Public affairs analyst Mahdi Shehu has criticised a statement allegedly made by the Edo State Governor claiming that Northerners kidnap to win elections.
Shehu issued his reaction on Saturday through a post on X, where he condemned the remark and described it as reckless and divisive.
Reacting to the governor’s alleged comment, Shehu said the statement exposed deep prejudice.
He wrote that the governor’s comment was careless and that its intention was immediately clear.
Shehu questioned why the governor would single out the North, asking whether criminal activities recorded in the southern part of the country should also be used to stereotype an entire region.
“If so, what of internet hackers, bank fraud networks and hard drugs merchants predominantly in the South? Are they doing so to rig elections or to divide Nigeria?” he asked.
“We welcome both the rigging and the division,” he said.
In a post, the commentator accused the governor of ignorance and hatred.
He said the statement revealed clear recklessness and visible ignorance, noting that it suggested a mindset driven by regional bias and unnecessary hostility.
Shehu went further to describe the governor as a cowardly, budget-ignorant miscreant, unable to read figures.
He added that his statement amounted to a poison arrow looking for where to spit.
He ended his reaction with, “Shame on you. Back to sender.”
Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State had on Wednesday linked the ongoing kidnappings and killings in the northern parts of the country to a deliberately sinister plot to destabilise Nigeria and undermine the administration of President Bola Tinubu.