A friend talked for minutes last Saturday about how Borno is lucky for the obvious reason of the envy of some states – for having a governor like the man in charge. And I told him it is all due to, and, thank God. But we also owe it to Senator Kashim Shettima.
The former Governor chose and supported a professor to succeed him at a time when other departing governors were doing the opposite – selecting stooges and dafts in order to help them keep their covered mess secret. Noting how such plots failed many former governors who ended up enemies of their former boys, Senator Kashim, said it is only God that covers up for one.
He understood his limitations, the fact of the relative performance of his government and that more can be done with the right person. He was a visionary good man who understands the challenges of governing Borno at such a time, and he didn’t want to toy with fates of millions humans. He loves the state. God bless him and Professor Umara Zulum for letting us see a leader of some dream during our time. We are grateful.
Governor Zulum was at the Aso Villa this week to brief PMB about the last attacks in Gubio which many hoped he would be clear about how the withdrawal of soldiers on Eid day partly led to the Gubio mayhem. The week before, he was in the northeastern town of Mungono. He spent days watching the humanitarian and government services and gathered enough information for the President.
Apparently disturbed by the lingering crisis and the IDP food scarcity despite large supplies, which he inherited, Zulum seeks and finds God’s intervention in the matter. He did the unusual, and that is impeccable example of personal will of a leader to dare and deal with impunity and enforce change by his usurp of all the powers of a Chief Executive.
The news soared that Zulum goes spiritual. In my first open letter to him, I charged that he takes heart in order to be different. This is it. When the heartful charges for change in the way we do things, someone can do the impossible, because, Ngozi Ikwenjuola told us that fighting corruption is dangerous to human souls, and even a governor can be a victim to its dangers.
Zulum knows that the only instrument to fight the feared fearless of God is God Himself. So seeking Allah is a wise choice to fight the danger and to now show that change for Borno is now inevitable. And that was in the questions we asked last week as one of the many conditions to end Haram – which is that we must change as persons in orientations and in the way we do things. Now, Zulum is saying change is it, and Boko Haram must end.
The enemies of change are doomed to faint fatal and if Zulum survives their bad mouths’ evil prayers as he is destined to, they will run out of business and out of the capital of life soon, so the poor can breathe a new life. The Borno Governor, a true professor (this has nothing to do with faithfulness) has during the said visit to Monguno, headquarters of Monguno LGA, raised the Holy Qur’an against those involved in the diversion and hoarding of IDP food in particular.
Diverting foods meant for the thousands of IDPs all over the State – a concern that lasted the years of the insurgency and governance in Borno and is currently more disturbing. That sounds impossible, coming from a state governor. I mean raising of the Qur’an. Strange, fetish, you will say. But it is the necessary. The inevitable even. It is the only solution may be, to something. But all of that, it is because, for the first time, a governor is; a true son is, serious.
Zulum soothes my pains. I have challenged and suffered setback in the conspiracy that sponsors and services denial of God and the immediate intervention of God; against our heritages and impeccable values of Islam and the Qur’an as an instrument of solving every human problem as used by our forefathers; and against the tradition of unmatched scholarship in both Eastern and Western education. Now a Professor – the first and only – recognises how much we lost but what we need to do to get things right: go back to the roots and pick a screwdriver.
A professor is learned. The learned is educated. The educated is smart. The smart seeks God as reason and the Qur’an as request and defence for everything. This is one thing no idea or theory has refuted so far and never anything can, but those who ignore or drop ideas and theories dispute it in their life and its ways, for grave consequences that their daftness cannot tell them or even make them feel the pains or see the fails.
What does that mean? Why? The case of IDP food diversion has been a lingering issue in the governance of Borno and all states affected by the insurgency. And it is so discreet, a systemic cartel too organised that every attempts by government officials, committees to determine how it is done, who are the cartels and their collaborators, at what point it happens were never determined.
But it is obvious to anyone that it happens and the government and its officials responsible for the coordination and distribution are always the first suspects. It went to a stage when previous governors where suspected to be the godfathers of those involved, and that it is their boys that were doing ‘the business’ for them with the sales of the foods.
Good citizens however always dismiss the idea: “what will a governor do with such a business when they have billions to steal from?” it was a stigma that was damaging to the conscious government agents or even business agents associated with, or linked to, the government.
Professor Umara Zulum would not afford to carry such a stigma, or allow a careless notion smear the calibre of new government, or tarnish his good image and integral reputation. So he must do, and must be seen to do something about it.
The true-learned from Borno never compromise and they never renege on the very bases that supported their education to learned-hood. And they trace the roots that found three things that make them anything – their persons, their character and their status. Those who did betrayed three: God, the forefathers and the people.
More than all that, the man is just, upright, honourable and real. He is different and he wants it different now. More than his image and reputation, he is concerned with his heap of burden of leadership and the task of accountability before him. That accountability, the time that relates to the feeding of IDPs is to God, and delayed to next life.
It is his major concern now, because accountability to the people and to democracy is nothing. It is not taken serious in Nigeria of the faithful who dare to do the worst and demand blessings for it from God, thinking the least about God’s own case hanging on their necks.
Zulum is a different faithful, a genuine believer that this life is temporary and accountability is first to self, then to God, then to the people and to the government last. If everyone believes his faith of religiosity of service and dedication and not of attendance of church or mosque, the insurgency would not be any reason for all the heaps of bundles of burden the man feels on his shoulders. Let food be enough to go round the IDPs to take three meals a day.
How is it done? The Governor took in hand a hand-written, not a printed copy of the Qur’an, raises it up, goes around town and repeatsays, “whoever are responsible for, involved, associated, informed, directly or indirectly, with the consumption, diversion, sales or hoarding of food stuff and anything meant for the IDPs or sees or is aware but keeps mute, may this Quran be against them henceforth.”
It is a Borno tradition of invoking the Qur’an on liars, criminals, deniers and anyone responsible for whatever befalls village, ward, area defined by its people. Suspects are also asked or forced to swear by the Qur’an by holding it and saying something like, “if I am responsible, involved or informed about the crime, may this Qur’an be against me or affect me now (may I be cursed by the Qur’an).
It has been the part means by which crime was not know in our society in the past. In the wake of the Boko Haram insurgency, this was done in many places across the state to determine the culprits and to spare some suspects in order that they continued to live among the people of an area. In all the towns of the north and central Borno, including ancient areas of Maiduguri, this helped peace and many.
In the heat of suspicion and in the face of stubborn denials even when many cases were obviously linked to locals, relations of residents in some areas were too divided to agree to the admistering of raising the Qur’an. So it was not done in some areas and that was key reason for the escalation and the lasting of the insurgency. This was painful also that a part reason was the fact that some of the accused were our own and we knew it.
But that helped the wicked. The conspiracy of denial of our heritage and values came to play the Sunna game to deter many from exonerating themselves and their wards. So many took advantage of the modern and fraud ideas of the Sunna (traditions of the Prophet of Islam) to meet selfish and greedy ends to condemn, avoid or escape the administering and the process as a bad practice just to avoid the process.
But some areas were too strict to let it go. Allah blesses our gone and living scholars and elders. When they died and killed we lost much, we crid that our fathers died. They tried against all odds to make sure the process was sustained and administered against every suspect. This was partly responsible to the relative peace some areas enjoyed throughout the decade of the insurgency.
Bama, the second largest town, as an example, was one of the places notorious for the tradition of seeking the judgment of God on earth by upholding the tradition of the raising of the Qur’an over key issues/problems faced by all. This was a historical means of stability that wielded communities and its residents accountable to ensure the eventual name Borno grabbed as the ‘home of peace’ which is now uncapitalised – all in small letters.
The people learned and conscientious, make the place most popular for raising the Qur’an against those involved or suspected to be involved, aiding or privy to anyone/anything Boko Haram was common. Infact, it was the process which exonerated many youth from the wrath of the people, the law and the security forces.
Anyone who fails to show-up, stubbornly refused or ran away from the process is considered automatic responsible and their relations are held responsible and sometimes asked to take the Qur’an on their behalf ; account for their crime or they serve the punishment in their place, even if it means killing the person.
What does raising the Quran do to suspects? It is believed that anyone who is responsible by any of the component of the purpose or circumference of the proclamation will be affected in some ways. Depending on the gravity of the crime or its degree of taboo in the society/area, the responsibles or the guilty may die, go mad, blind, get crippled, lose some fortunes or anything.
Sometimes that happens immediately. In some cases it takes time, short or long, depending on the degree of the wrath of Allah invoked on the person. In some cases, the guilty may even escape any penalty. And that is considered by the faithful as even most dangerous. Going free and unperturbed means that their punishment is suspended to judgment Day after they die, and they start serving the penalty right from the first hour in the grave.
Those God does not hold responsible are in the most peak of trouble. They are treated in kindness until the time, the next live many of us proclaim but ignore when hell is final abode to the now ‘favoured’ because they kill and grill. The criminals that serve their punishment here in this life are the lucky. Their punishment is minimised and even erased in some cased by the punishment they serve here on earth, in different degrees, dimensions and effects.
Those who know do know. Many faithful offenders are worried delayed punishment suspended to next life. After taking the oath or after refusing to report themselves in admission and submission but are later well and normal months thereafter, they soak in grids of guilt, get too worried, emaciated. Sometimes, the worries make them sick and shows on their looks and body like affliction of HIV or the thought of having it.
They grow too sick over time. They become social outcasts: isolated, avoided, stigmatised for what is generally linked to the effect of guilt informed by crises of conscience as caused self consciousness of the raising of the Qur’an or their sworn claims by it, and they may eventually die of this captivity of their fear.
It is a form of long process of the consequences of either the successes or failures of self accountability meant to be about, and for, the very, only one person who is, who can, be the very problem of themselves, their people and humanity or the saviour or messiah to themselves, to their people or of humanity itself. It boils down to personal choice of humans. The choices, the decisions , we make matter.
Last two weeks I gaped at the three governors who went with President Buhari to see the new ultramodern Air Force Hospital in Daura. Bello Mutawalle was among. But I was looking at the foolishness of Masari and the other. What would be in their minds as they watched the value of billions of naira can do? What would be the feeling about the ultramodern facilities? How did the Airforce manage to do that?
May be nothing. They may be unperturbed. May be something different. They may even be angry at the Air Forces’ success. But just see. It is not them alone. It is also us. I hear some of us the commoners went out to lashout at the gesture of the Hospital. Same persons always cry of the mentality for medical tourism. It is not the governors that are the matter.
It is us. Me and you who ask them, disturb them and even lash them to make wrong spending of state money so we can have our own. If capital projects must prevail, we are the evil that must give way anyway. The governors fail to deliver partly because we push them too far to pay in selfish personal claims, and the culture of recurrents including seeking assistance for medical tourism for the same person who condemns it to the gallery. God is patient. What is that?
What type of people are some of us? When do we let the governors do the right thing and to deliver? But wait, change your habits, because you are running out fast of those type of mediocre politicians and governors who will give in to your sentiments, bias and lies for selfish services and against public interest.
Such men are replaced, gradually, until we throw all of them at the refuse-dump. Change. Be fast about it. PMB has inspired many and among them governors. Isn’t that great? Where is the arrogant and hateful in poverty and in anticipation of handouts from the corrupt? Are you still waiting?
This is the time. Some of them are at it already full blown, bold and dodgy. Welcome to the stage of democracy where change insists to prevail. It is Zulum and few others. I can see the pillars of change making it hard to instil change by doing different things in different ways. Welcome to the leads in the march to change in the next level.
It has never been like this at the state levels. It is now different. And the renewed culture of change and determination to deliver cuts across the states. It is not party. It is the person. It takes three. It takes three-three from each side. It is some gentle men, good humans. It takes Zulum. It takes Buni and Yahaya. It takes Mutawalle, Fintiri and Kaura.
It takes three. It takes the person, the heart and the mind. It takes the governor, me-you and money. It takes the three of us. But more than all, more than the three of us, it takes God.
Hassan Alhaji Hassan can be contacted on 08032829772/08050551220 (text only with full names and address)a[email protected]
The views expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect WikkiTimes’ editorial stance.
