Col. Dangiwa’s Views On Comptroller General Of Customs’ Appointment And Kabir Kajibta’s Reply: A Reaction

By

Dr. Sadiq Isah Radda

 

 

Sociology Department,

Bayero University, Kano

iraddasadiq@yahoo.com

I read, with keen interest and attention, the piece written by Kabir Kajibta regarding Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar’s cogent observation that the appointment of Mallam Abdullahi Dikko as the Comptroller General of Customs was in violation of the federal character and therefore inappropriate. A careful reading of the piece shows how (may be as an anti-climax) Kabir Kajibta is concurring and even vindicating Col. Dangiwa that the appointment has a tint of nepotism and cronyism; and in this piece, I intend to make the point more clear. For the avoidance of doubt I am not Col. Dangiwa’s publicity Secretary, or image maker of sorts; rather, I am a curious observer guided by professional calling to tell the truth when and where a misconception or a blatant lie is told or will be told. To fail to tell the truth where there is the need to do so is as bad and sad as telling a wholesale lie.

I came to know Col. Dangiwa in 2006 during the very infamous years of Obasanjo’s tyrannical, draconian and unfortunate administration. It was during this time that Obasanjo’s took Nigerians for granted and took all of us for a dance with his notorious third term bid that was evil, unpatriotic, selfish, unreasonable and irresponsible. At this crucial time, many Nigerians were terrorized by Obasanjo into silence!!! However, some of us felt the need to challenge Obasanjo and we began organizing. As fate will have it, Col. Dangiwa was made the Chair of our movement called Movement for Unity and Progress (M.U.P). We went into action against all odds and risks with Col. Dangiwa giving us leadership. During this trying period when majority of prominent Nigerians were quite for fear of losing their traditional titles, contracts and other favours, Col. Dangiwa was patriotically undeterred. We fought Obasanjo to the finish and the rest is history with ‘Yar-Adua being a major beneficiary of our battle.

Under his leadership of Movement for Unity and Progress (M.U.P) Col. Dangiwa demonstrated transparency and accountability; he made sacrifices; he showed leadership and determination; he showed sincerity of purpose; he exhibited maturity, objectivity and fairness; and by my judgment his concern for humanity and our country is not in question. I have come to realize that he is a reliable social activist and he does criticize with passion in order to engender positive change in society. Col. Dangiwa is engaged in productive undertakings on his farm to eke out a decent living; and so he is not a parasite or need of government undue patronage. With these sterling qualities in him, I came to the realization that he is among the progressives that Nigeria can rely on for meaningful change; and with this background I find it hard to swallow Kajibta’s assertion that Col. Dangiwa is an opportunist or a man in search of publicity.

For the avoidance of doubt Col. Dangiwa is not a perfect man. I had my queries for him at one point during our short sojourn as third term fighters. I did tell him, for instance, of my surprise regarding his closeness and loyalty to Gen. Ibrahim Bagangida and why he keeps some distance from Gen. Buhari. His response was as interesting as it was controversial. One will better serve the cause of fairness by judging one on the content of his character rather than entirely relying on his associates.

If Kajibta knows Umar Musa ‘Yar-Adua very well, he will not be angry that he is accused of nepotism and cronyism; for more information, go to Katsina State and ask about his governance style when he was the governor of the State. Again, if Kajibta knows what this government is doing vis-à-vis appointments he has no reason to disagree with Col. Dangiwa’s views. As a challenge to Kajibta, kindly find out who is the Executive Secretary of PTDF, where is he from, examine his vita, what is his political antecedent, what were his roles during the so-called elections, what is his relationship with ‘Yar-Adua and why is he appointed to that position? Help me share your honest findings with Nigerians. If I were Kajibta, I will purge myself of sentiments and emotions and take an inventory of all the appointments under ‘Yar-Adua. Then I will try and find out who is who; who is from where and what are the levels of relationships? This will enable Kajibta not only to salute Col. Dangiwa but to also thank him for his courage and sense of fairness to say what he should say when the real opportunist are quite and mute in the face irregularity. If Kajibta will care to investigate, he will come to the sad conclusion that ‘Yar-Adua is held captive by forces that he can understand and see and those he cannot. Those who surround him including his wife are not helping matters at all. Their concern is not the country as such but their individual narrow selfish and greedy interests; and with ‘Yar-Adua being an introvert ‘things’ will continue to happen.

The entire piece by Kajibta bears Col. Dangiwa out that Mallam Abdullahi Dikko’s appointment bears the mark of nepotism and cronyism since all he keeps hammering on is that ‘…Dangiwa is a beneficiary of cronyism and nepotism’, ‘…the worst violator of the principle of federal character was former president Obasanjo who defied public opinion and made lopsided appointments into public offices and parastatals.’ The question is: are past mistakes a rationale for the present and future ones? Can two wrongs make a right? Where is ‘Yar-Adua’s rule of law, due process and re-branding brouhaha? Is a practice in the military a benchmark for the civilian society? Was Obasanjo truly humanistic, nationalistic and patriotic? Can the practice by a ruthless, visionless and acrimonious Obasanjo be our guide? Is Obasanjo not a fatal historical accident on Nigeria and Nigerians? Is Obasanjo not supposed to be behind bars? Is the Southern press devoid of professional ethics and lack what to do as to only admire someone for his views? These and many more questions require answers and once answered Kajbta will simply be vindicating Col. Dangiwa.

 

When Kabir Kajibta portrayed Col. Dangiwa as disgruntled because his sister was dropped from ‘Yar-Adua’s cabinet I was taken aback and see the view as being too personal. Frankly, the larger society bestows respect and regard for anybody dropped from ‘Yar-adua’s cabinet. This is because ‘Yar-adua’s government is guided by the principle of business as usual and if you cannot cope you leave; and Kajibta should see the Ministry since she left it; it has changed only for the worse. Currently, nothing humanly desirable and needed is working in Nigeria because we do not have a government worthy of its name. This is why the American Secretary of State Mrs. Hillary Clinton said:

The most immediate source of the disconnect between Nigeria’s wealth and its poverty is failure of governance at all levels….Lack of transparency and accountability has eroded legitimacy of the government and contributed to rise of groups that embrace violence and reject the authority of the state.

To buttress this fact and to clearly acknowledge that Nigeria lacks leaders Igietseme in Imohiosen (2009) says ‘The solution to Nigeria’s problems lies in cultivating or the emergence of visionary, purposeful, and effective leaders who are true democrats and don’t yield to greed, praise-singing and sycophancy. Again, Kajibta seems to aver that Col. Dangiwa could not cohabit with Atiku’s group despite tagging along with it to fight the third term. Here I disagree with Kajibta because Atiku’s team was not in our circle during the fight against the infamous third term bid. By the way, can anyone trust Atiku? Atiku is merely hungry for power and seemingly unperturbed about the nation and its conditions.

 Let me point the folly in your comparison of J.F Kennedy’s appointments of his relations and friends in his cabinet vis-à-vis ‘Yar-Adua’s government or Nigeria. Note that J.F Kennedy was popularly elected by the Americans. J.F. Kennedy was not superimposed on the people by the American judiciary, military, police, traditional rulers, corrupt politicians and greedy religious class as is the case with ‘Yar-Adua. Thus, while J.F Kennedy was a people’s president ‘Yar-Adua is not. Hence, while J.F kennedy has the support and confidence of the American people, ‘Yar-Adua has little or none. Remember also that the American system works very well and any abuse by anybody can be fished out and be severely dealt with. Is that the case in Nigeria? It is NOT ant that is why Obasanjo and his ilk are free people, Halliburton case has gone cold, EFCC is made ineffective and helpless, Ettehgate etc are closed issues. Therefore, I will pray to Kajibta to be careful in drawing comparisons because even war torn Afghanistan fares better than Nigeria in official conduct if their just concluded elections are anything to go by; and many countries in Africa have over-taken Nigeria.

I want the reader to understand that those who know “yar-Adua very well will expect nothing short of what we are seeing. I did many predictions and sadly they have become a reality. For example, had ASUU listened to me, the current strike would have been averted; but they gave ‘Yar-Adua the benefit of the doubt and he paid them back in bad coin. Let me end this reaction with a couple of predictions with the hope and prayer that they do not come true.

Dear reader the sad news is that Nigeria and Nigerians are infected by a virus called ‘Yar-Aduatitis; thus, get ready for serious political brigandage should ‘Yar-Adua declare for second term. The rule of law and due process mantra will be ignored as the recent extra-judicial killings and Gestapo-like operations visited on the law-abiding citizens resident in Darrul Islam in Niger State have shown; and there will be vicious Boko-haramnization of political opponents using state coercive power. Again, there will be too much motion without movement and limitless political rhetoric. Corruption will escalate to give political favourites room to accumulate preparatory to 2011 elections, etc, etc.

Despite all the ugly signs and gloomy future of the country, efforts must be made to stem the tide. This country is ours to nurture and enjoy. Thus, people should never entertain any fear to say the right thing irrespective of the consequences, real or perceived. It is said that cowards die many times before their death!! As Shakespeare would say ‘Come what come may…time and hour runs through the roughest time…It is only the eyes of childhood the fears a painted devil.’ Col. Dangiwa as I came to know him is no coward and this country needs people like him who can call a spade a spade and look at crooks in government in their eyes and patriotically tell them in all conscience that this is wrong. ‘Yar-Aduatitis and Boko-haramnization of and in Nigeria should be fought and Kajibta has a role to play; and rather than spurious accusations against those who are critical of bad practices, Kajibta can tag along with Col. Dangiwa to make Nigeria a better place for everyone not just a few of us.