Any person who doubt of this accounts should contact both late Yar’Adua’s family, Uba Sani and Shehu Sani, as they a re actually alive to attest. Also see Shehu Sani interview with Insider Weekly May 27 2002 titled “Why Abacha killed Yar’Adua.” As for Dasuki dilemma his life documentary with Shehu Yusuf Maitama Kura and Abba Zayyan both of Nagarta Radio Kaduna(Muryan Hadan Kadan Jama,a) of 2004 are more sources of information about the case.

The case of General Bamaiyi, Col Bala and Major Al-Mustafa is even more pathetic, for they are daily roasting in far away Lagos. In fact, Al-Mustafa’s case has even elevated to treasonable offense. Which efforts have been made to fight this travesty of justice? I want to really know the efforts by the so-called northerners are making so that one can join. From this foreground, I wish to say that, Rev. Kukah was actually in the vanguard of advocating for genuine democracy and the freedom of Chief MKO Abiola and General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and other northerners during the Abacha dark years. His pieces and interviews in the News watch, Guardian, Tell and others are actually on ground to prove his courage and love for the well being of the Northerners, Christian, Muslim or what have you. When the late Pope John visited Nigeria  part of the plea to the late General Abacha was the release of political prisoners and other related circumstances. All this giant strides were under the auspices of the Catholic Bishops Conference, of which Rev. Kukah was the then Secretary General. Coming to the trial of Bamaiyi and Al-Mustafa, I wish to quote his words that appeared in Guardian of  30th May 2004.

 

“The law was turned to serve the interests of Mohammed Abacha and his family after his family struck a deal that was morally untidy with that family.This same   law has been turned to serve the interests of those who do not wish to give freedom and justice to General Bamaiyi and Major Al Mustafa and others who are being detained more in pursuit of vendetta than any semblance of justice the president of course knows my mind as far as this case is concern. Both he and his former attorney general have copies of my 8 and 3 page letter, which I wrote them in 2002 stating what I considered the injustice in the continued incarceration of Bamaiyi and Al Mustafa and others. I do not believe that a trial is on, but I do not wish to run the risk of disrespecting the process. But, as the president knows, prison is no obstacle to god’s plans. And, with god, the most crooked line are the shortest straight line’’.   

 

Going by what Kukah said in respect of circumstances surrounding the Kangaroo trial of Bamaiyi, Al-Mustafa, I believe he shaved his trademark by challenging the presidency.

 

And for the General Muhammadu Buhari Saga, which he was said to have called on Muslims to only vote for Muslims during elections, Rev. Kukah, did not join the bandwagon of people capitalizing on the hullabaloo. Rather he put a phone call to the General on Saturday 23 June 2001, to seek his own side of the coin in the piece he wrote in respect of the Buhari case. That appeared in Weekly Trust July 6-12 2001 “The Buhari Agoniste and Sundry matters”. The article proved the earlier talk credited to Buhari,as baseless and a manipulation of religion.  This further gives us the opportunity to think of studying issues critically before giving our verdict.

 

Why didn’t the so-called Northerners  applaud this effort made by Kukah to dust the dust the Buhari issue birthed? It is on this that one is raising the following questions. Where were the northerners when  both Dasuki, Yar’Adua and other northerners  were incarcerated? What effort have they done regarding the Bamaiyi’s case?

 

Are all this not an opportunities to exhibit zealotry for their own kith and kin? Is it that there is nothing to be gained or what? Are they really co ncerned about the plights of northern masses, who lack basics essentials that make life worth living? How do we now believe that those that kicked against Kukah’s post as the confab scribe on both religion and ethnic ground really meant what they are portraying, with the interest of the masses? Who are they doing this for? Today our people (young girls and boys) that supposed to be in schools are roaming the streets begging for alms. They are abused, insulted, stigmatized and exposed to many social vices. What have the elite done to curb this? Some people have the opinion that Rev  Kukah shouldn’t have accepted to serve in the panel since the presidency is reluctant in the implementation of the Oputa panel. The legal battle to put the panel report to the pit was of the truth coming from the north. All the northern former Head of States turn blind eye to the Oputa panel invitations, to say their own side of the story. By implication that attest  that, they are indeed guilty of the cases raised again them. However, I wish to note that from day one Rev  Kukah has been pressuring the authorities to implement the panel recommendations.

 

The Guardian of 7th of September 2003 hold full interview in which Rev  Kukah raises eyebrow over the non-implementing of the report. The same in Guardian of 30th May 2004, he had been advocating for it, I can also draw your attention to the November 2004 during the Ken Sairo Wiwa memorial anniversary in P ort Harcourt. Whose fault should be if the federal Government refused to act on the Oputa panel report, whose fault? What effort did the northerners make to compel our retired Generals to appear before the commission? That Rev. Kukah is refusing to contribute towards the re-structuring of Nigeria would sound funny looking at his antecedent in this struggle. If the National were serious, I don’t think the conference would have been a necessity, but their unreasonableness and waywardness, illegality legitimized the conference. If one will take them on their oversight functions of the executive, one will certainly realize that they are not serious with the realities facing Nigerian mass class, looking at the collapsed of the health, or education sectors.

 

Our mind should go beyond all this primordial nepotism. We should have think of influencing Rev Kukah to continuing representing the interests of contemporary northerners be them Hausa, Bajju, Angas, Muslims or Christians and other Nigerians. The reactions towards Rev Kukah’s appointment have again created another chasm. There is need for our leaders and people to know that manipulation of religion for negative purpose will continue to put us backward. It still haunts me recalling how human lives and properties worth millions have been wasted in our region. These religious and ethnic crises do not only end in our political area, but has gotten to our various higher institutions that are supposed to stand for integration. Worse still our secondary and primary schools have equally joined the marriage of convince. These are realities we are living wit h people now spend more time thinking of how to buy arms for protection in case of sudden attacks than how to live in peace. This religious/ethnic animosity manifested in the last local government elections in Kaduna town where majority of the people strictly voted on religious and ethnic grounds, instead of on merit and competence. It is indeed a pity!  

 

I, therefore, challenge every one of us to put sentiments aside and work for the peaceful co-existence of our people. We all have roles to play whether rich or poor, big or small. There is need for us to understand our selves and why these CANCER persists. Our ability to respect one another will determine how peace shall reign, not only in this generation, but the coming ones. For, as long as we continue to struggle as Muslims or Christians, then no matter how hard we work we can never curb crises. And the idea of religion and ethnic will be permanently etched on our landscape and we can never escape the crises that will go with the negative competition. For justice will continue to elude us because it will never be justice for us as people or whatever  but justice for us as Christians or Muslims. Now that the conference in which Kukah was the secretary, is over,and had presented their report to the president. Should Obasanjo and National Assembly  failed to uphold the confab recommendations. History would have it that Rev  Kukah and other individuals have done their best, but the Presidency and National Assembly swept it under the carpet. Well, the only thing to hold against Rev  Kukah is that he accepted to served for the betterment and unity of the Nigerian people. It is on this that one is asking: Where did Matthew Hassan  Kukah go Wrong? Think about it and come with something good. Have you and I diligently discharged what are required from our persons? If we have not is it not better to clean and purify our selves before cleaning others.

 

The debate continues! I challenge the northern elite (Muslims and Christians) to actually come out and prove to the entire world that they have been sincere and genuinely accountable to the northern masses who today are the most exploited group in  the country.  SAMUEL PETER ARUWAN  08059474532