Date Published: 05/18/09
Re: Hong LG Polls: The limit of Demagoguery
By Edward Wabundani
A thousand bastards can never be equal to one legitimate child. M.K.O Abiola.
Communities have either stagnated or assumed a quantum leap forward, depending on the legitimacy and or credibility of the leadership it has been saddled with. There are visionary just as there are visionless leaders. While the former strengthened by the instrument of legitimacy works for the over all growth of the society, the latter, usually lacking in credibility and totally myopic and bereft of ideas, engages in acts detrimental to the well being of the larger society.
This is epitomized in the appointment of Aliyu Idi, Hong as Minister of State from Adamawa State. Despite the deluge of protestations from especially governorship aspirants who were denied the opportunity to contest primaries with Murtala Nyako in 2007 and other well meaning citizens from the state, Obasanjo in his characteristic sadistic manner to compensate Nyako, who sold his Bare farms located on the plateau for 2.5 million dollars, arm-twisted Yar’Adua into allowing Aliyu Idi’s appointment, at the detriment of one of the governorship aspirants. The deal was sealed behind close doors, so as to appease Jibril Aminu who took the job of replacing the former leadership in the state by all means. It was haphazardly accomplished.
With his puny legs wobbling inside the over-sized shoes left behind by his predecessors, the Junior Minister has busied himself looking for ways to measure up to expectation without success. With a burgeoning cloud of illegitimacy swirling around him, Aliyu Idi Hong, who is already negatively redefining the art of governance is marooned on the shores of confusion. This crisis of confidence may have been responsible for his squirming at criticisms just like a child squirms at a live serpent.
As a follow up to continuous objective media publication against him and Jibril Aminu, especially by yours sincerely, on issues bordering on their supposedly constituency, the office of the Minister of State, Health, through his cracked megaphone, Anthony Aileman came out smoking, churning out tissue of lies to hoodwink the unwary loving citizens of Hong Local Government and Adamawa State in general. In an orchestrated move through a concocted rejoinder, syndicated to some media houses in Abuja and Lagos, Aliyu Idi Hong and Jibril Aminu, true to their characters, shamelessly stood honesty on its head, all in a futile attempt to wriggle themselves from their domineering, unproductive and myopic methods of politicking.
Among the issues on their card of misinformation and blatant falsehood is the claim that Jibril Aminu attracted the establishment of FCE Yola and FUTY to Adamawa. To put a pin into that balloon and for the records, the F.U.T.Y was established in 1981/82 by Nigeria’s elder statesman and former President Shehu Shagari. The institution was merged with University of Maiduguri by the Muhammadu Buhari regime. By then it was named Modibbo Adama College Unimaid – Yola Campus with Prof. Nur Aklkali as the Provost. Thereafter, in the late 80’s the IBB led junta de-merged and renamed the institution as FUT Yola. The FCE Yola on the other hand was established in 1975/76 by the Gowon/Murtala regime. We from Adamawa State are grateful to these statesmen for their various contributions as stated above. The records are there. The boy boy minister and his co-travelers should therefore not distort history in robbing the former president Shehu Shagari, Gowon, Buhari and IBB of those legacies on the sands of time.
To my utter dismay, the issue of imposing Ibrahim Gayus on the community, the main crux of their rejoinder was conveniently swept under the carpet by Ailemen, the minister’s cracked megaphone. It is expected, because both Jibril Aminu and Aliyu Idi do not have enough reasons to explain their monumental fraudulent subversion of the people’s will. I challenge them to name the candidates that vied for primary elections with Ibrahim Gayus for the chairmanship position in Hong LG.
It appears that in his desperate bid to ingratiate himself with his bosses, ostensibly for pecuniary gains, Ailemen turned himself into a fiction designer who specializes in lie embroidery. In an attempt to earn his commission, he chose to be a mercenary, cavalier and shifty. Instead for him to explain his boss’s position of making the imposed chairman as a conduit pipe to siphon the resources of government to pursue his 2012 gubernatorial ambition, as stated by some youths in the area, he remained quiet. It beats my imagination that palace jesters like Anthony Ailemen and his two bosses declined to comment on the statement credited to Aliyi Idi in Hong in the midst of some elders of the community, where he was quoted as being haughty and impervious. At the same forum, it is on record that he indicted President Yar’Adua and Murtala Nyako’s emergence in their various offices with out following due process. He also claimed that as minister from the state, he has the final say as to who flys the PDP ticket. This he added is a policy of the present government. An appointee condemning his benefactor? Any way he’s Obasanjo appointee, he can afford to do it.
There is this adage in my village that “a river whose sources are known can hardly sweep away the discerning, even in its self delusion, it becomes a cascading avalanche”. Aliyu Idi Hong, his godfather and the Ailemens of this world, have earned a notoriety for speaking with a bifurcated tongue, that their pronouncements are not accorded any credibility by even an under aged child. ‘That I blindly accused Jibril Aminu for supporting the appointment of the Minister of State as against one retired General who has been recycled’, is uncharitable and diversionary. He is assured; no retired general from Hong is after his job. They may be just imaginary enemies. He should instead face me as someone persistently putting pin to their balloon of falsehood and deceit. But as a commentator on public issues and stakeholder from the “Home of Beauty”, my criticisms are issue - based and not personal. The truth is Aliyu’s seemingly vibrancy as claimed by Aileman is a mere hoax to cover up. He and his oga are simply one of these assembly-line administrators manufactured by General Obasanjo’s dictatorship. Referring to the minister’s alleged perceived envy of the General, the S. A. on media was economical with the truth to identity the General in question; I can authoritatively vouch for all the retired Generals from the local government. Each of them has paid his dues. The Junior Minister if really he is a freeborn of Kilba land should have known about their individual contributions either nationally or locally. He should note that even if he remains as minister for the next 6 years, he can neither achieve anything nor surpass any of the retired General’s in terms of attracting development to Hong or Adamawa State. And this will be another basis for the collapse of Jibril Aminu’s agenda for Aliyu in 2012 governorship race in Adamawa. That time, the 2003 bitter experience when he woefully lost Hong L.G election by recording less than 20 votes in 12 electoral wards will repeat itsell.
The usual effort at dressing critics of Aliyu and Jibril Aminu’s style of governance is an exercise in futility, that is why I am not bothered with the minister’s accusation. He however knows that the job of S. A. Media is a job for the boys. When I was a boy I did it in one of the Federal Parastatals. The minister knows and I left a mark there. He can go and verify my attainments. Thereafter I voluntarily withdrew my service for a more dignifying one. I am comfortable. However, if the minister has enough clout to engage any among the boys in his village in any job, it will be a mean feat for him. And I personally will ensure such an achievement is recorded for posterity. This is a challenge.
Edward Wabundani wrote from 52, Wuro Dole Ward, Hong
