Judging Shettima from afar
Although I am a Diaspora citizen, I have followed the trend of events in my native Borno state with keen interest. Very often, I feel embarrassed when Borno is reported in bad light. But my pride as an indigene has never wavered, knowing that, someday, we shall overcome the present challenges. Others, like Kaduna and […]
Although I am a Diaspora citizen, I have followed the trend of events in my native Borno state with keen interest. Very often, I feel embarrassed when Borno is reported in bad light. But my pride as an indigene has never wavered, knowing that, someday, we shall overcome the present challenges. Others, like Kaduna and Plateau, or even states in the Niger Delta have gone through far worst crises than Borno, and have risen from the ashes of their destruction, and are moving on. All that a people deserve is good and purposeful leadership.
The question that comes to mind therefore is whether the present crop of leaders in Borno have acted or seen to have acted as statesmen. I seldom know the Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima until fate shot him into political limelight, first as a commissioner, later as governor and consequently as the Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum. My first personal encounter with him was when he came for the Governors meeting where he was elected as the chair of the forum. He was already in his second term in office then. I beat protocol to shake his hand and pay homage. I seized the opportunity to introduce myself as a citizen of his state who has lived most of my life in Kaduna.
My initial impression of Kashim Shettima was that of a shy political upstart, locked in a war with his political godfather. I never cared to find out what led to the friction between him and his predecessor; rather I believed the story being told then than he dared to challenge the political god. I have since discovered that, beyond that façade is a robust intellectual, a reservoir of conscience; an astute political strategist and a potential national figure.
Like many Nigerians, I have often been thrilled by his presentations, and my personal findings reveal that, Kashim Shettima has endeared himself so much to his colleagues: Governors, the monarchy, the political class, the business community, security agencies, the international community and the media, in the manner he handled issues relating to the management of the Boko Haram crisis, to the effect that he has been adjudged as the hero of the struggle for the promotion of peace and national cohesion. This is the type of evaluation his critics will not want to hear.
But it remains a truism that, he has been part of the solution to the problem, because the Boko Haram crisis is an inherited problem, the genesis of which started long before Shettima. It also remains a fact that the issue has been severely mismanaged by people before him. This explains why Nigerians have tended to display solidarity with him at every turn of event, given that, he has been found to be above board in managing the crisis since he took over.
Kashim Shettima is being confronted by other challenges. In the face of his overwhelming praises, so many people tend to make telling lies about him a pastime. Others make false accusations against him, even when there seems to be nothing to lie about or even accuse him of, a vocation. At the time he is striving to do his best for turnaround of the fortunes of a citizenry traumatized by years of terror from Boko Haram, very few people seem to appreciate his efforts for sheer political and selfish reasons.
One of the governor’s critics once told me in Kaduna that, he will always attribute every negative development in Borno State to the governor for daring to demystify their political demigod. To him, if he fails to perform in bed with his wife, he will blame it on Kashim Shettima, for subjecting him to political dilemma. Since then, every time I hear negative reports about Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima, I take my time to go beyond what I hear, so as to save myself from joining the fray of fault finders, who attribute everything bad to him, for certain primordial reasons.
When recently I received a post via the social media to the effect that the residence of Governor Kashim Shettima was raided and huge sums of money in various currencies were discovered by the EFCC, my initial instinctive urge was to also share, but on a second thought and in response to my earlier misgivings, I decided to probe. I raised the following posers, all of which gave me negative likelihood of the authenticity of the post: My first poser was why did the post not originate from the EFCC, which made the alleged find? My second poser was what the address of the said house is and whether Kashim Shettima owns the house or any property in that vicinity for that matter?
I further asked whether the EFCC has been involved in any investigation on the governor and who may have petitioned the EFCC, since it does not operate on hearsay? Most fundamentally, if the governor has so much money stashed away in one location, how much would have been left in the Borno State Government coffers for him to have executed the projects I know he executed and the sundry expenditure on security and rehabilitation work? Is the state so rich as to afford not being shaken for the governor alone to have taken so much? Under what guise was the money moved and under whose care in the said house it was discovered?
The more questions I asked, the further I was made to discover that, the post had much to do with the recent vocation by Shettima’s critics to the effect that, some forces have been pushing for his distraction and possible destruction. My curiosity pushed me into making official enquiries from the EFCC, which gave me the damning NO such raid or discovery has been made and Governor Shettima has not been under any searchlight. Further probes of Borno State Government accounts returned yet a negative response that no government funds have been missing. Findings at the Ministry of Lands in Lagos where there find was alleged to hve been found also reveals that Kashim Shettima does not own any such property as displayed in the photograph.
Even when the EFCC had come out to officially disown the post and clarify issues, I still found it imperative to further satisfy my curiosity and add up to my file on mischievous plots against Governor Kashim Shettima. And so, in the last few weeks since that post was made, I took personal troubles to investigate the matter, and my conclusion is that the pictures were taken at different locations, while the cash on display were from the vaults of a bank. The backgrounds to the different shots may have given way the tricks.
To my mind, Governor Kashim Shettima may be up against a growing conspiracy, by fifth columnists and people who have been made uncomfortable by his rising political profile. Only God and his good works which are there for all to see will save him. A peep into recent events around the polity may give insights.
Galadima wrote this piece from Kaduna.