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Kano Pfizer Victims' Compensation and Saboteur Writers By Isa Muhammad Inuwa
“After the storm comes the thunder”, goes a common adage, describing the simple, usual aftermath of any grand event or episode in time. Thus, with the recent welcome development of readiness expressed by the Pfizer multi national drug firm on one hand and the victims’ parents group towards reaching final agreement on the sum of 75 million dollars as settlement fees, giving a promising signal of ending the age-long controversy, a strange spate of writings by some media men and verbal insinuations in certain quarters began to come up, some of them containing wrong and misleading information, which needs dire corrections and comments upon. Clear indications in those haphazardly written articles, more so the one published on the back page of the Leadership newspaper of Tuesday, April 9, 2009, are stark ignorance of the subject matter, yet a self-imposed attempt to display a kind of arrogated and pseudo-knowledge, just to show up in the scene, but doing the worst danger of passing on wrong and false information to millions of readers. While tracing the history of the whole episode, the writer of that article, one Abba Mahmoud, who even by his relying on a second-hand data from an apparently “behind the scene” informant, he did not bother to go an extra mile and verify that data through further researches. Rather, he swallowed everything hook, line and sinker and vomited same out for the gullible readers of his weekly column. Apart from betraying the good ethics of journalistic practice, Abba Mahmoud has thereby turned his column and even the newspaper he was writing for, a subject of ridicule and public derision. In fact, one would not expect Abba Mahmoud, man who for a period of time, made his own image on the Leadership column, would over nightly, stoop so low and dent that image by resorting to heresy and speculations. The first and unforgivable blunder by Abba was his miss-naming the man who pioneered investigation and came up with evidences of deformed and dead children, victims of Trovan drug, Malam Zubairu Shaba, but whom he foolishly termed as “Malam Ashafa”. Whether this act of misnomer is out of sheer ignorance or through an intentional attempt to ridicule and despise the subject, it served nothing more than portraying his write-up as laughable in the eyes of readers who are more conversant with the issue at hand. According to requirements of ethics of journalism, Abba is expected to write a corrigendum in his subsequent column, apologizing for this act of misnomer. To prove further that his mistake was not forgivable, Abba Mahmoud again committed another misnomer, where he addressed the chairman of the Trovan Victims’ forum, Mustapha Garba Maisikeli, as “Mallam Mujtaba Mustapha Maisikeli”. It should be made clear here that “Mujtaba” who died some 5 years ago, was a brother to Mustapha Maisikeli and he had no link whatsoever with the Trovan issue. Why mentioning his name then? Is it ignorance, mischief, malice or an attempt to distort facts and create unnecessary confusion? Abba’s article also smacks of malice where he stated that in Kano, Maisikeli formed an Association of the Pfizer victims and made “Mallam Ashafa” as his deputy, adding that being Maisikeli a former journalist, he used the media to draw public sympathy for Pfizer victims. But what Abba and his back-door informant, Kabiru Gwangwazo should know is that the formation of the Forum of the Trovan victims came as a collective and unanimous decision of all members of the forum, likewise the election of all executive members was democratically conducted by the members. Also using of the news media is the freedom and exclusive right of everybody or group, particularly the enlightened people to do, not only “old” or new journalist as he stated. Then what was wrong in the case of the Trovan victims’ stories being publicized in the news media? The writer also a vain attempt in his article, to praise the role of a medical Doctor, Abdulhamid Isa Dutse, trying to clean him of blames, but who happened to be one of the principal accused persons that aided the Pfizer people to carry out the drug test in 1996. Everybody well conversant with the happenings know that no any deceitful attempt could wash Doctor Isa Dutse and his colleague Doctor Sanda Muhammad, for their seditious and fatal role in administering Trovan drug on the innocent victims. Even his attempt to clean Isa Dutse, speaks clearly of his guilty conscience, trying to dodge his hero away from sins he committed, by hook or crook. Abba Mahmoud’s comments on the role of the emirate council in the Pfizer issue, was noted as another mischief by him, to join issues between the Trovan Victims Forum and the Emirate Council, while there has never been any element of misunderstanding between the two. The Trovan Forum accords the Emirate Council all the respect it deserves and as it is being given by everybody and groups. Also no one doubted that the Emirate Council has shown sympathy to the Pfizer victims. We also learnt that some few so-called NGOs are trying to hijack this opportunity and gate-crash into the matter after the Kano Trovan Victims Forum has sacrificed its time, energy and resources to fight it out with Pfizer, to the last point of reaching agreement for compensation to victims. Some of these fake groups based in Kaduna, Kano and Abuja which, at one time, gathered some beggars and organized a seminar, taking photographs of those beggars, whom they forged as their Pfizer victims. If such pretenders are conniving with other saboteurs in Kano, such as the Kabiru Gwangwazo’s group, The Kano TVF challenges them as it has done before, to come forward with their evidences and face it (Trovan Victims Group), let each of the groups parade its victims of the Trovan test publicly, before the proposed screening committee, for everybody to know which of the groups is genuine and reliable. Alternatively, let those faking themselves as part of the Pfizer’s case or victims face the TVF group in a live phone-in radio chat, with the victims themselves making calls and responding, to verify which of these groups, the genuine one is. Some writers in the habit of discrediting the Kano Trovan Victims Forum under the chairmanship of Alhaji Mustapha Garba Maisikeli, leadership, doubting that the TVF leaders would not be fair in sharing the compensation money, by relying on a baseless allegation that the victims were once given 8,000 Naira each, while they were supposed to get 10,000 each, out of some money donated to Ungogo Trovan Victims by Ungogo Local Government, as claimed by Abba Mahmoud in his Leadership Newspaper write-up. The fact here was that the said amount money was released to the victims by the LG Secretary and they initially got 10,000 each but when they realized that some of them who came late to the venue, due to common border delineation as a result of Radio announcement, were left out; they decided to re-share the money on the claimed amount of 8,000 Naira, each. If everybody doubts this, he can go and verify this from the LG Secretary himself. In clear terms TVF is not involved in both the sharing formula and otherwise. Also with regards to the 50,000 Naira each the Pfizer victims were given by the Kano State Government during the month of Ramadan and which people like Kabiru Gwangwazo accused leaders of the Trovan group for “short-changing” the members, saying they supposed to get 100,000 each, let him (Kabiru ) and his likes go and verify everything with Government. More so, this kind of assistance is a kind of tradition of tis government to assist various organizations when sucn occasion arises. All these are fake and baseless claims and allegations aimed at tarnishing the image of the TVF leadership and to portray them as unqualified to share the compensation money. The Trovan victims had already challenged that the said amount of money given was never 100,000 Naira as claimed by the hired writers and let them go and see the original vouchers at the TVF secretariat and the relevant offices, duly signed by each victim, in order to verify this fact. However, the Government has never intended to give TVF the Pfizer’s proposed compensation for sharing, rather, the compensation money would be shared through a reliable Board of Trustees. But the detractors should know that all they are doing is on their own, as none of the members of TVF has ever cried of foul play or cheat from their leaders. They should also know that the Kano State Government, the Lawyers and other powerful groups are expected to form part of the sharing formula of the compensation money and the TVF leaders are not to lead in sharing the money, talk less of expressing any miss-giving about them. Definitely, the TVF group is only marking their time and time would come when they would divulge everything by opening up the proverbial can of worms, for the world to know the real mischief makers and sinister interest groups sabotaging the effort and genuine cause of the Pfizer victims. In the meantime, it appears that mischief makers in the Pfizer issue are now turning the press controversy from their Kano paid journalist to some hired mercenary writers in Abuja, with a view to undermine efforts and arrangements towards settling the matter out of court and compensating the Trovan victims. The said group of journalists is believed to have been paid by few individuals and an information organization to clear Pfizer out of blame and confuse issues. But the hardest fact is that none of those columnists had ever before, written anything during the course of struggle by the Pfizer victims, nor even written on the court case, then why now? Where were these journalists when their colleagues from countries overseas and from all over the world came from far away places to report the case, which is right at their backyard? They actually closed their eyes on the issue, until now; at long last, they are apparently paid by some unscrupulous elements in order to create confusion in the whole matter. It is also noted that the Press from a section of the country is also being taken care of by Pfizer and the like, to ridicule the TVF members. Then all of a sudden, another seemingly self-centered writer, Sanusi Abubakar, wrote an article titled: “Shekarau: Resolve the Trovan Logjam now”, carried in the opinion column of the Daily trust on Friday, April 17, 2009. To say the least, the whole content of his write-up is empty of facts, but full of speculations and misleading information quite similar with the ones displayed by other writers such as Kabiru Gwangwazo and Abba Mahmoud. For God’s sake, Journalists in Abuja should dump the lazy and armchair journalism, feeding from a very wrong and mischicious sources of Kabiru Gwangwazo and Abba Mahmoud, without them reaching out to meet the real parties involved in the story, in order to balance up, thereby creating more confusion and misdirecting the gullible readers. It appeared that luck has run out of the famous fabricator Journalist for the Pfizer in Kano, when he seemed to have run short of money to continue publishing his junk paper, The Pyramid). He therefore preferred to shift his base to align with some journalists of like minds in Abuja, to carry on his dirty campaign against Pfizer victims and their leader, Alhaji Mustapha Garba Maisikeli. When nobody was ready to buy his junk Newspaper, the Pyramid, the publisher Gwangwazo, was seen forcing it on the readers by distributing it himself, free of charge. It is advisable that the masked clients of Kabiru Gwangwazo start coming out with something new, rather than recycling lies all the time, else, they should expect to be shamed publicly, when the facts unveil themselves and when the Trovan victims later decide to drag them before the court of law. In view of the greatest success recorded in form of the recent agreement to end the years-long controversy and stalemate between Pfizer and its Kano victims, God The Almighty be praised for allowing this to happen. The Trovan victims also celebrate and rejoice along with the Kano State Government, under the able administration of Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, for providing all the necessary legal backing and related spiritual and material support, throughout the struggle during this very tenure of Government. Worthy of acknowledging also, are efforts and supports provided by other conscientious and well meaning people, who all along expressed their vehement sympathies, such as some of the media people, gifted with genuine feeling for humanity and true patriotism, for they could not compromise their professional ethics for peanuts and perishable crumbs. On the other hand, the detractors and saboteurs who are hell-bent on undermining the effort of Pfizer victims by calling them all sorts of names of blackmail in order to see to their failure, eventually, God through His divine power and mercy, has dealt with them and shamed them before the world and their nefarious ill-will has been finally exposed. Detractors everywhere in the world always keep their true colours as enemies of the truth and justice, but the truth and its vanguards would always prevail and triumph over allies and supporters of falsehood and evil machinations. The truth is un-surmountable and un-assailable. ISA MUHAMMAD INUWA is Radio Deutsche Welle’s Correspondent in Kano. |