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Atiku Does Not Deserve Our Pity In Adamawa State By Lawrence P. Ganchok Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is currently undergoing a serious political battle of his life because the powers that be have supposedly exposed what they call damning records of abuse of office by the Turakin Adamawa who is the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There have been many praises for the President and the Nuhu Ribadu led Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC for bringing the mighty ones on their knees with regards to the fight on corruption in Nigeria today. What is yet to be seen is if the Turaki will also buckle or not. I sincerely also praise Malam Nuhu Ribadu for his efforts, but most importantly for remaining undaunted in the face of public criticism and attempts to try to trivialize/politicalize some of the issues. He has remained unwavering insisting that he is not being prodded or doing someone else’s bidding. As far as most Nigerians are concerned (including me), this is yet to be proved convincingly as there are instances that strongly suggest otherwise. Nuhu Ribadu can best be described as a courageous man who has carved a niche for himself for the task entrusted to him. We need many more Nigerians of his type. Frankly speaking, I don’t know what Obasanjo’s regime would have been without people like Nuhu Ribadu, Nasir el-Rufai, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Obiageli Ezekwesili, Charles Soludo and Prof. Dora Akunyili. To the delight of many, these figures have given this regime a semblance of orderliness and a good measure of international recognition of their contributions to the fight against social vices in this country. We will remain grateful to them for their contributions in this regard. I believe without Obasanjo’s luck to have discovered these few people we would still be in the 1999-2003 era where OBJ was more of a traveling Head of State instead of sitting down to solve the hydra-headed problems of corruption, unemployment, power, hospitals, education, agriculture e.t.c. I believe the fight on corruption is for every living Nigerian knowing what this monster has done to us as a nation. So we cannot wish that Nuhu Ribadu should be selective in his bid to nail corrupt people and probably prevent them from contesting the 2007 general elections. If we all believe that charity begins at home and Nuhu Ribadu chooses the Turakin Adamawa, his uncle or is it his brother as he said one time to show us all that he is not selective, fine and good. For most of us we want nothing but honesty of purpose, fairness and transparency in the operation of the EFCC. We all know that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Turakin Adamawa is from Adamawa State so also is Nuhu Ribadu. Without pre-empting what the senate committee and the courts have to say, could it be that Nuhu Ribadu and the EFCC officials saw the documents the Turaki group released and looked the other way or their interest was only the Turaki himself alone? I ask this question because as thorough as we believe the EFCC is, they could have missed out on the PDP Chairman’s N5m taken from the same PTDF funds and the other ones the Turaki group presented as evidence to newsmen. Definitely it will seem as if Turaki could have been the only target here. Is Ribadu and EFCC saying only those who will contest the elections will be questioned? As I said earlier, I like Ribadu more for his guts than the mode of his EFCC-led operations. We know that he is a police officer maybe with more military mentality (since the military have been on the Nigerian stage for too long) than the civilian mentality that is why we cry foul when his men lay siege on legislators and force them to impeach sitting governors. But today we are in a democracy where things follow what we call due process. He is also said to be a lawyer by profession (if I am right), so it means Ribadu knows what due process is as required by the law of the land. The question now is why would someone who wants us to believe that he is fighting a just cause without anybody’s prodding negate one aspect of the law to achieve another? I ask this question with respect to EFCC’s operation in places like Bayelsa, Plateau, Ekiti states and other places where they have operated like in the military days? We believe that the EFCC has come to stay whether my mother, father or whosoever that is involved in corrupt practices likes it or not. Let every person account for his (mis)deeds so that recovered funds could at least provide succour to a larger number of the people. It is often said that democracy is the best form of governance but its major disadvantage is that it is painfully slow. Does Ribadu know this? Ribadu has made a name and has a great future in this country if God spares his life long enough (I pray for him) and may God reveal more courageous people like him. You may wonder how what I am saying above has to do with the Turakin Adamawa, here it is; I have come to reason aloud about the Turaki’s political travails on three main fronts and they:
Coming to stay in Adamawa State has afforded one the opportunity to understand the people and their political leanings which I can best refer to it as a gang-up against the person and political aspiration of the Turakin Adamawa by the Adamawa political elites as of now. They are real political heavy weights in their own classes who have large follower ship in the state. They include people like Prof. Jibrin Aminu, Alh. Bamanga Tukur, Gen. Buba Marwa, Dr. Jonathan, Senator Abubakar Gerei, Dr. Modibbo, Alh. Aliyu Kama, Chief Joel Madaki and the man that led the pro-Obasanjo rally in Yola and many others. By my observation, the Turaki is left with the State Governor and his cabinet members and probably the local government executives (who naturally are loyal to the state government) and his die-hard peaceful grassroots supporters. The group is so bent on making sure the Turaki group does not get anywhere with his politically. They cite as reasons non performance by the state government and lack of provision of basic amenities in the state like roads, water e.t.c. for the Governor.I can’t hold brief for the Governor because he is the knife and the meat in Adamawa State. For the Turaki, they say he has not attracted federal presence in the state despite his being the VP. I can’t agree less with this group but let’s face the truth, where has there been federal presence in the whole of most northern part of the country where we have the opportunity of traveling about. Yola-Numan-Gombe roads are bad, so also are Numan-Jalingo, Jalingo-Gembu, Jalingo-Wukari, Bauchi-Maiduguri, Jos-Kano, Jos-Kaduna, Kano-Kaduna-Abuja and Talata-Mafara-Sokoto state roads. I do know that Benue state is not also happy with OBJ for non federal presence in that state. So which place can we realistically say there has been federal presence attracted by any person serving in the regime of Obasanjo in the northern part of the country? In the last mass support for Obasanjo in Yola town where there was massive turnout, the leader said Obasanjo should not judge Adamawa people by the character of the Vice President (who was not loyal to the president) but by people like Nuhu Ribadu. I feel this man missed the point because if we remove sentiments from issues, Atiku has been focused in his comments on undemocratic incidences which are glaring to us all. The stand against the third term was by majority of Nigerians and not just Atiku alone. This was not anything backed by the constitution. I will try not to hold brief for the Turaki also but, if what I heard the Turaki say on the BBC or was it VOA Hausa and what I read in the papers are anything to go by sometime ago, I remember the Turakin Adamawa in the heat of the third term debacle once said there is nothing OBJ will do to him now that will be worst than what he had witnessed in 2003. He has also said his office does not have any budget and he controls no financial votes for his office. If this is true and he is no longer in good terms with the president, how do you expect the president to do something in Adamawa where he believes Atiku will claim credit and his popularity will soar? This only goes to show that what we are seeing today is what the Turaki has been experiencing since 2003. The Turaki has also said he is a thorough politician and a successful businessman (and these are not in doubt). He also again said that when the EFCC was established and there was no money for them to take-off, he mobilized resources to ensure they did so out of his firm believe in the anti-corruption crusade. Today we see the same apparatus is being used against him in a manner that smacks of hidden motives. The elites of Adamawa State accuse the Turaki of not attracting federal presence yet the same Vice President (Turakin Adamawa) has established in the heart of Adamawa State (Yola Town) one of the best universities in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa from his personal initiative and resources. He has a number of smaller business outfits that provides services and employment to people in and around the state capital. Is it Turaki’s family members that work in these places? Did he bring people from his Jada constituency to come and work in these places? The fact must be told and the pertinent questions asked; what is the total investment of ALL the elites of Adamawa collectively put together compared to what the Turaki has invested in this environment hostile to his political aspiration? What would Yola be without ABTI-American University, ABTI-Academy, ABTI-Printing Press, ABTI-Ventures, and a host of others of his businesses in Yola and elsewhere? At least if for anything, Adamawa State (Yola in particular) is on the world map because they have lecturers from America, Libya, Senegal, Cameroun, Ghana, Kenya, Kirzikstan, Soviet Union, etc with students from all over Africa, Lebanon, and other parts of the world. We all know the kind of development and growth universities bring to communities and all will agree that Yola is fast becoming a town to reckon with. How many states in Nigeria can boast of this kind of international exposure the Turaki has brought to Adamawa State from his personal initiative and resources? I make bold to place this challenge before ALL the Adamawa people to take estimates of ALL the investments of the high profile sons and daughters of Adamawa State put together and compare them with the Turaki’s personal investments. Let us see how your total investments have added value to the corporate image of Adamawa State as the ABTI-American University has done. One fact is simple here; these elites are inciting the ordinary people in Adamawa state against the Turakin Adamawa merely out of envy, no more, no less. It is unfortunate that we take our personal ambitions and selfishness to becloud our sense of reasoning and good judgment. I feel very sorry for the Adamawa people who think and behave like this. I would rather they harness their strength together for the common good of the state. Political differences are normal but to work so assiduously to subvert a hardworking individual who is doing so much for the state in his personal capacity despite attempts to placate him is no in the best interest of the state. I will join them here in condemning the Turaki but for a different reason-for investing this kind of resources in this non-appreciative community when places like Taraba State are there begging for a quarter of this investment. The Turaki does not deserve my pity for investing only in Adamawa State when he knows Taraba, Gombe, Yobe and Borno States are also there for him. Why invest this fortune in Yola when the Expatriates would have been at home in places like Gembu with all the lush green grass, beautiful scenery, temperate weather, no mosquitoes and friendly people or Jos or Abuja? Is this what the love for one’s people can cause a person, his name, his dignity, his ambitions, his business and probably his life? Jesus paid the supreme prize for the love of His people. Turaki is today before Pontius Pilate in Abuja, who to his people ‘as far as I am concerned this man is innocent.’ Today, the rulers are there waiting for the final verdict on Turaki. In the Senate we know those who will say crucify him instead and release Barabas to us, let his blood be on our heads and our children’s head. Turaki is not a saint or like Jesus, neither is Ribadu or Obasanjo. Ribadu should know that if he is looking for a saint to rule Nigeria in 2007, he WILL NOT find any in this country. Not that there are completely none close to it but those he will find may not know anything about leadership of this most populous black nation. The alleged indictment reads ‘for abuse of office.’ Nowhere is there any indication that the said money was missing (until a court of competent jurisdiction proves otherwise). Now, to the crux of the matter, if there is a political gang-up against the Turaki by the elites of Adamawa State and Ribadu is also from the same Adamawa State, does he not form part of the group that want the Turaki frustrated out of the political race to achieve their set objectives? To me Ribadu may be one of the 12 disciples (Judas) that sold Jesus out.
PAYBACK BY OBJ FOR SCUTTLING HIS DEVILISH THIRD TERM From all intents and purposes, nothing can be further from the truth; this is one of the key issues why the Turaki is today vilified by the president. Nobody was fooled when OBJ declared after the dead of the third term that it was victory for democracy. It was unfortunate that maybe greed made OBJ to accept the third term bait but when this was punctured by the VP (an inner member of the cabinet who knew the direction of the wind in the presidency) and Nigerians, (and as people say since OBJ does not forgive) he has every reason to go for the VP’s jugular vain for the kill. The systematic attack on the VP got willing hands from the people from his home state. Whether The Turaki Adamawa is stopped from contesting the 2007 elections or not, nobody in Adamawa State can take away the dream and initiative of this world class university in sub-Saharan African in a place like Yola from him, not even a future president of Adamawa State extraction. The masses of Adamawa state (I pity them more) who are brainwashed and misled by the so called present day elites will only get to know the immense contribution of the Turaki when the opportunities for him to do more have been lost. To me the Turakin Adamawa has presented a monumental challenge to all his detractors in Adamawa in particular that he is not their equal in terms of developing his place even in the face of their adversity. Yes he did not attract federal presence but he has put down the much he has in Adamawa State in terms of investment. I want one person in my state to do the same (not from proven theft of public funds) and we will thank and praise him and hail him/her. This is a challenge to the people in my state and others not to do what we see in Adamawa state RIBADU’S DESPERATION TO MAKE A NAME? I don’t believe this line of reasoning but sometimes as a young man who suddenly has been presented with an opportunity to do something, there could be overzealousness on the part of Nuhu Ribadu. This is worst if someone prods you on and people seem to praise you everywhere. It is normal to stray aside but I feel it would be good if Malam Nuhu Ribadu remains focused on what he is doing and accomplishes it diligently fully knowing that posterity will be the final arbiter. So far so good BUT there is need for caution as he may dig so many holes that may not be well covered and in the end the holes may be his waterloo. If this happens it will not be too pleasant and definitely I won’t be happy because some people will have a cause to smile and vilify him. Nuhu Ribadu may have been used without his knowing so considering what people say of the president. Nuhu Ribadu is in a better position to know, but let’s come to face it, a sin is a sin and a constitutional violation cannot be something else but constitutional violation (including abuse of office). Based on our experiences in this country if we had the world’s biggest looter (a Nigerian-according to Ribadu) and one who abused his office but did not personally benefit from it (as we know so far), whom will Ribadu have a measure of trust on? I pray Ribadu gets a saint that will rule Nigeria well without messing up the polity one day. However, I feel it is instructive that Ribadu takes this his fire brand crusade jeje but firmly. Most Nigerians love what he is doing but he may inadvertently be used without his knowing so or the motives urging him to do so. For us, the saintly nature of the president cannot be determined now as Nigerians are good praise singers. When his exalted office and immunity are no more and he is once again back to Otta Farms (if he goes), the wind blowing now may change direction, and I know that Nigerians will have the opportunity of seeing the chicken ass when the fluffy feathers of the chicken is blown up by the wind. Whether the chicken ass will be clean or not, only time will tell. For Adamawa state in particular and the northeast people we are squandering a chance because of personal interest, greed and envy. It will be instructive to take a little lesson from the Southwest who though never supported Obasanjo in 1999; OBJ became their darling in 2003. In conclusion, Adamawa people, you don’t have to pity the Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Turakin Adamawa. He does not deserve your pity or mine (for a different reason from your). Just like he ignores you all and invests here where he knows few love him, he is capable of fighting his war alone. To us the watchers it is a war of a resolute and determined politician against state agents desperately trying to stop him from his legitimate aspirations at all costs. Until proved otherwise Turaki still remains an innocent man and the entire name calling will have no meaning as far as his inalienable political right is concerned. My word for the Turaki is that when the war is over; remember Taraba State needs your attention also in terms of your investments interests. You will make a difference in the lives of the people there and they will appreciate it much more than we see and hear in Adamawa state here. Lawrence P.G
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