Governor Suntai and thugs at Jukun cultural fiesta in Sondi
An ultra- cultural event, Ukenho was the perfect setting for Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, who was in attendance, to continue his homily on the need for peaceful co-existence and harmony amongst the groups in the state. Besides, as the event was literally hijacked by politicians from the southern zone with their fearsome supporters, Suntai seized […]
An ultra- cultural event, Ukenho was the perfect setting for Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, who was in attendance, to continue his homily on the need for peaceful co-existence and harmony amongst the groups in the state. Besides, as the event was literally hijacked by politicians from the southern zone with their fearsome supporters, Suntai seized the opportunity to once again, set the tone for the 2011 elections in the state. Suntai’s recipe for peaceful polls has not changed since he began his preachments on the need for non-violent polls come next year.
He has been consistent and he has only one message: no thugs would be allowed to turn the whole electioneering exercise into a war game. One clear thing at the venue of Ukenho this year was the presence of thugs- the very menace that Suntai has tried to eliminate completely from the state. That many of them could besiege a cultural event got Suntai red in the face. He just can’t stand thugs and their trade. So when the governor finally got the chance to speak at the event, he pointed a warning finger into the crowd and sent a spine chilling warning to thugs.
He told them to go into hiding for their good, insisting that they have no place in the state anymore.
Suntai’s opposition to thuggery and violence dated back to his early days in office. The first thing he did when he came into office was to flush out all “thugs” from government house. Government House? Yes. The regime before Suntai’s had legitimised the existence of thugs even in the corridors of power. Like the case in some Niger Delta states, the previous regime had used those thugs to prosecute the battle of re-election.
Jalingo, back then, was a dangerous town for opponents of the government. Many opposition politicians sneak into town for their work, in dread of the gun wielding thugs. So strong was the repression that everyone was terrified. Residents don’t sleep at nights. Dead bodies are found in the mornings and ritualists had a field day. The thugs themselves became the lord of the city, going about freely and molesting everyone.
Of course, they had to be tolerated by the government they had helped put in place. Accordingly, the thugs took over the government house and would normally walk into offices to rudely demand money or some other kind of patronage.
They became a serious embarrassment to some civil servants and serious minded state officials. The thugs were usually uncouth, brash youths whose only claim to fame is their ability to instil terror. Often consisting of muscular youths, deadly and fierce, they are the Northern version of militants. Their support for any politician is based basically on the latter’s ability to pick their bills. These include, but not limited to free women, beer, weed, arms, and other luxuries. While the ancient regime lasted, they were the tin gods who terrorised residents of Jalingo to no ends.
Suntai dealt them a fatal blow. First, he outlawed the whole thuggery business. He ordered the arrest and immediate prosecution of any thug seen in the government house. Then he extended the campaign beyond the government house by ensuring that security became a byword in the state. Gradually, peace seeped into the city. Jalingo that used to be the Mexico City (in terms of violence) of Nigeria started experiencing quieter neighbourhoods. The thugs went under and crime rate seriously dropped. Suddenly, it appeared the thugs have disappeared forever.
But they seem to be coming back. Suntai raised that concern at various meetings with politicians and stakeholders. He also raised the worry when he welcomed the new Commissioner of Police to the state recently. He told the new police chief in the state that he is bothered about the fact that people want to use primordial sentiments like religion and ethnic groups to take the state back into the Hobbesian past.
At Sondi, Suntai, during his address, told the crowd that cultural events should remain basically what they are: cultural events devoid of politics. He said that he was really peeved by the actions of some politicians who try to “smuggle politics into the church and mosque or to this type of cultural event.”
He said, “religion is to make us better people and make oiur minds better. As politicians, we are not good people. We do all sort of things in the name of power. But religion is there to put us back in line. Religion is to make us better people. But when the same religious leaders become politicians, this is sad. It means we have nowhere to run to again as politicians to get our soul cleansed.”
On cultural events he said, “I came here to enjoy a day of cultural festivities. The last thing I wanted to see was my poster or that of any other person. No. Such displays are not in consonance with our culture. What is more, we have cultural events like this without bringing politics into it. This is my belief.”
Suntai was reacting to a drama that took place at the venue of the event. Earlier that day, supporters of all the aspirants had festooned the whole area with the posters of their principals. The road stretching from Wukari to Sondi was taken over by the huge bill boards and posters of vote- seeking politicians. Clearly, the atmosphere was charged. In attendance were the opposition leaders like former Governor Jolly Nyame, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship aspirant, Sen. Joel Ikenya, Danladi Baido, Ahmed Yusuf and others. At a point, a ragged youth pushed past the security with a drum covered with Suntai’s posters.
He took it to the middle of the dancing square. Then, from nowhere, supporters of Ikenya showed up screaming and demanding that they wanted the picture of their principal equally in the same place. Unknown to them, Suntai had already silently ordered an aide to remove any poster of his from the square, admonishing that the event was not a rally. But before one could say “2011”, an Ikenya activist broke past the police, went for the drum and began to stomp and spat on the posters of Suntai. I was sitting behind the governor and watched his reaction: it was that of a stoic. He just looked on as the security struggled hard to move the Ikenya fan out of the field. According to some observers, in the past, the youth who tore the governor’s poster would have been “dead meat”.
But it was Suntai’s comment on the whole drama that is significant. On the podium where he made his brief remarks, he said, “I watched what happened here today and I’m sad. Let me say this for the records again. The youth who brought my poster into the middle of this ground, and the one who came to forcefully remove it are wrong.”
Hopefully the next Ukenho would be a real cultural event devoid of politics.
Bello is the senior special assistant, media and publicity to Gov. Suntai