AT THE TRIBUNAL: GOES UP THE JUDJEMENT….
I had just arrived Katsina at about 5.45pm, a drive that was supposed to take me only 3hours 45minutes from Kaduna took almost the whole day. It was a hectic journey, passing through almost 23 police and local vigilante check points. I felt it was wrong for the authorities to subject motorists to that kind of scrutiny especially when there was nothing at stake to warrant such type of operation. The whole scenario looks to me as if we are still in the military era.
My trip to Katsina was not for the Sallah celebration parse but to enable me witness the Tribunal verdict on the Katsina Gubernatorial election that was delivered in the early afternoon hours of Thursday. Although some of my friends in Kaduna have tried to stop me from attending the tribunal on the grounds that nothing new was going to come out of the judgment. It is not going to change, one of them said to me in a loud voice. I was neither perturbed nor deterred on my determination to attend the Tribunals.
As I was coming out of my house to look for one of my juniors to dust up the house for me since I did not bring along any member of my household to Katsina. I heard a SMS coming in to my Phone on looking at the phone to verify from where it was coming I noticed it was from my friend, the Director. I know you still remember him. He sent in a message to inform me that if by Friday afternoon salary has not been paid then the invitation he has extended to me to come and eat ‘Soyen kayan ciki’ in his house will be cancelled. The invitation to visit him on Sallah day was given to me penultimate week after the wedding fatiha of my daughter. He had planned to slaughter a big ram for the Sallah celebration. I was confused why salaries had not been paid two days to sallah. So what will now happen to my friend’s children who were used to seeing their father slaughtering about 2 to 3 rams every Sallah. This is a serious matter! As I was lamenting on my friends predicament a call entered my phone, one of my friends who was already at the tribunal has called to inform me that CPC’s case had just been dismissed. Surprisingly but as usual…that CPC could not establish enough reasons to disturb the election…That was the Tribunal judgment.
I sat on the balcony of my neighbor’s shop looking extremely exhausted and fatigue has taken its toll on me, bewailing on the outcome of the verdict asking myself questions that refuse to go away, was it too close to call? Could it have gone either way? Where does CPC go from here? Appeal Court? No, I think not. They should not even contemplate going to the upper court. What they could not get with all the overwhelming evidences at the Tribunal, I don’t think they can get it at the Appellate court. If my opinion is anything to go by, the issue of going to appeal should not even be contemplated. Let us take solace from Suratul An-Nisa; where Allah (swt) said ‘O you who believe, be custodians of justice (and) witness for Allah, even though against yourselves or your parents or your relatives. Whether a man be rich or poor, Allah is greater well-wisher than you’
Alhaji Isa Ahmed, ladies and gentlemen, the chairman of the occasion introducing me to the crowd and the lecture for today is…If I were the Governor of Katsina State’…Distinguished guests..Nothing can give more pleasure than having the opportunity to stand before you and talk to you on this topic. First, before we got started I would like to say the topic for today’s discussion is without prejudice! That the lecture is not meant to castigate or ridicule anybody rather it is meant to enable us weigh our options as citizens of Katsina State and find out if certain things can be done in a different way…So, if I were the governor of Katsina State I would ensure good governance through engaging all and sundry so as to enable me transform our attitude so that dependency on the government is reduced to barest minimal. My government would be the one that will spearhead the creation of wealth through the generation of employment. I appreciate the fact that the most important function of any government is the generation of employment as it keeps people away from crimes, enables them to pay taxes to the government, helps in sending their children to school and also helps to eradicate poverty from our society. I would therefore ensure that employment is provided to the citizens of the state. I would be very sincere as regards to Education, that my government cannot shoulder responsibility 100%. In order for us to give our children the type of education we desire, the type that can make our children compete with other children in this 21st century then we have to be ready to make sacrifice. I was about to introduce another area of concern... when I heard a tap on my back and immediately my eyes were wide open I saw my friend the Director, standing in my front. For how long have you been sleeping? He asked, almost laughing. Sleeping? I can’t say for sure, I answered. It then dawned on me that a little nap had overtaken me and that resulted in my day dreaming. I have come to commiserate with you over the tribunal verdict and also to inform you formally that there will be no ‘soyen kayan ciki’ for you this Sallah as I have not collected my salary, he said apologetically. I felt sorry for him, for his children and for anybody in that position. This is somebody who has never failed to ‘kill’ a ram for the last three decades during Sallah but this time around not even ‘Kafi zuru’ will be slaughtered. This Salary imbroglio had been going on since Karamar Sallah, Workers have been celebrating these festivities even without their salaries being paid, what is happening to Katsina State? Is it broke? I thought HE once boasted that even without the Federal grants he could pay salaries..several issues had not yet been straightened up and from the looks of what is going on now, civil servants, pensioners, the rest of us and anybody who has anything to do the State government will have his feet put to fire in the coming days, weeks, three years.
The Election Tribunal’s verdict has broken the camel’s back, the little hope that some of us carry has been dashed. With all that’s happening in the state it is apparent nothing good is going to come out of this government. …But one wonders what type of leadership we are having in this place. No conscience! No fear of Allah! Not even the fear of the inevitable! …that one day one must vacate the coveted office with its paraphernalia?
Katsina the home of the generals, the home of doyen of Nigerian politics, and the home of bureaucrats has now become a shadow of its former self. I remember with nostalgia how our people made Nigeria to thrive under all odds. People like Abidu Yazid a young graduate then who became a Permanent Secretary within a span of 10 years. Dr. Garba Ja Abdulkadir the Secretary to the then North Central State when he was resigning his appointment with the government wrote in his letter…YOURS OBEDIENT SERVANT. Since then, I realized that when you are in service of the people whether elective or otherwise, you are there to serve and not BOSS. Happy Sallah in advance to every one of us and stay out of harm’s way. Oh! Not to forget as my friend is not ‘killing’ not even a chicken where do I eat soyen kayan ciki?