31 August 2010By Saka Raji Audu
August 5, 2010 shall remain
green and indelible in our memory. This was the day
altruistic Governor of
Kano
State, Malam
(Dr)
Ibrahim Shekarau took the nation by the
storm when he formally declared his intention to vie
for number one seat of the land by next year if God
wishes. By that declaration, the indefatigable
governor is formally seeking the nomination of his
party, the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP), as her
Presidential Candidate for the 2011 Presidential
election.
Since the nationwide
coverage of the Presidential declaration of Malam
Ibrahim Shekarau, the opposition has been having
sleepless nights because it never thought that the
simple but dignified governor could even make it up to
that level for a start. The declaration was a humble
beginning because it shook the country to her marrow.
So far, no other declaration from other presidential
hopeful that has so much attracted the feelings of
Nigerians than that of Malam Ibrahim Shekarau. It was
and still the talk of the town, all over the nook and
cranny of the country.
Those who do not wish
Shekarau well for base avarice, personal and
primordial reasons have since engaged themselves in
fabrication of lies to 'undo' the governor's
presidential ambition. Democracy, we know, is a
government of the people, by the people and for the
people. In democratic society as ours, every
enfranchised person has the right to vote and be voted
for. Shekarau's traducers, instead of devoting their
precious time to campaign for whoever they deem fit,
are always wasting such time talking ill-feelings of a
man they cannot stop from achieving his destiny.
Among the Shekarau's
detractors who is so envious of Shekarau's rising
political profile is the half-baked Tukur Mamu and his
notorious Desert Herald that specialize in
dishing out falsehood to their gullible readers on
weekly basis about what they know not. This Kaduna
based junk is so much worried of how Shekarau is able
to succeed against its anticipated failure and bad
wishes. Hardly a week passes by without this gutter
paper proving its name right by fabricating one form
of lie or the other about the humble Shekarau.
Incidentally, this media misfit has been fruitlessly
and unjustly fighting Shekarau and his administration
just because its owner is not in any way happy about
the progress Shekarau administration has made in Kano.
Naturally, we do not expect
every one to talk good of Shekarau in spite of his
high level of achievements that are vividly on ground
in Kano. But we must be fair and just in our
assessment even though we all know that one man's food
is another man's poison. Since the creation of
Kano
state in 1967, none of its past civilian leaders that
has not received one criticism or the other. Even if a
man gets up every morning and goes to individual
houses with monetary assistance on daily basis, he
must have someone who will surely talk bad of him.
That is the kind of society we have. During the period
of Malam
Aminu
Kano of blessed memory, he was insulted
and disgraced by the so called progressives. The late
Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Rimi did not have it easy
with the pro-establishment. The late Sabo Bakinzuwo
did not escape the wrath of his opponents. Alhaji
Kabiru Gaya who became governor in 1991 on the platter
of gold was nicknamed "Inshallahu"because people said
that he could not perform while in office. The
immediate past governor of Kano State, Alhaji Rabi'u
Musa Kwankwaso was condemned in totality as a man who
presided over the liquidation of the state. So, we do
not expect Malam Ibrahim Shekarau to be a saint with
his marvelous performances. People must talk ill of
him no matter what he has done. As a matter of fact, I
know a man in one of the state media houses who enjoy
so many goodies from Shekarau administration. But the
man always blackmails the administration wherever he
goes. These are men of no conscience.
Even the Prophets sent by
Allah (SWT) had to grapple with the evil machinations
of the people. We have a perfect example of the
Prophet (PBUH). The entails of a camel were said to be
placed upon his head; his feet bled; his face was
fractured; he was besieged in a mountain pass until he
was forced to eat tree leaves; he was driven out of
Makkah; his front tooth was broken in battle, his
innocent wife was accused of wrongdoing, 70 of his
companions were killed; he was bereaved of his son and
of most of his daughters; he tied a stone around his
stomach because of hunger, and he was accused of being
a poet, a magician, a soothsayer, a madman, and a liar
– all at the same time. Yet, Allah protected him
throughout these severe trials and tribulations.
Prophet Zakariyah was killed, Prophet Yahya was
slaughtered, Prophet Moosa was afflicted with great
trials, Prophet Ibrahim was thrown in the fire (may
peace be upon them all), and the Imams – most reputed
theologians and scholars and leaders followed their
footsteps. Caliph ‘Umar was assassinated, as was
‘Uthman and ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with them all).
Many scholars of the past have been flogged,
imprisoned or tortured.
So, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau
shouldn’t be bothered of any false accusations,
hatred, malign, instigations or treachery for seeking
to be
President of Nigeria against the
backdrop of his good work and achievements. After all,
Allah says in the holy Qur’an 2:214 “Or think you that
you will enter paradise without such (trials) as came
to those who passed away before you? They were
afflicted with severe poverty, ailments and were
shaken”. One is also glad that Shekarau does not allow
any form of ill feeling and wrong accusation to
detract his mission and vision for the people of Kano
state in particular and
Nigeria
in general. He should continue in the same spirit
because as we know, power belongs to Allah (SWT). He
knows who, when, how and where to give power.
The democracy we practice
today in Nigeria entails that whoever feels that he
has something good to offer to the people of the
country should vie for leadership position of the
country.
Malam Ibrahim Shekarau
has been the governor of the most populous state in
Nigeria, Kano for the past seven years. The peace and
stability we require for progress has been in the
state. He improved the quality of roads and water
supplies in the state in spite of all odds. He
believes that as far as you are a Nigerian, you are
free to live anywhere in the land. This is why he
accommodates non-indigenes in his administration since
he came to office some seven years ago. Shekarau is
credible because he never rob Peter to pay Paul. He
respects democracy because democracy entails popular
participation in governance. Therefore, he has never
in any way truncated any democratic proceeding in the
country. He has used his leadership prowess to do a
lot of good things for the people of Kano state. These
are his credentials, which are credible enough for him
to seek nomination as Presidential candidates of his
party. If by God's grace this happens, he will be one
of the Presidential contestants in the 2011
presidential election.
Shekarau and his teaming
supporters are fully aware of the caliber of other
presidential hopefuls in the presidential race such as
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd), General
Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), General Aliyu
Gusau (rtd), Alhaji
Atiku
Abubakar, Mallam
Nuhu
Ribadu, the incumbent President Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan and some others that may emerge as the
clock tickles.
Shekarau is sure of himself
and therefore, does not bother about the so called big
names in the race. After all, in spite of the presence
of big countries as
Spain,
Holland, Argentina, Brazil, etc in the world cup,
other countries as Nigeria,
South Africa,
Ghana,
etc still went and displayed their ability. Even
country as Greece that invented football lost in the
world football cup. At home, Alhaji Kabiru Gaya never
knew that his NRC could defeat the 'mighty' SDP in
Kano in 1991 governorship election. Consequently,
Shekarau was the least governorship contestant in Kano
in terms of money and influence in 2003. In spite of
all what happened, he won the election and won again
in 2007.
The lazy argument is that
it was Buhari's popularity that made Shekarau to win
the 2003 governorship election. But the same Buhari
did not support him in 2007 and Shekarau still won. If
popularity is any thing to go by in the country's
election, why did Buhari, as 'popular' as he is could
not win Presidential election in 2003 and 2007? Why
the late Umar Musa Yar'adua as unpopular as he was and
who was not relatively known beyond Katsina won the
Presidential election? The simple answer some people
may offer is that the election was rigged. Still, one
is yet to know which party that did not rig in 2007
General election. So, let us discuss issues rather
than sentiment.
The suitability of
candidate in the 2011 Presidential election should be
based on issues and Shekarau is fully armed to take up
issues that will advance the progress of the country.
Shekarau is ready to tackle issues of power and
energy, security, peaceful coexistence, corruption,
economic and industrial development, Niger Delta, etc.
If at this time of our history, we are still wasting
our energy and time on primordial matter, I wonder if
Nigeria would ever move from the present hopeless
situation that has been a recurring decimal right from
1983 to date.
Why is it that the same
political actors that were party to this sordid
situation of the country are bouncing back to reclaim
what they have destroyed? Nigeria is sick and requires
surgical operation. We can no longer rely on the old
doctors' prescriptions that have worsened the
situation rather than solving it. This is why Malam
(Dr) Ibrahim Shekarau for Nigeria 2011 is a way
forward to diagnosing and solving the country's
illness. A word, they say, is enough for the wise.
Saka Raji Audu writes from Kano and can be reached on
his email:
sakaraj@yahoo.com
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EsinIslam.Com
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