Cries of ‘Barawo’, ‘thief’, ‘ole’, ‘change has come’, and ‘your time has gone’ among others trailed his attempts to give his speech. He eventually abandoned his speech, but even after he returned to his seat, he was pelted with stones and water sachets. Eventually soldiers from the 31st Artillery Brigade were dispatched to search the crowd for the people responsible for stoning Aliyu. Immediately after the inauguration, the stadium was tear gassed as Aliyu was removed under tight police security.
The former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, was stoned and heckled at his successor’s inauguration ceremony on Friday in Minna, the Niger State capital.
Aliyu had been advised not to attend, and was booed as by the crowd as he moved to the podium at Bako Kontagora Memorial Stadium.
Cries of ‘Barawo’, ‘thief’, ‘ole’, ‘change has come’, and ‘your time has gone’ among others trailed his attempts to give his speech. He eventually abandoned his speech, but even after he returned to his seat, he was pelted with stones and water sachets. Eventually soldiers from the 31st Artillery Brigade were dispatched to search the crowd for the people responsible for stoning Aliyu. Immediately after the inauguration, the stadium was tear gassed as Aliyu was removed under tight police security.
The Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, was also stoned while attending Governor El-Rufai’s inauguration in Kaduna on Friday. The Emir faced the ire of youths who thought he had maligned his position as a royal father by accompanying the former Governor, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, on campaign. El-Rufai had to abandon his speech because the emir was pelted with shoes and stones.
Throwing shoes at a person is tantamount to throwing dirt at that person in the Islamic world, as the feet (and shoes) occupy the least prestigious position on the body. It is a sign of humiliation and disrespect.