Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. The great Martin Luther King, Junior said this much during his days of activism when the world looked elsewhere while America subjected African Americans to all forms of discrimination. Today, the same United States celebrates the hero while those who antagonized him are unable to find some space in the hearts of the Google\Yahoo generation. There are so many Yankees in Japan, following the footsteps of Commodore Perry especially in Yokohama.
I was in that Nippon port city in 2002. There was so much talk about the Jap delicacy Sushi which simply means raw fish. I met tens of Japanese who wanted me to try it, I just could not. However, two North Americans, one a Canadian the other from the US finally dragged me to a restaurant where I fell in love with the meal and like Oliver Twist even asked for more. This brings me to what is happening to former National Security Adviser [NSA] Sambo Dasuki . I guess when he learnt the Federal Government was going to drag him to court over criminal charges, the man must have been edgy like I was before savouring suchi. At the moment, I am sure fear must have disappeared from his military mind.
He has become the attraction in this Nollywood movie that has so many parts. Honestly, I believe there is so much corruption in the country that our jail houses should be more populated than Asokoro, Maitama , Lekki and Bodija put together. My problem with our judicial system is that we have left those who should rot in jail to walk free and disturb us with all manner of sirens while those who stole a loaf of bread out of hunger are stoned to death by many of us whose future have been stolen by some criminal government officials.
The much I knew about Dasuki was that he stood behind President Ibrahim Babangida when IBB emerged as military President in 1985. That is what Aides De Camp [ADC]do in Africa. There were so many young Majors around the general. Abdul Mumini Aminu, Lawan Gwadabe and Dangiwa Umar. From the grapevine we heard that they were the ones who went to Dodan Barracks to effect change in the early hours of August 27, 1985. Later, Major Dasuki disappeared from my radar. As ADC, he wore Red Beret signifying that that he was a military police officer like Buhari’s ADC Mustapha Jokolo.
After Dasuki came Major U.K. Bello of the Armoured Corps. He died trying to protect the President in the 1990 Gideon Gwarzo Orkar coup. His place was taken by Maj. Nuhu Bamali who much later commanded the Artillery Brigade , Obinze Owerri and rose to the position of General Officer Commanding [GOC] before we lost him to the 2006 air crash that involved a couple of generals. Dasuki, a Fulani like President Buhari is also a Blue blood. His father Ibrahim Dasuki was once Sultan of Sokoto before Gen. Sani Abacha deposed him. Abacha also went after his son who I think took the United States as an alternative home. Am sure the Army colonel also belonged to Military Intelligence .
Partly because of this background and majorly due to Kanem Bornu –Fulani politics owing to insurgency in the North East, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan dumped his kinsman Gen. Owoeye Azazi for Dasuki. The idea was to make Boko Haram change their mind and tactics since instead of the face of a riverine Izon man they would look into the eyes of a fellow Northerner as NSA. Would not know if this worked.
All I see now is that Dasuki is in soup. I am one Nigerian who will think differently in this Dasuki wahala. Since the case is in court , I wish him the best of luck. What turns my insides out is this campaign to turn governance to Isi Ewu politics. You know when you visit a bar full of such delicacy coupled with some green and black bottles of alcohol you begin to behave like the bottle. Most of the things you hear there are tales by moonlight. Politicians know how they spend our money. Ghana Must Go is part of our politics. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo cannot proudly say that in 1999, he sponsored his presidential campaign. As a very financially prudent leader, he would not tell us that his family sponsored his re election in 2003. PDP is not a commercial bank.
Presidents Umaru Yaradua and Jonathan were not in the class of Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga and Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu when they grabbed the Presidency. The money came from somewhere. President Buhari maybe austere, that is good news. However playing politics is bad news. Politics is not for Saints and Mullahs. The money thrown into Mr. President’s successful campaign did not fall from the blue sky. It was in our salad days that we believed an aeroplane could just drop some sacks of money from above.
This noise about stolen security money is disturbing. A lot of things happen. Did President Barack Obama use his personal wealth to send American Seals to Pakistan to kill Obama? There are things that do not need so much explanation especially when the security of a country is at stake. Those in government today know this. Tomorrow is not too far, let all remember the Golden Rule: do unto others what you wish to be done to you. My advise is that President Buhari should be wise in pursuit of the so called thieves.
The thieves we so much dread today may be saints compared to those who have impoverished this country. The fact that the President’s vehicles were bought some years back with fund from the NSA’s office says so much. Even the media must not be vilified for settling out of court. The Jonathan government needed peace and that was the atmosphere that ushered in Buhari. He who laughs last…
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too many typos