman said.

“How can you deploy so many security personnel for an election when insecurity still ravages parts of northern Nigeria?” he wondered.

“But no, the people, the lives of our people, are not as important as you fixing the ballot election,” he said.

The former NHIS chairman also accused politicians of spending billions of public money to influence voters in elections.

“Number two is they buy votes. They spend billions of our money, people’s money, to buy votes. “Yes, people do get the money,” he said.

Usman appealed to the northern voters to weigh the short-term benefits dangled before them in elections against the long-term implications of their political decisions.

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“And our voters in the north, the lesson you need to learn from Osun is that in Osun they gave them ₦30,000, ₦40,000, ₦50,000, but here in the north they give you ₦500 and noodles to grab your lives for the next four years,” he said.

“Voters in the north should know they have the power to choose who governs them through the ballot,” Usman said.

We have a lot to learn in the north to tell you that we have the power. This is the government we elect. “We can choose who we want to choose,” he said.

He also condemned the continued use of religious arguments to mobilize voters, especially appeals for support for a Muslim-Muslim political ticket.

“And now they are bringing in these religious leaders back to you again to tell you to vote Muslim-Muslim, which I said from the beginning is nothing but a scam. “It has nothing to do with Islam,” he told.

He said religious identity should not be a substitute for good governance and addressing the challenges facing Nigerians.

“It is just to get votes for him. And then what has happened in the last 4 years? He asked: “What happened to the Muslims in the north?”