*By Saifullahi Abubakar*
It is normal for a public figure, a successful one for that matter, to
attract occasional sneer, derision or outright envy. But it is abnormal
when such a thing is turned into an organised mob of muckrakers with a
mandate to smear the target personality by every available spit they could
get. This is the case with an on-going mudslinging against Governor Aminu
Waziri Tambuwal, using the free passage of all garbage offered by the handy
social media.
A recent example of such trashy offerings; one that went viral on account
of the key words deliberately used to attract curious readers and to easily
smear is titled “Tambuwal and the politics of Buhari’s illness,” penned
under an obvious pseudonym of Mamman Abdullahi. The mudslingers got a lot
of people there: Tambuwal, politics and the ill health of President
Muhammadu Buhari. Ordinarily, people would want to find out what links a
respected personality like Governor Tambuwal with the health condition of
the president and, more still, the alleged politics of it.
However, from the very first sentence of the piece, the emotion of the
hatched men is laid bare. The intent, as the opening line crudely puts it,
is to paint Tambuwal’s 30 years of public life as one characterised by
“betrayals and treachery”. The rest of the malignant article rode along
this line. Lies upon lies are lined up; spun from contemporaneous events
and purported historical antecedents of Tambuwal to paint him – as the
agenda setting first line puts it – a betrayer and treacherous person.
The instinct initially was to laugh this off and move on, as one of those
things politicians often encounter. However, on a second thought one is
tempted to put out a response because the professional liar who authored
the faceless hogwash presented tissues of lies in a way that may look
factual to unsuspecting public who knows not.
First, let me say that I am an innocent bystander in this issue. I am
intervening because I knowledgeable enough about most of the issues raised
in the initial article. I am not holding brief for Tambuwal, and the fact
that he knows nothing about this work gives me the pleasure to state what I
know without inhibitions or guidance from him. The said article stands on
no factual ground. It is sheer concoctions. At best, it is not more than a
spectacular fictional narrative skewed together by a fertile mind with
agenda for grave mischief. To accuse Tambuwal of selling himself to be
appointed as vice president – a vacancy that does not exist, is not only
funny but a clear assault on truth, and on the man’s personality and
intelligence. In truth, chasing shadows (which is what vying for a
non-existent post is) is the least thing that can be inferred in Tambuwal’s
dealings as a public servant.
Additionally, from the searchlight some of us have kept on him over the
years, Tambuwal is a man of faith with a strong sense of gratitude to the
almighty who elevated him from being a legislative aide to first, Nigeria’s
Number Four position, and now the first citizen of his state. This has
never been lost on the Tambuwal that I know. For him, and all people of
faith, chasing after another thing when you are not half-way into what God
almighty blessed you with is some mark of ingratitude. For emphasis,
Tambuwal has never had divided attention since assuming the position of the
Governor of Sokoto State. He has executed his mandate in such a way that
today, midway into his first term of four years, the consensus in Sokoto is
for him to carry on for additional term.
It should also be stated that as someone who has been actively involved in
politics since the beginning of this dispensation, Tambuwal has developed
extensive network of friends, associates and admirers, so it is foolish and
mischievous for any of his engagements with such associates to be
interpreted in any narrow manner. From his time in the National Assembly,
it is clearly evident that it is in his nature not to abandon his friends
because of the trappings of power.
Will Tambuwal work to undermine Buhari? Certainly not! Recently, a story of
Tambuwal’s 2012 visit to the then opposition leader, Buhari in Kaduna was
shared online. That year, Buhari had returned from a medical trip and
Tambuwal, as Speaker, led some of his colleagues to Buhari’s house for a
sympathy visit. Not a few in the Green Chamber, especially those of the
ruling party, raised eyebrows at the visit. Their thinking was that as a
member of the PDP, Tambuwal should not be seen publicly hobnobbing with
Buhari. But Tambuwal stood his ground and insisted that politics aside,
Buhari, being a former Head of State, deserved respect and recognition.
As if sensing the little controversy the visit would elicit, Buhari asked
Tambuwal why he wasn’t afraid to visit with a full compliments of
reporters. “We’re here to see how you are feeling and to pray to Allah for
bringing you back home safely,” the Speaker told him. At the end of the
visit, Buhari thanked Tambuwal profusely; saying for identifying with him
when it was risky to do that, Tambuwal had shown genuine concern for his
well-being. He also prayed for him as he departed.
I brought this issue to show the bond, and respect between the two leaders.
While the writer and his sponsors ignorantly dropped the name of Abubakar
Shehu Tambuwal in a bid to deceive the readers, we were all living
witnesses to Shehu’s directive to his supporters to support the candidature
of Tambuwal during the last electioneering campaigns in Sokoto even though
they don’t belong to the same parties. If Abubakar Shehu Tambuwal has
issues with Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, would he have supported him against his
party in 2015?
Tambuwal’s brand of politics is one that embraces friends and foes alike.
It is in public domain that the current Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, was one of the staunchest opponents of
Tambuwal when he aspired to lead the lower legislative House in the year
2011. But immediately he won the election, Tambuwal made Dogara the
chairman of the all-important House Services Committee. His opponent in
that election, Mulikat Adeola-Akande, was made the Majority Leader, the
first time a Female would hold such an important position in the country.
Do I need to remind us of Tambuwal’s relationship with former President
Olusegun Obasanjo? After kicking against against Tambuwal’s emergence as
Speaker, Obasanjo eventually became one of Tambuwal’s mentors and he had
this to say a few days ago in Abeokuta: “Mr Governor, I would apologize
that I am going to embarrass you small. When you emerged as the Speaker (in
2011), you know I was not satisfied; because that was not the arrangement
of the then PDP. It was the former administration and the then leadership
that did that and I expressed my view. When you came to me, I told you that
you were not the problem, but the party then. I told you that I am pleased
by the reports I got of you as the speaker, and again I am still getting
good report of you in your state. You are one of the examples of the youth
that have been doing well in politics.”
One person who cherishes Tambuwal’s political dexterity is the National
Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu. Despite the seeming
differences of opinion following the election of principal officers of the
National Assembly last year, Tinubu had this to say about Tambuwal when he
visited Sokoto for an event at Usmanu Danfodio University: “Governor Aminu
Tambuwal represents the new hope of a new progressive political era. The
people of Sokoto made a good choice in electing him governor. A man of and
for the people and a true patriot, his commitment to advance the welfare of
the people is remarkable. We must support him in his mission to bring
greater development and prosperity to Sokoto for the benefit of all of her
people.”
Adjudging Tambuwal as a betrayer because of changing political allegiances
is a mark of political ignorance and dishonesty on the part of the
mudslingers. Politics is opportunity and all politicians vie for
opportunity to serve and to work with like-minds. If a platform or
political alliance looses focus, is collapsing or no longer viable, it is
unwise to wait for the roof to collapse on one’s head. President Muhammadu
Buhari, for example, moved from the ANPP when it was obvious he was being
frustrated internally, to form the CPC. And when CPC proved impotent as a
political machinery to achieve his ambition for the nation, he collapsed
into the alliance that formed the APC. There is nothing wrong with such
moves.
Also, such political steps are sometimes taken out of patriotism as
exemplified in the 2014 mass action against the unpatriotic PDP regime, in
which Tambuwal incidentally played a prominent role to the admiration of
vast majority of Nigerians.
One is entitled to disagree or even hate Governor Tambuwal for whatever
personal reason, but the allegations labeled against him is almost the
zenith such malicious undertaking could attain. It is not just because
Tambuwal’s name is smeared but also because of the dangerous namedropping
and dragging of the names of very important and responsible personalities
just to achieve the sinister aim of portraying Tambuwal – who from all
indications, is minding his business – in a very bad light.
**Saifullahi Abubakar, a Quantity Surveyor, wrote from Aso Drive, Abuja*