Emir of Tafki guaeantees the deal

People who were with him that day said the Governor-elect snatched a bowl of kunun zaki and smashed it on the centre table. He said I had betrayed him; that after he personally went to my house and offered to make me the SSG I not only refused to make a phone call and concede […]

People who were with him that day said the Governor-elect snatched a bowl of kunun zaki and smashed it on the centre table. He said I had betrayed him; that after he personally went to my house and offered to make me the SSG I not only refused to make a phone call and concede to him but I also went ahead and filed a case at the tribunal.
What angered him even more were the details of my petition. I pleaded that he did not win a majority of lawful votes cast in the election because materials arrived late, some card readers failed to work, there were no result sheets, that the polling officers illegally resorted to manual accreditation of voters and they inflated votes in his favour. I also pleaded that he was not qualified to contest the election because he submitted a fake diploma certificate, was owing money to many banks and that he nominated as his running mate a man who was dismissed from Local Government service for receiving payment twice with the same receipt.
Barmu sat down in his house and cursed me at the top of his voice. The people around him kept encouraging him, saying I am a hypocrite who was envious of my friend’s good fortune. Just when the people around thought Barmu was at the height of anger, they suddenly saw him reach for the phone and place a call. They were shocked to hear him talking to me. Barmu switched from anger to laughter and said, “Alhaji, it seems you have still not outgrown that stubbornness that you were known for when we were kids. How can you go to the election tribunal when we are still negotiating? This is not fair at all. Let us hold another meeting tonight. We should conclude everything before this tribunal begins sitting and we start to wash our dirty linen in public.”
The meeting took place that evening at Grand Tafki Hotel. Barmu arrived with the GSL state chairman and with his close friend Ali Karatsaye. Alhaji Gohe and Maikahon Karo accompanied me to the meeting. The meeting started on a sour note with Karatsaye saying that we exhibited bad faith by going to the tribunal and that our lawyers concocted lies against the Governor-elect. Maikaho responded by saying we had to go to the tribunal before its deadline because Barmu is known for double crossing people and that he offered me the post of SSG just to deceive me. That his plan was to withdraw the offer as soon the deadline for submission of election petitions ends.
Barmu however intervened to calm down our belligerent aides. He said, “Listen, listen. Karatsaye, you are wrong. Alhaji is not a betrayer. He is a man who keeps his promises. I am sure it was his lawyers who went and filed that court case without informing him, otherwise he will never allow them to say those things about me. Never! As for you Maikahon Karo, hear what you said about me. I even decided to appoint you as my Special Adviser on Interparty Affairs but hear what you said, that I double cross people. When I send you as my Special Adviser to go and represent me at a meeting in Abuja is that what you are going to say, that your governor double crosses people?” Surprisingly Maikaho was mellowed by what Barmu said and he said, “No sir, I will not say that!”
GSL’s state chairman then took over. He said, “Things will never spoil where there are elders! All of us here are elders now, with children and grandchildren. How can we sit here calling one another names as if we are not old friends that grew up together? Nobody can come in-between His Excellency the Governor-elect and his very close friend Alhaji. We heard what Anbuga Anbarka said, that Alhaji should be given a ministerial post instead of SSG or the senator-elect should become the minister and Alhaji should then contest for senator. Both options are not there. Our President-elect has said he will not accept ministerial nominees from governors, so you see why both options are closed for now. Alhaji, please accept to be the SSG and work very closely with you friend. It is the best thing for our state. We all know His Excellency never did any government work so he needs your help as SSG since you know civil service very well.”
Alhaji Gohe spoke briefly and accepted the offer. The GSL chairman however said, “In that case, there are three things that we must do. First of all, Alhaji should place that phone call to the Governor-elect and concede. Secondly, you should tell your lawyers to withdraw that court case immediately. Thirdly, Alhaji and all his friends should decamp from SIP and declare for GSL, otherwise our party members will say we gave top jobs to non-party members.” We agreed that the three conditions are necessary but Alhaji Gohe said, “We also have one condition. This our deal needs a guarantor.” Barmu stood up and led the six of us to the Emir of Tafki’s palace. It was nearly midnight and the emir had retired for the night but Alhaji Ali Toron Giwa III came out when he heard that the Governor-elect was around. We briefed him about the deal we reached. The emir was very happy. He prayed for us, then he sent for the Shamaki and Sarkin Fada and in front of them he announced that he is the guarantor of the deal.
After that things moved quickly. I picked my phone to call Barmu but the clever brat said I should leave it until 10am the following morning. By then he had more than 50 people in his living room. When he saw my incoming call he put his phone on speaker and said, “Ah, Alhaji! You are phoning me to concede! Thank you very much for congratulating me! Thank you!” The following day I went with 50 of my top aides to the GSL state secretariat and formally declared for the party. We were welcomed by the state exco and immediately given our membership cards. My own is AA-002. The same day our lawyers went to the court and withdraw the election petition, even though that SAN that Maikaho brought demanded for full payment before he withdrew the case.
I went to see the Governor-elect that evening to say we had fulfilled our side of the bargain. When Barmu came out, a man was following him with a stack of files, more than 50 of them. Grinning broadly he said, “SSG, go and read these files. They are the handing over notes that Government House sent to me. Read all of them and tell me what is inside.”