Date Published: 11/04/09
Late Shehu Othmanu Danfodio (1754-1817)
It is in the spirit of the above hindsight that I humbly wish to write to the conscience of the President, Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Malam Umaru Musa Yar'adua.
Your Excellency, by way of introduction, I am Fatima Hamza Al-Mustapha, the first & only daughter of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer to the Late Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
It was on Thursday, 22nd day of October 1998 when my father was arrested for an alleged coup plot and since then it has been one charge after another without bail. You may kindly note that at the time of my father's arrest, i was just a toddler who was told that daddy went on a course and would be back soon, only for me to grow up to a level where I fully understood the circumstance that daddy was in. Shockingly, everywhere i looked around there was a newspaper with AL-MUSTAPHA boldly written. From a tender age I had to come to terms with such terms as ‘Incarceration, Kirikiri, Adjournment, Al-Mustapha/Kudirat Case Suffers Another Setback, Evidence, Subpoena, Suspect, Remanded, Prison, Coup, The Judiciary, Court etcetera.
Your Excellency, you may further note that today as an adult, I had gone through the transformation of child to adult without the guidance, counselling and love of my father, the most important man in my life. Except one would be tempted to be Sir Abraham Lincoln’s Hypocrite whom he describes as; ‘The Man who Murdered Both His Parents…Pleaded For Mercy On The Ground That He Was An Orphan…’. Otherwise, how can you have a father who is alive and well but the relationship between the two of you is as if he were dead?
He is never there to give you advice about life when you need it and above all, the sweet father's love. When you eventually get a chance to see him, he is amongst people who look scary, rough and stern looking that make you want to leave the prison the minute you arrive. Sir, it is the most difficult feeling anyone can endure but that is the only way i get to see my father in this circumstance.
Your Excellency Sir, I waited for the amnesty being granted to the various militant groups from the Creeks of the Niger-Delta to be extended to my father and his co-travellers such as Rabo Lawal, Former Zamfara State MILAD Jibrin Bala Yakubu, Lateef Shofolahan and James Danbaba even though they have been in prison more than the time they would have served even if convicted for the various offences they are being accused of, but I am yet to see anything and I cannot find any convincing reason why justice is delayed in their cases. No wonder that our Legal Luminaries would always say Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied. It is not fair to them but even worse is the fact that it is not fair to us as a family not to talk of your much talked about the Rule of Law. We are really suffering.
By way of digression, I quite recall what you told Nigerians on the baseless rumour peddled by some negative thinkers about your malaria attack and on the rule of law last year. You emphatically stated thus:
I am an ordinary human being; I am not a super-human being. I don’t know one yet, but certainly I am not one, I am a Normal human being being who can fall sick, who can recover, who can die, who can have feelings, who can be angered, who can laugh…. Once we continue to develop as a nation, and then respect for the rule of law begins to take firm root, even the attitude of people to be sincere and honest in what they do will now continue to develop, that is why it is very critical and very important to establish respect for the rule of law…I assure you, once we are able to achieve that, as we achieve greater respect for the rule of law, you will find that positive attitudes and values will begin to take
over negative attitudes and values in Nigerians.
Mr. President Sir, let your humility be bold please and I beg for your intervention by tempering justice with mercy. You have the power to change my world and that of my entire family as well as the families of those mentioned above with the stroke of your pen. Let your magnanimity show and it is our humble hope that the rule of law shows its footing on the people that most deserve it.
Let me at this juncture, crave the kind indulgence of Your Excellency that I am to you a daughter like the Zainabs, the Nafisas, the Aishas whom you are obligated to cater and fend for since I do not have anyone in that capacity for now, as such I am asking you as my father, to help me, as your daughter wipe my tears away by showing me some compassion. I hope in your heart you feel my pain, because only if you do will i cry no more as no responsible father would ever want his daughter cry. Please my father help me dry my tears.
Finally, I want to thank you for what you are about to do. May this honourable gesture be rewarded by the Almighty Allah. Equally, may your life be guaranteed with quality health, be free, safe and sound with the sweet company of all your family members during (in Aso Rock Villa, Abuja) and after office (in Katsina) while I await a noble action soon from you da
Conscience is an open wound; only truth can heal it.
LATE SHEHU OTHMANU DANFODIO
(1754-1817)
It is in the spirit of the above hindsight that I humbly wish to write to the conscience of the President, Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Malam Umaru Musa Yar'adua.
Your Excellency, by way of introduction, I am Fatima Hamza Al-Mustapha, the first & only daughter of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer to the Late Head of State, General Sani Abacha.
It was on Thursday, 22nd day of October 1998 when my father was arrested for an alleged coup plot and since then it has been one charge after another without bail. You may kindly note that at the time of my father's arrest, i was just a toddler who was told that daddy went on a course and would be back soon, only for me to grow up to a level where I fully understood the circumstance that daddy was in. Shockingly, everywhere i looked around there was a newspaper with AL-MUSTAPHA boldly written. From a tender age I had to come to terms with such terms as ‘Incarceration, Kirikiri, Adjournment, Al-Mustapha/Kudirat Case Suffers Another Setback, Evidence, Subpoena, Suspect, Remanded, Prison, Coup, The Judiciary, Court etcetera.
Your Excellency, you may further note that today as an adult, I had gone through the transformation of child to adult without the guidance, counselling and love of my father, the most important man in my life. Except one would be tempted to be Sir Abraham Lincoln’s Hypocrite whom he describes as; ‘The Man who Murdered Both His Parents…Pleaded For Mercy On The Ground That He Was An Orphan…’. Otherwise, how can you have a father who is alive and well but the relationship between the two of you is as if he were dead?
He is never there to give you advice about life when you need it and above all, the sweet father's love. When you eventually get a chance to see him, he is amongst people who look scary, rough and stern looking that make you want to leave the prison the minute you arrive. Sir, it is the most difficult feeling anyone can endure but that is the only way i get to see my father in this circumstance.
Your Excellency Sir, I waited for the amnesty being granted to the various militant groups from the Creeks of the Niger-Delta to be extended to my father and his co-travellers such as Rabo Lawal, Former Zamfara State MILAD Jibrin Bala Yakubu, Lateef Shofolahan and James Danbaba even though they have been in prison more than the time they would have served even if convicted for the various offences they are being accused of, but I am yet to see anything and I cannot find any convincing reason why justice is delayed in their cases. No wonder that our Legal Luminaries would always say Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied. It is not fair to them but even worse is the fact that it is not fair to us as a family not to talk of your much talked about the Rule of Law. We are really suffering.
By way of digression, I quite recall what you told Nigerians on the baseless rumour peddled by some negative thinkers about your malaria attack and on the rule of law last year. You emphatically stated thus:
I am an ordinary human being; I am not a super-human being. I don’t know one yet, but certainly I am not one, I am a Normal human being being who can fall sick, who can recover, who can die, who can have feelings, who can be angered, who can laugh…. Once we continue to develop as a nation, and then respect for the rule of law begins to take firm root, even the attitude of people to be sincere and honest in what they do will now continue to develop, that is why it is very critical and very important to establish respect for the rule of law…I assure you, once we are able to achieve that, as we achieve greater respect for the rule of law, you will find that positive attitudes and values will begin to take
over negative attitudes and values in Nigerians.
Mr. President Sir, let your humility be bold please and I beg for your intervention by tempering justice with mercy. You have the power to change my world and that of my entire family as well as the families of those mentioned above with the stroke of your pen. Let your magnanimity show and it is our humble hope that the rule of law shows its footing on the people that most deserve it.
Let me at this juncture, crave the kind indulgence of Your Excellency that I am to you a daughter like the Zainabs, the Nafisas, the Aishas whom you are obligated to cater and fend for since I do not have anyone in that capacity for now, as such I am asking you as my father, to help me, as your daughter wipe my tears away by showing me some compassion. I hope in your heart you feel my pain, because only if you do will i cry no more as no responsible father would ever want his daughter cry. Please my father help me dry my tears.
Finally, I want to thank you for what you are about to do. May this honourable gesture be rewarded by the Almighty Allah. Equally, may your life be guaranteed with quality health, be free, safe and sound with the sweet company of all your family members during (in Aso Rock Villa, Abuja) and after office (in Katsina) while I await a noble action soon from you daddy, Amin.
FATIMA HAMZA AL-MUSTAPHA
( chickenbardoo@hotmail.com or chickenbardoo@yahoo.com )
P.O.BOX 16530
WUSE ZONE 3 ABUJA . |
