Abdulmumuni Jibrin: Every renegade has his day

The Kalabaris in the Niger Delta region have a saying which translates as follows “obstinacy can be pleasurable, but it always has a price to be paid”. The underlying message here is that there is a price to be paid both when obstinacy drives an individual to attain extraordinary goals, or take undue and dangerous […]

The Kalabaris in the Niger Delta region have a saying which translates as follows “obstinacy can be pleasurable, but it always has a price to be paid”. The underlying message here is that there is a price to be paid both when obstinacy drives an individual to attain extraordinary goals, or take undue and dangerous risks. When inspired by a rational judgement of an expectation, obstinacy pays off handsomely.  However, when it is inspired by an empty ego trip, which may only be intended to hoodwink for the sole purpose of making a point (shakara)and there is no recovery or fall back room in case of unintended fallouts, its consequences can be very, very disastrous. The issue with indulging in any show of obstinacy therefore borders on whether the price to be paid is affordable and necessary.
It is obvious that this lesson was lost on the parliament bashing member of the House of Representatives Abdulmumuni Jibrin who was suspended from the Green Chamber during the week for acts that bordered on serial insubordination to constituted authority. In his playout of a sordid response to a routine disciplinary action on him by the leadership of House of Representatives, he launched a strange ‘bring down’ campaign against the Speaker Yakubu Dogara, the principal officers of the chamber and indeed the entire National Assembly establishment.
Jibrin who represents Kano – Bebeji/Kiru Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives was the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation which handles the country’s budget matters in the Green Chamber. Following protests by his colleagues in the committee over his disproportionate,surreptitious allocation of N4billion to his Constituency alone, the Speaker promptly removed him as Chairman of the committee. Instead of appreciating his need for self-restitution in the circumstance of such loss of confidence by his colleagues, and acquitting himself as well as striving to earn restoration in the scheme of things, Jibrin elected to resort to Quixotic tendencies whereby he targetted the Speaker and the leadership of the House as his perceived enemies.
In the process, he deliberately launched poisoned salvoes of invectives, with only one intention – bring Dogara down. This agenda was inelegantly betrayed early in his campaign and he said as much repeatedly at every occasion that offered itself to him for the purpose. Needless to rehash the lurid details of his copious unsubstantiated ‘revelations’ which are already blowing in the wind on the social media and otherwise. Infact due to the vigour with which he launched his campaign, Jibrin soon rode high on the crest of a media hoopla and luxuriated in the adulation of an emergency national hero.His grip on the nation’s attention was due to the fact that he successfully induced the credulous elements in the Nigerian public into a spree of mass hysteria and associated mob trial with Dogara and the leadership of the House of Representatives as the unwitting targets. However, like every media spin, whenever the truth comes up, it vitiates the potency of whatever smear has been splashed on the victim.
Meanwhile, whether Jibrin’s flight of fancy has turned to be a ride on the back of a tiger which easily led him to the stomach of the cat as its dinner, is anybody’s guess. For in reality he had his day as a renegade when he was suspended from office for his enterprise as a spoiler, who turned a routine oversight function of his leader the Speaker,into a media smear spin. The suspension was supported overwhelmingly by the majority of the House with possible additional punitive measures to follow, depending on his take on the matter from now on.Clearly his effort at betraying the very institution he is on oath to defend, has generated consequences that may have reverberated beyond his own expectations.
Throughout the period the NASS was on recess Jibrin had a field day saturating as many minds that cared to pay attention to him with his lurid tales of the sins of the leadership of House of Representatives. Egged by the tendentious celebration of the Jibrin persona by sections of the regular media he failed to look for the brake before the crash. Matters however came to a head when with the return to business on their return from the annual vacation, the House referred his case to its Committee on Ethics and he balked at appearing before the committee. In response to his failure to appear before the committee, he was suspended as a member of the Green Chamber and his office sealed up.
Incidentally the situation has been subjected to various interpretations in the public domain with some sections of the redoubtable social media even lionising him in error as a whistle blower. While each observer may be entitled to his or her personal opinion, the fact remains that the ultimate loser is Jibrin himself as he has virtually thrown his hitherto promising political career to the dogs. And why he would do so – just at the prime of his career even; as the Chairman of the prestigious Appropriation Committee is a matter that he will live to regret for a long time; if not for his personal circumstances that are now in reverse gear, for those of his Bebeji/Kiru Federal Constituency, which prides itself with a rich parade of reputable Nigerians for whom his misadventure remains a low spot. By African tradition it can be said that while Jibrin was pointing one finger at the Speaker and other members of the leadership in recrimination, the other three curved fingers were pointing at him while the thumb was pointing at the sky as in supplication, asking providence to witness the double standards of this whistle blower of sorts.
It is instructive that he has announced his intention to visit the courts for redress. This is hoping that his recourse to the courts is not after the fashion of many Nigerian politicians who even when they know they have a bad case still go to court in order to ‘transfer’ the blame to an otherwise innocent trial judge who they will accuse of “failing” them.
 Otherwise the proper way forward for Jibrin is clear – seek fresh accommodation with the establishment – the House of Representatives which he has wronged. Even if he may not be disposed to do so for personal reasons, he is duty bound to do so for the sake of the good people of Bebeji/KiruFederal Constituency of Kano State, whom he represents and who apparently did not vote for him to go to the National Assembly for the present state of affairs. Without being told Jibrin should consider the fuller implications for his constituency of his absence from the chamber for the one year of his suspension.
After all, as they say it “sorry no dey tear shirt”.