Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu has said he does not hate the North as widely believed. In an interview with The Sun, Kanu said he loves former Presidents Shehu Shagari and late Umaru Yar’Adua than Nnamdi Azikwe. He described both northern leaders as unique, stating that Shagari built the Port Hacourt expressway while he was growing up.
“People think I hate the North; that’s not true, but the only thing is that I say things the way they are, I don’t know how to tell lies to curry favours. People do not know that I love (former presidents Shagari and Yar’Adua more than I love (former president, Nnamdi Azikiwe) Zik. I’m saying this because when we were young and were growing up, the only notable person that built any notable infrastructure I saw with my two eyes was Shagari. The Enugu/Igwuocha (that the white man named Port Harcourt) Expressway, was built by the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) government of Shagari and then you can travel with joy because it was smooth and very clean.
“Now, tell me who has ever done that since after Shagari, no, tell me. Which other infrastructure will you be proud of, nobody has ever done anything again.”
He also described late Yar’adua as a gentleman who handled the agitation well.
He said Yar’adua was “a good and perfect gentleman. That was why you had the agitations cooled during the time of Yar’Adua. The man was a gentle man; he knew how to deal with people. I never met both men one on one, but these are good people. I’m not saying we don’t have other good people in the North, no, we have many of them, even in the judiciary, who are nice.
“But the few terrible, horrible ones won’t allow them to emerge, that’s the problem.”