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21 November 2010 By Saka Raji Audu
On 3rd of
November, 2010, 54 members of the
All
Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP in the House
of Representative stormed the national headquarters of
their party in Abuja to purchase the party nomination
form for Malam
Ibrahim Shekarau, Sardaunan Kano who is
aspiring to the office of the President in the
forthcoming 2011 presidential poll. This development
came about after series of orchestrated rumour that
Shekarau would jettison his presidential ambition for
senatorial seat. Perhaps, those who sponsored the
rumour in the medium of a northern based newspaper
never got to know the distinctive way and manner
Governor Shekarau of
Kano
state does his things. The rumor millers had expected
Shekarau's presidential train to move on the same
speed with that of IBBs, Jonathans, Atikus, Gusaus and
Sarakis. Since Shekarau is not wasting human and
material resources on his campaign as those in
opposition, the fifth columnists quickly jumped into
conclusion that he would no longer contest in the
number one seat of the land.
With the recent purchase of
the party presidential nomination form by
Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, it is now clear
that the man is very much willing to pursue his
presidential aspiration to its logical conclusion.
Shekarau, as people know him, is not a man of
desperation that wants to get things at all costs.
This is because he knows pretty well that he cannot
change his destiny. Shekarau is a one man politician
that so much believes that power belongs to God ad He
gives it to whoever he wishes. Shekarau is therefore
of the belief that one should play the game of
politics according to the dictates of the law, while
at the same time, one should put trust in God in
whatever one does.
Malam (Dr) Ibrahim Shekarau,
Sardaunan Kano is neither a desperate nor "do or die
affairs "politician. In his recent open letter to
other presidential aspirants for the 2011 presidential
election published in the Daily Trust of 9th
December 2010, this is what the man Shekarau said, "I
therefore appeal to all of us, not withstanding our
different political parties, to ensure that we
undertake a rancour –and violent- free campaign which
shall lead to peaceful elections. Similarly, we shall
all be ready to accept the decisions of
Nigerians if the elections are adjudged
to be free and fair, and are acceptable as true
representation of the opinion of the majority. Let us
therefore wish our country well. Let us ensure we all
put the interest of the country and its citizens ahead
of ours. I look forward to working with you to ensure
that the 2011 elections become a milestone to show
that
Nigeria
at 50 is indeed a country mature enough to join the
league of fast-developing nations."
Indeed, if all the
presidential aspirants adopt this basic tenet, the
present political tension created as a result of
vaulting political ambition would have been nipped in
the bud. In an ideal political environment, every
politician aspiring for political offices should be
able to showcase his or her past record of
achievements and this should form the basis for
people's consideration of the best one. Of course,
Shekarau has no money but he has wealth of
administrative experience to ensure progress and
egalitarian society, society where justice and equity
becomes the dominant paradigm.
In Kano, for instance, most
of the youths used to wander about, creating security
threat to the society. But with the coming of Shekarau
as the governor of Kano state in May 2003, things have
drastically changed for good. Many of the idle youths
have been meaningfully engaged and are no longer
willing to serve as tools for destruction. We should
look at the marvelous road networks in both the urban
and rural areas. This has brought a significant change
for the state. What about the construction of the
Tambarawa water plant that supplies over 150 million
litres of water to the people? Whoever had visited
Kano in the past and has reason to visit the state in
recent time, will surely attest to the significant
progress that has taken place in the state. These are
some of the many reasons people believe that with
Shekarau as the
President of Nigeria,
the country would be restored back to its lost glory.
As a matter of fact,
Shekarau does not believe in hanky- panky game where
issues of development are treated with kid gloves and
levity. He is a man of action, a man of hope and a man
of sincerity. This type of a leader must not slip the
hands of good people of Nigeria, particularly if we
sincerely believe in the positive change of the
country's fortune. Even the
former President Olusegun
Obasanjo of the PDP has once expressed
his belief in the ability of Malam Ibrahim Shekarau as
a leader of impeccable quality. As a result of the
belief in the honest and transparent posture of Malam
Shekarau and his administration, it should be recalled
that in November 2004, the former President Obasanjo
appointed Shekarau to lead a powerful multi-layer
public section team to Argentina to study the South
American country's debt management initiatives.
It is in all these
retrospect that Malam Shekarau should be allowed to
take Nigeria out of her socio-economic and political
doldrums. The concern of many Nigerians is that we
cannot continue to recycle leaders that are once in a
position to improve the fortunes of the country but
has failed to do so. This is why people are surprised
to see old cargoes still trying to dominate the
political space of the country. It is a very sad note
that these old brigades have had their turn of
leadership without meaningful change recorded and
virtually, all the so called ills that brought them to
the corridor of power are still with us today.
For instance, SAP is still
sapping us. The anti corruption posture has not made
any significant impact. The country is still as
corrupt as any thing. And all we are witnessing is
kidnapping, bombing, and zoning palaver, militancy,
strikes, depletion in our foreign reserves and high
level of official corruption. The good people of
Nigeria cannot afford to have the old leaders back
again into the saddle as leaders because they have
disappointed and are still disappointing us. In a
situation like this, we deserve a change because we
are no fools as only a fool stumbles over the same
stone twice.
As a mark of way forward,
we should recall what some of the high ranking leaders
in the country have said about Malam (Dr) Ibrahim
Shekarau, Sardaunan Kano. In May 2005, a visiting
senior official of the PDP-led federal government,
Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), former Attorney General of the
Federation and Special Adviser on Ethics and good
governance to the former President Obasanjo pronounced
Malam Ibrahim Shekarau Nigeria's most transparent and
vibrant governor. Similar commendation came from the
Chairman of the Independent
Corrupt Practice
Commission (ICPC),
retired Justice Emmanuel Ayoola who had advised other
state governments to emulate Shekarau by setting up
anti-corruption agencies such as the Kano State Public
Complaints and Anti-corruption Directorate (PCACD).
Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu had also described Shekarau "as
an icon of national unity who should be emulated by
other Nigerians for the collective good of the
citizenry." In his frank comments on Shekarau, the
Ikemba of Nnewi succinctly put that "if all Nigerians
think and act along the same line with Governor
Shekarau, there would be no ethnic or tribal
dichotomies among the people." Ojukwu was overwhelmed
by Shekarau's inclusion of an Ibo man in his cabinet
as Special Adviser, which Odemegwu described as a
demonstration of brotherhood and oneness among
Nigerians.
Chief Olu Falae, a one time
Presidential candidate of All Nigeria's People's
Party, ANPP said "Shekarau is a straight forward
politician whose services are dearly needed by the
country. I appreciate the courage, zeal and commitment
with which Malam Shekarau is governing Kano.
Shekarau's achievements are outstanding. It would be
recalled that the renowned noble laureate, social
critic and play Wright of international repute,
Professor
Wole Soyinka,
the Kongi said that the purpose of his visit in Kano,
"was based on the determination of the governor as a
person who finds honour in respecting the mandate
given to him by Kano people and therefore, he deserves
to be highly commended. The Professor pointed out that
as a person who has been so passionate to democracy
"we symbolically and morally lend solidarity to people
like Governor Shekarau for his wonderful performances
among other things that is why I am in Kano."
Of equal note is the fact
that on 27th February 2007, Mallam
Nuhu
Ribadu in his capacity as the then EFCC
Chairman granted interview to Media Trust. In the said
interview, Ribadu bared his mind on Shekarau.
According to Ribadu, "all allegations against
Governor Ibrahim Shekarau could not be
proven. He said the EFCC investigated Shekarau
based on the several petitions received including
maintaining a foreign account but they could not be
established. This fact was collaborated by the recent
court case between Shekarau and the Business Eye
Magazine. The court, in its judgment dated 11th
October 2010, also pronounced that the allegations
against Shekarau by the Business Eye Magazine
could not be established and "for two years the
defendants have failed to provide evidence to support
their claims and tried to frustrate the case by
incessant requests for adjournments and absence from
court." The court therefore awarded the sum of N1
billion damages to Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, Sardauna
Kano.
From the foregoing, it is
now clear that all assumptions and hypotheses about
Shekarau have been put to test both in the people's
court and the court of law. The result of it is that
Malam (Dr) Ibrahim Shekarau is a man who stands for
truth because his integrity has been publicly tested
and the verdict as variously confirmed in the above
outstanding comments on him by the court and other
high ranking personalities mentioned attest to the
fact that Shekarau is a man of truth and therefore,
the hero of our time. As the 2011 presidential
election gets close, we require a leader that has been
tested for his truth and that man is Malam (Dr)
Ibrahim Shekarau, Sardaunan Kano. Any thing other than
this is unacceptable and will not stand the test of
time.
Saka Raji Audu writes from Kano and can be reached on
hi
sakaraj@yahoo.com |
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