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Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, has said the protests against the medical vacation of President Muhammadu Buhari in London, United Kingdom is an attack on the North.

The governor who spoke in a statement issued on Thursday, described said protests against the president were being sponsored.

Buhari is currently in London where he would be spending two weeks to enable him to undergo a medical checkup.

To express their displeasure at the medical trip, some protesters have been protesting at the gate of the Nigeria House, brandishing placards with different inscriptions.

However, expressing his displeasure with the protests, the Zamfara governor said, “As a Northerner, I condemn in strongest term how in the same manner of hatred, President Muhammadu Buhari was treated by so-called protesters that could not hide their disdain and hatred for the North. Their action, no matter their grievances, is uncivilised, highly irresponsible, unpatriotic and disrespectful to the person and office of the President and has demonstrated the growing hatred against anything North. This is certainly NOT the way to express dissatisfaction but an act of humiliation and hatred consistent with the southern agenda as the promoters and sponsors are well known and are only looking for opportunities and slightest excuse(s).

“Responsible and civilised protest should address only issues but reducing such sponsored protests to abusing the President, his family or parents as we have seen in London is most unfortunate, uncivilised and condemnable. I am sure they wouldn’t have done that for Buhari if he is from the South as we have seen several times on matters of their interest and agenda. The real motive and agenda of the so-called protest is not for Nigeria but to humiliate the President, that is why the number of the protesters, considering the large number of Nigerians living in London, is so negligible as they could be easily counted.”

The governor also warned that Southerners in the North cannot be protected if attacks on Northerners in the South is allowed to continue.

The governor argued that the South has no monopoly of violence.

“If Northerners and their means of livelihood will not be protected, accommodated and be dignified anywhere they choose to stay in any part of the South, Southerners should NOT expect protection from the North as the North has more than what it takes to respond to any aggression and hatred,” the governor said.

“For the North to survive and defend its interests, our leaders MUST have the courage to always speak out against such aggression and to protect Northern interests, the way our contemporaries in the South often do, even when there is no justification to do so. We MUST not be ashamed to defend our people and protect our interests the manner they are doing. But in doing so we must not be blind, like they often are, to overlook the shortcomings or the faults of our people whenever there is one. Nigeria is for all of us. Peace or preservation of peace MUST be reciprocal and in the absence of that, we demand that we will no longer tolerate what has been happening to Northerners in different parts of the South over the last few months.”