by Bala Ibrahim
In continuation of the perceived political row between the Governor of Kano state, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and some aggrieved members of his party, the APC, which resulted in a court judgement against the Governor, the Government of the state seems adamant, by engaging in scapegoatism, as the buck is passed on to the chambers of the lawyer that fought for the side that battered the Governor.
On Wednesday, a day after Governor Ganduje’s faction was defeated in court, over the authenticity of the party congresses in the state, and by extension, which faction is in legitimate control of the party structures in the state, the Kano State Government rushed to seal off the building accommodating the chambers of Nureini Jimoh, SAN, the lawyer who stood and won the case for the Shekarau faction.
After a huge hue and cry by the public, condemning the callous and condescending attitude of the Government, the building was unsealed at night on that same day, while the lawyer, Nureini Jimoh, SAN, relocated somewhere safer and saner, as he continued to pray passionately, for Allah to allow our leaders understand the meaning of the law, and have the courage and conviction of respecting it.
But in yet another twist early this Friday morning, the same Kano State Government renewed its onslaught on the lawyer, as the officials went back to lock & seal the office once more.
Observers said it is curiously interesting to note that the premises is the only one in Kano State that is affected by the Government’s policy, even though the Government is saying something else, by mixing the meaning of cruelty with coincidence.
According to a statement by the state Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, “Contrary to the media report, particularly online platforms, there was no any link whatsoever between the sealing of the office and outcome of the court ruling”. Garba said, “Officials of the Task Force Committee on Land Use Charges of the state Bureau for Land Management working in conjunction with the state Internal Revenue Service (KIRS) were on their routine assignment of enforcing payment of land use charges as part of effort to enhance the state revenue generation drive”.
The Commissioner said, “according to available record at the bureau, the property at C14/C16 Murtala Muhammad Way belongs to Isyaka Rabi’u & Sons not the said lawyer, Barr. Nureini Jimoh and it was sealed by the committee after it issued a demand notice to the owner on September 14, 2021 and later a warning notice after failing to respond to the demand for the payment of outstanding ground rent for a period of five years (2016-2021).”
Much as the public may want to believe the Honorable Commissioner, who commands a lot of respect from colleagues, the convergence of coincidence, coupled with the desperate desire of the Government to enforce this particular order at this particular time, give room to serious suspicion.
Already, in support of their member, Nureini Jimoh, SAN, a highly respected member of the Bar, the Nigerian Bar Association, Kano State branch, is insisting that Governor Ganduje and the Government of Kano must do everything to come clean on this.
The Secretary of the branch, Haruna Zakariyya, in an interim report on Wednesday stated, “Our preliminary investigation reveals that the said building was sealed by officials of the Kano State Government, and we are in touch with the office of the state Attorney General to ascertain the actual position of things”.
When political atmosphere begins to move to a state of helplessness, as is being witnessed now in Kano, with the Governor virtually going to war with every sector of society, desperation could come in. And because the situation is so bad and becoming impossible to deal with, the devil’s advice cannot be ruled out.
Governor Ganduje had gone to war with the traditional institution in Kano. He deposed Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Emir of the old Kano Emirate, and accused him of insubordination.
He had gone to war with the media, the fourth realm of the estate, by accusing Jaafar Jaafar of false publication, after the publisher of the Daily Nigerian, an online publication company, had published the controversial video clips showing Governor Ganduje receiving, and inserting $5 million bribe into his pockets, in October 2018.
He had gone to war with some men of God, pursuant to his penchant for making curve out, from every available space in the city, including mosques, which are sacred places.
He had gone to war with politicians, including his benefactor and the person he succeeded, Engineer Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
And he is now clearing the coast for a war with the law.
I don’t know the type of advisers Governor Ganduje has, but I can assure him that there are certain wars that are never fought to victory, two of which are the war with the media and the war with the law.
To win against the law, you must invite anarchy, and set out to be an anarchist, by making ripe a state of disorder, due to the absence or non-recognition of authority or other controlling systems, including the courts.
Already, certain video clips are circulating in the social media, showing one of his political backers calling a court with the language of contempt.
To win against the media, you must have the power to suffocate the spread of information. This is impossible with journalists, who are trained to educate the public about events and issues, and how they affect their lives. They spend much of their time interviewing sources, searching public records and other sources for information, and sometimes visiting the scene where crimes or other newsworthy occurrence took place, including those committed in the other room.
In the discharge of such duties, professional solidarity comes in and make the chances of success for the oppressor very remote, or even heighten the tension for him.
Late Dr. Bala Mohammed, a former political adviser to former Governor of the old Kano State, late Abubakar Rimi, and one of the loudest voices that rose against oppression and injustice in Nigeria, once said, “The Nigerian bourgeoisie would go to the extent of physically eliminating any individual who confronts or challenges the system”.
Lo and behold, as God would have it, Dr. Bala was cruelly and gruesomely roasted in his house, during the infamous July 10th, 1981 Kano rampage, in a manner reminiscent to what is beginning to manifest in Kano, where yesterday, one of the party offices of one of the victors against Ganduje was torched in broad daylight, and with arrogant display of brigandage.
What happened to late Dr. Bala Mohammed in 1981 and what happened in Kano yesterday, must be seen by the authorities, particularly the security agencies, as a curtain-raiser to something deadly likely coming.
It could come in the name of non-payment of tenement rate, non-display of vehicle papers, expired marriage certificate, or even failure to smile and wave at the Governor, as he passes in cavalcade.
Bala Ibrahim writes from Kano
