Abuja (Sundiata Post) – “I regret inviting Buhari into politics”. That was his major statement in the last interview he granted recently. It was a statement of frustration with the situation in the country.
He explained that his regret was predicated on the fact that the past two years of Buhari’s government has been a “waste.”
Late Kanti Bello who hailed from Katsina, the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari, made the statement on July 18, 2017 in an interview with an online newspaper (not Sundiata Post).
He was reacting to a question thrown at him by a journalist, who asked him: “Any regrets inviting Buhari to politics”?
In his response, Kanty Bello said, “I really regret it now, because I thought it is going to be better than what we are having now. That’s why I couldn’t speak for two years, because you cannot bring somebody and say he is the best, work hard for him and after one year you say he isn’t good. Is it fair?
“But after two years and looking at it, I can talk. I hope he gets well, come back and finish his two years. Whichever way, I don’t see much out of it anyway, because the first two years have been wasted, nothing to show for it. My regret is what I would tell the ordinary people I convinced to vote for Buhari.
On Buhari’s seeking re-election in 2019, Bello said,
“Let him come back and be well. We pray for him to come back in good health. He has every right to seek for our mandate, but some of us also have a right to look for who will give Nigerians the best.”
He said he was worried by what he felt was sloppy performance of President Buhari in the past two years and what he would tell the ordinary people whom he convinced to vote for Buhari.
Atiku also advised that, “whatever might be Kanti Bello’s perceived flaws; he deserved to be given credit for his contributions to Nigeria’s democratic journey.
Late Senator Kanti Bello died in a hospital in Abuja early morning of Tuesday at the age of 72 after a brief illness.
He was the General Manager of Katsina Steel Rolling Mills and served as the manager for over 10 years.
Senator Kanti Bello was a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and a two- term Senator representing Katsina East at the National Assembly.
A graduate of Engineering from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kanti Bello was several times a gubernatorial candidate under the defunct SDP, ANPP and APC.
Late Senator Kanti Bello belonged to the Yar’Adua political family from the defunct Peoples Front of Nigeria (PFN) to the also defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He is survived by a wife, several children and many grandchildren.
Among his children is the Katsina State Commissioner for Resource Development, Alhaji Mustafa Kanti Bello.
