Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Yahaya Ladan: Sunset at noon for a good soul
Nasiru L. AbubakarIn Nigeria, it is not uncommon to come across broken down vehicles at very dangerous spots on our highways and without any caution sign to warn road users of the danger lurking ahead. Last week Friday, February 20, 2009, we drove past two such vehicles – one close to the U-turn leading to Dikko Junction and the other somewhere near Katari – on our way to Kaduna from Abuja. Yakubu, who was driving, was visibly irked and spent about an hour lamenting the general state of our roads.The road safety officials who, in addition to other roles, are responsible for removing obstructions on our roads, Yakubu lamented, seem more ‘comfortable’ arresting motorists for not using seatbelts or motorcyclists for not wearing the crash helmets. Good as enforcement of the use of seatbelts and crash helmets are, there is no reason why road safety officers should limit their job to them or limit their presence to towns and cities even as their attention is very much needed on the highways.For if the road safety officials had been on the Abuja-Kaduna highway and caused the driver of broken down heavy equipment vehicle to put a caution sign on that fateful Friday, perhaps – just perhaps – my friend, Yahaya, and the four other people he was travelling with, would have been alive today. But “Qad ja’alal-Lahu likulli shay’in qadran” (Allah [Subhanahu wa ta’ala] has predetermined for everything its fate).Yahaya was in Abuja to see one of his paternal uncles. On his way back to Kaduna on Friday, February 20, 2009, he was involved in a fatal accident when the Gulf car they where travelling in ran into a vehicle that broke down on the speed lane at Suleja, close to Dikko Junction which leads to Minna, the capital of Niger State. Unfortunately, it was already dark (after Isha’ prayers, I learnt) and the driver had no inkling of the disaster lying in wait because there was no sign to warn him. More so the spot was a dangerous one and there was poor visibility.And when I received the shocking news on Saturday, my mind instantly recalled Yakubu’s lamentations the day before. It was the same vehicle we saw which Yakubu first complained about that claimed the lives of Yahaya and four others. And as usual with our disaster prevention agencies, they don’t always appear on time at disaster scenes. It is as if they are more concerned with evacuation of casualties than prevention of calamities. Among the first people to receive the shocking news of Yahaya’s death I learnt were those whose numbers happened to be on the redial list on his mobile phone, and his fiancé’s number was also there, meaning that she was among the first to receive the news concerning his accident. She was naturally thrown off balance and is still battling to live with this painful reality. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun. (From Allah we come and to Him is our return.) When Yahaya’s remains were brought back home, it was clear that he bled through his nose, owing to the impact of the hit. From what I heard, the Good Samaritan who reached out to Yahaya’s people, and those of the four others I believe, was careful in delivering the message. But the reality did not take long in coming because Yahaya, and the four other people he was travelling with, have reached the end of their sojourn on earth. One thing about death, though, is that whenever it strikes, it lives in its wake painful memories. And despite the fact that death is an old reality, reactions to it have always been that of “if only, had it been and other forms of human astonishments.” A determined and focussed young man in his early thirties, Yahaya was to have tied the ‘nuptial knot’ in December 2008. But for reasons beyond human control, the date was shifted to February 2009 and later to July same year. All the most relevant arrangements have been made – formal introduction, presentation of wedding paraphernalia and so on. But that was not to be as Allah has decreed that Yahaya will meet him as a bachelor. May Allah compensate his marital plans with hoorun-in (The beautiful ladies of paradise), and reward him for opting for marriage as a way of keeping chastity.And as many people testified, Yahaya was calm and forthright. Two of his secondary school mates at Unity School Gummi, in today’s Zamfara State, Muawiya Abdullahi Kamba and Garba Abdullahi recall Yahaya as an amiable fellow who was always passionate about his academics. To him, it was school first and then any other thing can follow. Truth as their submissions remain about Yahaya, I also have fond memories about him growing up as young kids.I still recall, and vividly too, a day in the early 80s when we were playing somewhere behind Maiduguri Road mosque in Kaduna. What we were doing then was climb up a wall, leap and cling on to a branch of the tree that was standing near by, use our hands to move further on the branch and then jump down at the point where it was closer down. One day, Yahaya was the first to start. But after successfully finishing the leaping process, his landing was faulty – faulty because we all thought we have mastered the act. Like a joke – we actually thought he was joking – he went on his knees screaming “my leg, my leg”. A second look confirmed to us that Yahaya was not joking as we saw a bone protruding from between his shin and ankle. Yahaya was rushed to the hospital and I didn’t remember myself or any of the group members going there to play ever again.One of Yahaya’s paternal uncles, and the most senior of the famous Ladan Family, Alhaji Yusuf Ladan, Dan Iyan Zazzau and the District Head of Kabala, lives in Maiduguri Road, where he frequented as a kid. I got to know Yahaya through his cousins, Bello and Aliyu, my friends for as long as I can remember. In fact, we were more than just neighbours with the duo of Bello and Aliko, all members of the Yusuf Ladan family. We were so close that we shared a number of things together, like going to school, eating together and so on. In any case, we grew up to see our parents, Late Sheikh Lawal Abubakar and Alhaji Yusuf Ladan as more than just neighbours. Yahaya’s biological father, Malam Ilyasu Ladan was visibly touched, as were the other members of the Ladan family and friends. Yahaya was very close to his dad as he was to other members of the family. He valued friendship and did his best to keep friendship. He had better use for his energy and had no time keeping enemies. This much was clear from the sea of mourners that trooped to his family house situated along Marnona Street, Unguwar Sarki, in Kaduna. My condolences go to Yahaya’s parents, relations, friends and above all, his fiancé. It is also my prayer that Almighty Allah will overlook Yahaya’s shortcomings as a human being and reward his good deeds. Yes, the only way the living can benefit the dead is through constant prayers. May Allah in His infinite mercy give us the strength to continue praying for all those who have departed and bless us with those who will pray for us when we depart, as we surely will at the appropriate time.I will also want to use this opportunity to call on members of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to be alive to their responsibilities. Their services are very much needed on our highways, not just inside towns and cities. Nasiru L. Abubakar is a journalist based in Abuja.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Fuel crisis: How filling stations turned black market outlets
The fuel scarcity that enveloped the whole country in recent weeks may be subsiding, but the untold hardship it visited on Nigerians remain. Weekly Trust’s finding also show that the fuel crisis may be far from over unless the government makes clear its stand on deregulation.
Nasiru L. Abubakar
Madam Naomi (not real name) is a civil servant working in Nigeria’s capital city Abuja, but who lives in Karu in neighbouring Nasarawa State because she can not afford living inside the federal capital territory with her ‘meagre’ salary. To ease her transportation problems, she bought – in January this year – a car with money she raised through donation with her colleagues at the office.
“When I bought the car I was so happy that the days of struggling to join commercial vehicles are over. In fact, I got registered with a driving school even before the arrival of car because I never wanted anything to stand in my way having known my experience at the end of every working day,” Madam Naomi said.
However, Madam Naomi’s euphoria was cut short by the debilitating fuel scarcity crisis that enveloped the nation for several weeks. “Now I literally spend my after work hours at the filling station trying to buy fuel, sometimes without even buying the fuel after waiting for so long. Sometimes I feel like abandoning the car at home because I can’t afford the black market rate of N800 naira for a four-litre gallon (i.e. N200 per litre). What is stopping me is my experience of struggling at the bus stop. I hope the government will do something about this permanently,” she said.
In Minna, the Niger State capital, a 58-year old woman, Sarah gave up the ghost while queuing to buy fuel at the filling station. She was said to have queued for four hours inside her car at one station without getting fuel. She then left for another station and succeeded in getting the fuel, also after some hours. However, while trying to pay for the fuel, she slumped and died, probably due to exhaustion.
Who is to blame?
Though, some have attributed the fuel crisis to the Easter break, President Umaru Yar’adua blamed the scarcity on the face-off between the Lagos State government and petroleum tanker drivers some parts of the country on the face-off between the Lagos State government and tanker drivers.
The Petrol Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) recently halted the lifting of products from depots in Lagos, in protest over what they said was the harassment of their members by Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA). The case had however being settled and the drivers have since resumed loading from Lagos depot but the scarcity persists even the government claims that the country has enough supply of Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as petrol to meet local demand.
Filling stations or black outlets?
Ever since the re-emergence of fuel scarcity, filling stations especially ones owned by independent petroleum marketers, have turned black market outfits, selling well above the government stipulated rate of N65 per litre.
Weekly Trust survey Kano-Kaduna road showed that all the filling stations with very few queues are selling well above the normal rate. At one of the filling stations called Kubewa situated at Chiromawa, a village about 45 kilometres to Kano, a litre was being sold at N130 naira (two times the normal rate) and people were buying.
Though most of the buyers were apparently black marketers because they were buying in jerry cans and even drums, the few car owners told Weekly Trust that they had no alternative because they are on a journey and need the fuel to reach their destinations on time.
The manager of Kubewa Petroleum, who refused to give his name, said they also were forced to sell at the rate they were selling because they got their supply at a very exorbitant rate. When asked how they were getting petroleum while other stations are without it, he said they usually get their supply from some major marketers.
DPR seems powerless
While Weekly Trust was still at the Kubewa filling station, an official of the Department for Petroleum Resources (DPR) came visiting. The official who said he was on a routine inspection forced the attendants to revert to the old normal price of N65 naira. All the pleas by the manager were ignored by the DPR official. DPR officials across the country are also going round shutting down filling stations selling fuel above N65.
But in spite of the DPR’s inspection to ensure that fuel is sold at the official rate and that the machines are not adjusted to short-change customers, other surveys by Weekly Trust in Lagos, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, Adamawa, Plateau, Abuja, Zaria show that many stations were selling above the stipulated rate of N65.
In Taraba State, as in other states of the North East where fuel sells above government stipulated price even when the commodity is not scarce, independent marketers have refused to comply with the federal government’s directive on the sell of the commodity at the approved pomp price of N65 per litre.
This is after the reopening of over twenty filling stations belonging to independent marketers in Jalingo which were sealed up by the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, for violating the federal government’s directive. In spite of the undertakings they individually signed to sell at the official rate as a precondition for reopening their filling stations, the major marketers in the state have continued to defy government’s order by selling above the pomp price.
Taraba State chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Ibrahim Liman, blamed the non compliance with the sale of petrol at official rates to alleged diversion of refined fuel from NNPC depots to private stations who sell to marketers at cut throat price.
Deregulation as culprit
When the government reduced the price of petroleum litre to N65 from N70 in January this year owing to the fact that landing cost of petroleum had fallen to N59, the scenario has now changed. Now that the government has withdrawn subsidy on petroleum products, the landing cost of PMS is about N70 per litre, said a petroleum marketer. “This means we cannot import (Nigeria now exports over 85% of its fuel for domestic consumption) and sell petrol at N65 per litre. That will be operating at a loss, which we can’t afford to.”
The marketer also said that by the time stocks they imported at N59 per litre is finished, fuel supply situation in the country is likely to worsen. He called on the government to rise to the occasion and go ahead with its plan to totally deregulate the oil sector.
“You see, we are still waiting for guidelines on deregulation before making any major commitments to new products importation. Without the government’s guidelines clearly being spelt out, we do not believe that we have deregulation in place and going ahead to import fuel may be suicidal.
The question on the minds of Nigerians is: when will Nigeria, as the sixth largest producer of crude oil in the world, see the end of fuel scarcity in the country? This is one question only the government – and perhaps, marketers of petroleum products in the country – can tell.
Nasiru L. Abubakar
Madam Naomi (not real name) is a civil servant working in Nigeria’s capital city Abuja, but who lives in Karu in neighbouring Nasarawa State because she can not afford living inside the federal capital territory with her ‘meagre’ salary. To ease her transportation problems, she bought – in January this year – a car with money she raised through donation with her colleagues at the office.
“When I bought the car I was so happy that the days of struggling to join commercial vehicles are over. In fact, I got registered with a driving school even before the arrival of car because I never wanted anything to stand in my way having known my experience at the end of every working day,” Madam Naomi said.
However, Madam Naomi’s euphoria was cut short by the debilitating fuel scarcity crisis that enveloped the nation for several weeks. “Now I literally spend my after work hours at the filling station trying to buy fuel, sometimes without even buying the fuel after waiting for so long. Sometimes I feel like abandoning the car at home because I can’t afford the black market rate of N800 naira for a four-litre gallon (i.e. N200 per litre). What is stopping me is my experience of struggling at the bus stop. I hope the government will do something about this permanently,” she said.
In Minna, the Niger State capital, a 58-year old woman, Sarah gave up the ghost while queuing to buy fuel at the filling station. She was said to have queued for four hours inside her car at one station without getting fuel. She then left for another station and succeeded in getting the fuel, also after some hours. However, while trying to pay for the fuel, she slumped and died, probably due to exhaustion.
Who is to blame?
Though, some have attributed the fuel crisis to the Easter break, President Umaru Yar’adua blamed the scarcity on the face-off between the Lagos State government and petroleum tanker drivers some parts of the country on the face-off between the Lagos State government and tanker drivers.
The Petrol Tanker Drivers (PTD) branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) recently halted the lifting of products from depots in Lagos, in protest over what they said was the harassment of their members by Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA). The case had however being settled and the drivers have since resumed loading from Lagos depot but the scarcity persists even the government claims that the country has enough supply of Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as petrol to meet local demand.
Filling stations or black outlets?
Ever since the re-emergence of fuel scarcity, filling stations especially ones owned by independent petroleum marketers, have turned black market outfits, selling well above the government stipulated rate of N65 per litre.
Weekly Trust survey Kano-Kaduna road showed that all the filling stations with very few queues are selling well above the normal rate. At one of the filling stations called Kubewa situated at Chiromawa, a village about 45 kilometres to Kano, a litre was being sold at N130 naira (two times the normal rate) and people were buying.
Though most of the buyers were apparently black marketers because they were buying in jerry cans and even drums, the few car owners told Weekly Trust that they had no alternative because they are on a journey and need the fuel to reach their destinations on time.
The manager of Kubewa Petroleum, who refused to give his name, said they also were forced to sell at the rate they were selling because they got their supply at a very exorbitant rate. When asked how they were getting petroleum while other stations are without it, he said they usually get their supply from some major marketers.
DPR seems powerless
While Weekly Trust was still at the Kubewa filling station, an official of the Department for Petroleum Resources (DPR) came visiting. The official who said he was on a routine inspection forced the attendants to revert to the old normal price of N65 naira. All the pleas by the manager were ignored by the DPR official. DPR officials across the country are also going round shutting down filling stations selling fuel above N65.
But in spite of the DPR’s inspection to ensure that fuel is sold at the official rate and that the machines are not adjusted to short-change customers, other surveys by Weekly Trust in Lagos, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, Adamawa, Plateau, Abuja, Zaria show that many stations were selling above the stipulated rate of N65.
In Taraba State, as in other states of the North East where fuel sells above government stipulated price even when the commodity is not scarce, independent marketers have refused to comply with the federal government’s directive on the sell of the commodity at the approved pomp price of N65 per litre.
This is after the reopening of over twenty filling stations belonging to independent marketers in Jalingo which were sealed up by the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, for violating the federal government’s directive. In spite of the undertakings they individually signed to sell at the official rate as a precondition for reopening their filling stations, the major marketers in the state have continued to defy government’s order by selling above the pomp price.
Taraba State chairman of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Ibrahim Liman, blamed the non compliance with the sale of petrol at official rates to alleged diversion of refined fuel from NNPC depots to private stations who sell to marketers at cut throat price.
Deregulation as culprit
When the government reduced the price of petroleum litre to N65 from N70 in January this year owing to the fact that landing cost of petroleum had fallen to N59, the scenario has now changed. Now that the government has withdrawn subsidy on petroleum products, the landing cost of PMS is about N70 per litre, said a petroleum marketer. “This means we cannot import (Nigeria now exports over 85% of its fuel for domestic consumption) and sell petrol at N65 per litre. That will be operating at a loss, which we can’t afford to.”
The marketer also said that by the time stocks they imported at N59 per litre is finished, fuel supply situation in the country is likely to worsen. He called on the government to rise to the occasion and go ahead with its plan to totally deregulate the oil sector.
“You see, we are still waiting for guidelines on deregulation before making any major commitments to new products importation. Without the government’s guidelines clearly being spelt out, we do not believe that we have deregulation in place and going ahead to import fuel may be suicidal.
The question on the minds of Nigerians is: when will Nigeria, as the sixth largest producer of crude oil in the world, see the end of fuel scarcity in the country? This is one question only the government – and perhaps, marketers of petroleum products in the country – can tell.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Between Gumi and Nigerian politicians
By Nasiru L. Abubakar
At the 2nd annual Ramadan lecture jointly organised by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Kaduna and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Kaduna , I had the opportunity of studying Dr. Ahmad Gumi more closely. And that is not to say I have never met him before. In fact, I had even interviewed him once at the residence of his late father, Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gumi. I have also had several other opportunities of listening to him, either directly or via mass media channels, conducting public lectures, Qur’anic commentary (tafsir) and so on.
My aim in this piece is not to pass judgement on what the Islamic scholar (even though respected writers like Adamu Adamu will rather call him a mere Ramadan preacher!) said concerning Buhari’s ongoing case before the Presidential Election Tribunal. No! What I intend to do here is to try to explain to Dr. Ahmad the workings of the mind of the average Nigerian politician. This I believe will give Gumi the opportunity to re-examine his stance about the nation’s politics.
Speaking at the said lecture titled “Leadership challenges: The Muslim perspective”, Dr Ahmad jokingly said, for the fact that he was born on the day Nigeria had its independence (October 1, 1960), he considers himself independent. The independence he said, included freedom of speech and his decision to start by recognising the presence of the Sultan of Sokoto, Sultan Sa’ad ahead of the Kaduna State governor in order of protocol. Nobody seemed to care, for the gathering was a religious one, and since the Sultan is seen as the spiritual leader of the Muslim ummah, he couldn’t be faulted.
Gumi used the lecture as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. i.e. called for Muslim unity – which he said was paramount – on one hand, and expatiate his position on the petition instituted by General Buhari and Atiku Abubakar, even though he avoided mentioning the name of either of them. This perhaps might not be unconnected with the criticisms his interview with Weekly Trust (September15 2007) on the same issue drew.
In any case, Dr. Gumi appears not to bother with those criticisms, negative as they are. For if he does, he would have let the matter to die down, even if slowly. Indeed, if you happen to be among the regular listeners of the tafsir session being conducted by the scholar, you will realise that hardly a verse passes without him hammering on the need for Muslims to support this administration (Yar’Adua’s that is) as a basis for unity of the Muslim ummah and peaceful coexistence among citizens. He is passionate on everything he believes in, and this may be one of his weaknesses as a human being.
According to Dr Gumi, there is the need to support the present government which has, in an attempt to build structures needed for free and fair election, set up an electoral reform panel. The problems associated with the last flawed elections, he said, were due to absence of structures that will make rigging impossible. And since the government has agreed to put these structures, it is a religious duty to support him.
Gumi seems to trust the Nigerian politician, and this is perhaps where the scholar gets it wrong on the Nigerian politician – Yar’Adua inclusive. Temporarily set aside Yar’Adua’s claim to being a servant leader, Nigerian politicians are in politics purely for business and not for service. And if the price is right, everything is possible. They are experts in the art of double speaking, perhaps to a professorial level.
Agreed, the system we are operating may not be a perfect (by the way, can any human endeavour be perfect?) one, but it has never been our major problem. Our problem has always been the politician himself, spurred on by the docility of the people to protect their votes. It is the politician that needs to be reformed, urgently and in totality too. (I hope members of the Justice Lawal Uwais panel are listening).
Carefully study this scenario: the country has a supposedly Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in place, we have the Electoral Act, law courts, the Police and other security agents. All these were on ground when the 2007 elections took place, but the politicians occupying positions of power will never allow them do their job. Because if they do, that would mean the beginning of their (politicians’) journey to irrelevance.
In any case, of what relevance will these structures be when politicians have only their interest, and not that of the people, at heart? Politicians know that if they can hire the best thugs, kill those considered as obstructions to success, and rig elections successfully, that will be it. This is so because your opponent is very much ready to jettison those that voted for him (with some losing their lives in the process) and abandon the struggle once he is offered some juicy positions or two. The politician aware of this anomaly will forever resort to killing, rigging and all forms of malpractices to get the power. The settlement can be done after he is sworn in.
Then consider a situation where all the above mentioned agencies are allowed to their job, and politicians pursue their rights to the latter, and in the process, some two or three governors have their victories reversed. The politician will be forced to have a rethink about engaging in these vices, spending money only for him to be recalled, and his ‘investments’ gone. Who will want to part with his money in return for nothing? Not even an armed robber will want to do that I believe.
Gumi should therefore support all those who are currently at the tribunals demanding justice. He should also encourage the judiciary to do their work without fear or favour and remind them of the penalties that await them in the hereafter should legalise an outright illegality. This is all the country needs to return to sanity as far as organising credible elections are concerned. You can have the best structures in the world, but as long as the Nigerian politician remains what he is, yesterday can only be better than today, and today better that tomorrow.
Abubakar is a journalist based in Abuja . naslawal@yahoo.com
Note: This piece was published in the Daily Trust and posted on Gamji.com
At the 2nd annual Ramadan lecture jointly organised by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Kaduna and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Kaduna , I had the opportunity of studying Dr. Ahmad Gumi more closely. And that is not to say I have never met him before. In fact, I had even interviewed him once at the residence of his late father, Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gumi. I have also had several other opportunities of listening to him, either directly or via mass media channels, conducting public lectures, Qur’anic commentary (tafsir) and so on.
My aim in this piece is not to pass judgement on what the Islamic scholar (even though respected writers like Adamu Adamu will rather call him a mere Ramadan preacher!) said concerning Buhari’s ongoing case before the Presidential Election Tribunal. No! What I intend to do here is to try to explain to Dr. Ahmad the workings of the mind of the average Nigerian politician. This I believe will give Gumi the opportunity to re-examine his stance about the nation’s politics.
Speaking at the said lecture titled “Leadership challenges: The Muslim perspective”, Dr Ahmad jokingly said, for the fact that he was born on the day Nigeria had its independence (October 1, 1960), he considers himself independent. The independence he said, included freedom of speech and his decision to start by recognising the presence of the Sultan of Sokoto, Sultan Sa’ad ahead of the Kaduna State governor in order of protocol. Nobody seemed to care, for the gathering was a religious one, and since the Sultan is seen as the spiritual leader of the Muslim ummah, he couldn’t be faulted.
Gumi used the lecture as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. i.e. called for Muslim unity – which he said was paramount – on one hand, and expatiate his position on the petition instituted by General Buhari and Atiku Abubakar, even though he avoided mentioning the name of either of them. This perhaps might not be unconnected with the criticisms his interview with Weekly Trust (September15 2007) on the same issue drew.
In any case, Dr. Gumi appears not to bother with those criticisms, negative as they are. For if he does, he would have let the matter to die down, even if slowly. Indeed, if you happen to be among the regular listeners of the tafsir session being conducted by the scholar, you will realise that hardly a verse passes without him hammering on the need for Muslims to support this administration (Yar’Adua’s that is) as a basis for unity of the Muslim ummah and peaceful coexistence among citizens. He is passionate on everything he believes in, and this may be one of his weaknesses as a human being.
According to Dr Gumi, there is the need to support the present government which has, in an attempt to build structures needed for free and fair election, set up an electoral reform panel. The problems associated with the last flawed elections, he said, were due to absence of structures that will make rigging impossible. And since the government has agreed to put these structures, it is a religious duty to support him.
Gumi seems to trust the Nigerian politician, and this is perhaps where the scholar gets it wrong on the Nigerian politician – Yar’Adua inclusive. Temporarily set aside Yar’Adua’s claim to being a servant leader, Nigerian politicians are in politics purely for business and not for service. And if the price is right, everything is possible. They are experts in the art of double speaking, perhaps to a professorial level.
Agreed, the system we are operating may not be a perfect (by the way, can any human endeavour be perfect?) one, but it has never been our major problem. Our problem has always been the politician himself, spurred on by the docility of the people to protect their votes. It is the politician that needs to be reformed, urgently and in totality too. (I hope members of the Justice Lawal Uwais panel are listening).
Carefully study this scenario: the country has a supposedly Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in place, we have the Electoral Act, law courts, the Police and other security agents. All these were on ground when the 2007 elections took place, but the politicians occupying positions of power will never allow them do their job. Because if they do, that would mean the beginning of their (politicians’) journey to irrelevance.
In any case, of what relevance will these structures be when politicians have only their interest, and not that of the people, at heart? Politicians know that if they can hire the best thugs, kill those considered as obstructions to success, and rig elections successfully, that will be it. This is so because your opponent is very much ready to jettison those that voted for him (with some losing their lives in the process) and abandon the struggle once he is offered some juicy positions or two. The politician aware of this anomaly will forever resort to killing, rigging and all forms of malpractices to get the power. The settlement can be done after he is sworn in.
Then consider a situation where all the above mentioned agencies are allowed to their job, and politicians pursue their rights to the latter, and in the process, some two or three governors have their victories reversed. The politician will be forced to have a rethink about engaging in these vices, spending money only for him to be recalled, and his ‘investments’ gone. Who will want to part with his money in return for nothing? Not even an armed robber will want to do that I believe.
Gumi should therefore support all those who are currently at the tribunals demanding justice. He should also encourage the judiciary to do their work without fear or favour and remind them of the penalties that await them in the hereafter should legalise an outright illegality. This is all the country needs to return to sanity as far as organising credible elections are concerned. You can have the best structures in the world, but as long as the Nigerian politician remains what he is, yesterday can only be better than today, and today better that tomorrow.
Abubakar is a journalist based in Abuja . naslawal@yahoo.com
Note: This piece was published in the Daily Trust and posted on Gamji.com
Between Gumi and Nigerian politicians
By Nasiru L. Abubakar
At the 2nd annual Ramadan lecture jointly organised by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Kaduna and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Kaduna , I had the opportunity of studying Dr. Ahmad Gumi more closely. And that is not to say I have never met him before. In fact, I had even interviewed him once at the residence of his late father, Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gumi. I have also had several other opportunities of listening to him, either directly or via mass media channels, conducting public lectures, Qur’anic commentary (tafsir) and so on.
My aim in this piece is not to pass judgement on what the Islamic scholar (even though respected writers like Adamu Adamu will rather call him a mere Ramadan preacher!) said concerning Buhari’s ongoing case before the Presidential Election Tribunal. No! What I intend to do here is to try to explain to Dr. Ahmad the workings of the mind of the average Nigerian politician. This I believe will give Gumi the opportunity to re-examine his stance about the nation’s politics.
Speaking at the said lecture titled “Leadership challenges: The Muslim perspective”, Dr Ahmad jokingly said, for the fact that he was born on the day Nigeria had its independence (October 1, 1960), he considers himself independent. The independence he said, included freedom of speech and his decision to start by recognising the presence of the Sultan of Sokoto, Sultan Sa’ad ahead of the Kaduna State governor in order of protocol. Nobody seemed to care, for the gathering was a religious one, and since the Sultan is seen as the spiritual leader of the Muslim ummah, he couldn’t be faulted.
Gumi used the lecture as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. i.e. called for Muslim unity – which he said was paramount – on one hand, and expatiate his position on the petition instituted by General Buhari and Atiku Abubakar, even though he avoided mentioning the name of either of them. This perhaps might not be unconnected with the criticisms his interview with Weekly Trust (September15 2007) on the same issue drew.
In any case, Dr. Gumi appears not to bother with those criticisms, negative as they are. For if he does, he would have let the matter to die down, even if slowly. Indeed, if you happen to be among the regular listeners of the tafsir session being conducted by the scholar, you will realise that hardly a verse passes without him hammering on the need for Muslims to support this administration (Yar’Adua’s that is) as a basis for unity of the Muslim ummah and peaceful coexistence among citizens. He is passionate on everything he believes in, and this may be one of his weaknesses as a human being.
According to Dr Gumi, there is the need to support the present government which has, in an attempt to build structures needed for free and fair election, set up an electoral reform panel. The problems associated with the last flawed elections, he said, were due to absence of structures that will make rigging impossible. And since the government has agreed to put these structures, it is a religious duty to support him.
Gumi seems to trust the Nigerian politician, and this is perhaps where the scholar gets it wrong on the Nigerian politician – Yar’Adua inclusive. Temporarily set aside Yar’Adua’s claim to being a servant leader, Nigerian politicians are in politics purely for business and not for service. And if the price is right, everything is possible. They are experts in the art of double speaking, perhaps to a professorial level.
Agreed, the system we are operating may not be a perfect (by the way, can any human endeavour be perfect?) one, but it has never been our major problem. Our problem has always been the politician himself, spurred on by the docility of the people to protect their votes. It is the politician that needs to be reformed, urgently and in totality too. (I hope members of the Justice Lawal Uwais panel are listening).
Carefully study this scenario: the country has a supposedly Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in place, we have the Electoral Act, law courts, the Police and other security agents. All these were on ground when the 2007 elections took place, but the politicians occupying positions of power will never allow them do their job. Because if they do, that would mean the beginning of their (politicians’) journey to irrelevance.
In any case, of what relevance will these structures be when politicians have only their interest, and not that of the people, at heart? Politicians know that if they can hire the best thugs, kill those considered as obstructions to success, and rig elections successfully, that will be it. This is so because your opponent is very much ready to jettison those that voted for him (with some losing their lives in the process) and abandon the struggle once he is offered some juicy positions or two. The politician aware of this anomaly will forever resort to killing, rigging and all forms of malpractices to get the power. The settlement can be done after he is sworn in.
Then consider a situation where all the above mentioned agencies are allowed to their job, and politicians pursue their rights to the latter, and in the process, some two or three governors have their victories reversed. The politician will be forced to have a rethink about engaging in these vices, spending money only for him to be recalled, and his ‘investments’ gone. Who will want to part with his money in return for nothing? Not even an armed robber will want to do that I believe.
Gumi should therefore support all those who are currently at the tribunals demanding justice. He should also encourage the judiciary to do their work without fear or favour and remind them of the penalties that await them in the hereafter should legalise an outright illegality. This is all the country needs to return to sanity as far as organising credible elections are concerned. You can have the best structures in the world, but as long as the Nigerian politician remains what he is, yesterday can only be better than today, and today better that tomorrow.
Abubakar is a journalist based in Abuja . naslawal@yahoo.com
Note: This piece was published in the Daily Trust and posted on Gamji.com
At the 2nd annual Ramadan lecture jointly organised by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Kaduna and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) Kaduna , I had the opportunity of studying Dr. Ahmad Gumi more closely. And that is not to say I have never met him before. In fact, I had even interviewed him once at the residence of his late father, Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gumi. I have also had several other opportunities of listening to him, either directly or via mass media channels, conducting public lectures, Qur’anic commentary (tafsir) and so on.
My aim in this piece is not to pass judgement on what the Islamic scholar (even though respected writers like Adamu Adamu will rather call him a mere Ramadan preacher!) said concerning Buhari’s ongoing case before the Presidential Election Tribunal. No! What I intend to do here is to try to explain to Dr. Ahmad the workings of the mind of the average Nigerian politician. This I believe will give Gumi the opportunity to re-examine his stance about the nation’s politics.
Speaking at the said lecture titled “Leadership challenges: The Muslim perspective”, Dr Ahmad jokingly said, for the fact that he was born on the day Nigeria had its independence (October 1, 1960), he considers himself independent. The independence he said, included freedom of speech and his decision to start by recognising the presence of the Sultan of Sokoto, Sultan Sa’ad ahead of the Kaduna State governor in order of protocol. Nobody seemed to care, for the gathering was a religious one, and since the Sultan is seen as the spiritual leader of the Muslim ummah, he couldn’t be faulted.
Gumi used the lecture as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. i.e. called for Muslim unity – which he said was paramount – on one hand, and expatiate his position on the petition instituted by General Buhari and Atiku Abubakar, even though he avoided mentioning the name of either of them. This perhaps might not be unconnected with the criticisms his interview with Weekly Trust (September15 2007) on the same issue drew.
In any case, Dr. Gumi appears not to bother with those criticisms, negative as they are. For if he does, he would have let the matter to die down, even if slowly. Indeed, if you happen to be among the regular listeners of the tafsir session being conducted by the scholar, you will realise that hardly a verse passes without him hammering on the need for Muslims to support this administration (Yar’Adua’s that is) as a basis for unity of the Muslim ummah and peaceful coexistence among citizens. He is passionate on everything he believes in, and this may be one of his weaknesses as a human being.
According to Dr Gumi, there is the need to support the present government which has, in an attempt to build structures needed for free and fair election, set up an electoral reform panel. The problems associated with the last flawed elections, he said, were due to absence of structures that will make rigging impossible. And since the government has agreed to put these structures, it is a religious duty to support him.
Gumi seems to trust the Nigerian politician, and this is perhaps where the scholar gets it wrong on the Nigerian politician – Yar’Adua inclusive. Temporarily set aside Yar’Adua’s claim to being a servant leader, Nigerian politicians are in politics purely for business and not for service. And if the price is right, everything is possible. They are experts in the art of double speaking, perhaps to a professorial level.
Agreed, the system we are operating may not be a perfect (by the way, can any human endeavour be perfect?) one, but it has never been our major problem. Our problem has always been the politician himself, spurred on by the docility of the people to protect their votes. It is the politician that needs to be reformed, urgently and in totality too. (I hope members of the Justice Lawal Uwais panel are listening).
Carefully study this scenario: the country has a supposedly Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in place, we have the Electoral Act, law courts, the Police and other security agents. All these were on ground when the 2007 elections took place, but the politicians occupying positions of power will never allow them do their job. Because if they do, that would mean the beginning of their (politicians’) journey to irrelevance.
In any case, of what relevance will these structures be when politicians have only their interest, and not that of the people, at heart? Politicians know that if they can hire the best thugs, kill those considered as obstructions to success, and rig elections successfully, that will be it. This is so because your opponent is very much ready to jettison those that voted for him (with some losing their lives in the process) and abandon the struggle once he is offered some juicy positions or two. The politician aware of this anomaly will forever resort to killing, rigging and all forms of malpractices to get the power. The settlement can be done after he is sworn in.
Then consider a situation where all the above mentioned agencies are allowed to their job, and politicians pursue their rights to the latter, and in the process, some two or three governors have their victories reversed. The politician will be forced to have a rethink about engaging in these vices, spending money only for him to be recalled, and his ‘investments’ gone. Who will want to part with his money in return for nothing? Not even an armed robber will want to do that I believe.
Gumi should therefore support all those who are currently at the tribunals demanding justice. He should also encourage the judiciary to do their work without fear or favour and remind them of the penalties that await them in the hereafter should legalise an outright illegality. This is all the country needs to return to sanity as far as organising credible elections are concerned. You can have the best structures in the world, but as long as the Nigerian politician remains what he is, yesterday can only be better than today, and today better that tomorrow.
Abubakar is a journalist based in Abuja . naslawal@yahoo.com
Note: This piece was published in the Daily Trust and posted on Gamji.com
Enter Senator Kanti Bello's Shop!
By Nasiru L. Abubakar
Senator Mahmud Kanti Bello is slowly and steadily living up to his name- Kanti. For those who don’t understand the Hausa language, the word ‘Kanti’ simply means a shop. Now don’t tell me you don’t know what a shop stands for. But in case you need a reminder, it is a place you can get to buy anything- as long as you have the money- since a shop is always opened for business. Sometimes you wonder how some people perfectly fit their names.
If you are wondering I will go to this extent in describing a Nigerian Senator, who supposedly should bear ‘distinguish’ to his name, please indulge me, perhaps till the end of this article. Maybe then you would get the …
For starters, Senator Kanti Bello got to the Senate under the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) platform. In April 2004, local government elections were held in Katsina in which Governor Umaru Musa in connivance with then state INEC commissioner returned PDP candidates as winners. Shortly after the results were announced, Kanti and his party the ANPP cried foul. Indeed Kanti told the press that (let me quote him): "My local government was split into two my own local government where I came from that is Ingawa election was not held, the state government said there was no security. The following week about six thousand PDP thugs and three thousand policemen were brought to Ingawa and result was declared without election."
He also accused the police in Katsina for descending so low as to be used by the Katsina state government in the then local government elections and noted that the results were declared against the wishes of the people.
At another press interview on the same election, he said and I quote: “What Umaru (referring to the Katsina State governor) and Bawale Bala (INEC boss) are telling me is that I am not capable of winning even a councilor seat in my constituency. Thank God I am wise enough not to accept stupidity.”
Now the game has changed, Kanti is no longer selling ANPP wares, perhaps because they are not bringing good returns - no shop owner can remain in business without returns. He now deals in PDP which is notorious for selling contraband and smuggled wares. And because the goods are smuggled, the party is ready to give him loans without any collateral.
Today, Yar’Adua has integrity, he is a good man and a true democrat who respects the wishes of his people.
Surprisingly, when he left the ANPP, they didn’t complain because according to them the man has no credible customers. If you ask the senator why he had to leave the party that gave him his senatorial seat, he would say it was due to disagreement with Buhari. But we all know that before leaving the ANPP he wanted to kill the party in Katsina by saying they have suspended Buhari but their decision was quashed by the national headquarters of the party. So as a political
orphan, he seems to have found solace from a barren mother- the PDP.
Believing that the same Umaru, who couldn’t deny him victory in 2003 due to Buhari’s mass appeal, can now guarantee it (?), Kanti Bello is singing a different tune. According to him, former Head of State and presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), General Muhammadu Buhari does not pose any threat to Yar’Adua- the same Yar’Adua that he accused of undemocratic traits in the past.
Kanti told a national daily that Buhari had two major defects, namely, injustice and inability to listen to the other side once he has taken a position on issues, adding that it would be dangerous for the nation if Nigerians elect him as president.
These defects of Buhari are the strong points of the PDP presidential candidate, Yar’Adua. Haba, Kanti Bello? Please ask Speaker Masari and Magaji Mohammed if Yar’Adua listens.
Again, can anyone compare Yar’Adua’s acceptability to that of Buhari? Is it the Yar’Adua that couldn’t face his colleagues in fair contest even with the president’s backing? Haba Kanti what you have may be a harmless product but it is hardly saleable.
If Senator Kanti Bello has forgotten his past comments on Yar’Adua and the PDP simply because he wants to return to the senate, I want to tell him that there are many of us out there who have not forgotten, and will not forget since they are well documented in the papers. I will not talk about the good things he said about Buhari because he may deny saying them, but they are also documented for posterity.
Kanti Bello’s recent political summersaults have exposed him for what he truly is. At least, with these developments, the people of Katsina, Yar’Adua inclusive now know that the man has a price. And with his Kanti wide open, smugglers and those involved in illegal businesses now have a worthy business partner. I will also advice Nigerians to visit Kanti Bello’s shop, see the products- Nigeria: Yar’Adua; Katsina: Shema and Daura Senatorial Zone: himself- he has and decide whether they are the best in the market.
Nasiru L. Abubakar lives in Kaduna.
Senator Mahmud Kanti Bello is slowly and steadily living up to his name- Kanti. For those who don’t understand the Hausa language, the word ‘Kanti’ simply means a shop. Now don’t tell me you don’t know what a shop stands for. But in case you need a reminder, it is a place you can get to buy anything- as long as you have the money- since a shop is always opened for business. Sometimes you wonder how some people perfectly fit their names.
If you are wondering I will go to this extent in describing a Nigerian Senator, who supposedly should bear ‘distinguish’ to his name, please indulge me, perhaps till the end of this article. Maybe then you would get the …
For starters, Senator Kanti Bello got to the Senate under the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) platform. In April 2004, local government elections were held in Katsina in which Governor Umaru Musa in connivance with then state INEC commissioner returned PDP candidates as winners. Shortly after the results were announced, Kanti and his party the ANPP cried foul. Indeed Kanti told the press that (let me quote him): "My local government was split into two my own local government where I came from that is Ingawa election was not held, the state government said there was no security. The following week about six thousand PDP thugs and three thousand policemen were brought to Ingawa and result was declared without election."
He also accused the police in Katsina for descending so low as to be used by the Katsina state government in the then local government elections and noted that the results were declared against the wishes of the people.
At another press interview on the same election, he said and I quote: “What Umaru (referring to the Katsina State governor) and Bawale Bala (INEC boss) are telling me is that I am not capable of winning even a councilor seat in my constituency. Thank God I am wise enough not to accept stupidity.”
Now the game has changed, Kanti is no longer selling ANPP wares, perhaps because they are not bringing good returns - no shop owner can remain in business without returns. He now deals in PDP which is notorious for selling contraband and smuggled wares. And because the goods are smuggled, the party is ready to give him loans without any collateral.
Today, Yar’Adua has integrity, he is a good man and a true democrat who respects the wishes of his people.
Surprisingly, when he left the ANPP, they didn’t complain because according to them the man has no credible customers. If you ask the senator why he had to leave the party that gave him his senatorial seat, he would say it was due to disagreement with Buhari. But we all know that before leaving the ANPP he wanted to kill the party in Katsina by saying they have suspended Buhari but their decision was quashed by the national headquarters of the party. So as a political
orphan, he seems to have found solace from a barren mother- the PDP.
Believing that the same Umaru, who couldn’t deny him victory in 2003 due to Buhari’s mass appeal, can now guarantee it (?), Kanti Bello is singing a different tune. According to him, former Head of State and presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), General Muhammadu Buhari does not pose any threat to Yar’Adua- the same Yar’Adua that he accused of undemocratic traits in the past.
Kanti told a national daily that Buhari had two major defects, namely, injustice and inability to listen to the other side once he has taken a position on issues, adding that it would be dangerous for the nation if Nigerians elect him as president.
These defects of Buhari are the strong points of the PDP presidential candidate, Yar’Adua. Haba, Kanti Bello? Please ask Speaker Masari and Magaji Mohammed if Yar’Adua listens.
Again, can anyone compare Yar’Adua’s acceptability to that of Buhari? Is it the Yar’Adua that couldn’t face his colleagues in fair contest even with the president’s backing? Haba Kanti what you have may be a harmless product but it is hardly saleable.
If Senator Kanti Bello has forgotten his past comments on Yar’Adua and the PDP simply because he wants to return to the senate, I want to tell him that there are many of us out there who have not forgotten, and will not forget since they are well documented in the papers. I will not talk about the good things he said about Buhari because he may deny saying them, but they are also documented for posterity.
Kanti Bello’s recent political summersaults have exposed him for what he truly is. At least, with these developments, the people of Katsina, Yar’Adua inclusive now know that the man has a price. And with his Kanti wide open, smugglers and those involved in illegal businesses now have a worthy business partner. I will also advice Nigerians to visit Kanti Bello’s shop, see the products- Nigeria: Yar’Adua; Katsina: Shema and Daura Senatorial Zone: himself- he has and decide whether they are the best in the market.
Nasiru L. Abubakar lives in Kaduna.
(Kanti Bello’s recent political summersaults have exposed him for what he truly is. At least, with these developments, the people of Katsina, Yar’Adua inclusive now know that the man has a price. And with his Kanti wide open, smugglers and those involved in illegal businesses now have a worthy business partner. I will also advice Nigerians to visit Kanti Bello’s shop, see the products- Nigeria: Yar’Adua; Katsina: Shema and Daura Senatorial Zone: himself- he has and decide whether they are the best in the market.)
Note: This piece was posted on Nigerian Village Square (http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com Powered by Joomla! Generated: 16 January, 2007, 05:30)
Note: This piece was posted on Nigerian Village Square (http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com Powered by Joomla! Generated: 16 January, 2007, 05:30)
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