Muhammed Goni (1942-2020)
Former Governor of Borno State, Muhammed Goni, died last Wednesday at 78 years at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri. Goni, born in Kareto Mobbar LGA of Borno State, attended Maiduguri Middle School from 1953–55 and Borno Provincial Secondary School (1956–61), Provincial Secondary School, Kano from 1962–63. He was at the Institute of Administration, […]
Former Governor of Borno State, Muhammed Goni, died last Wednesday at 78 years at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri.
Goni, born in Kareto Mobbar LGA of Borno State, attended Maiduguri Middle School from 1953–55 and Borno Provincial Secondary School (1956–61), Provincial Secondary School, Kano from 1962–63. He was at the Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1964–67), where he graduated with an B.A. (Administration), specialising in international affairs.
When politics beckoned, Goni resigned from his work at the Nigerian National Supply Company and got elected as the first civilian governor of the former Borno State, on the platform of the Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP), one of the five parties registered to contest the 1979 general elections. He served from October 1979 to September 1983.Goni’s political career was intertwined with the turbulent politics of the ill-fated Second Republic.
The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) won the general elections and majority of the states and it went into an alliance with NPP to form a national unity government.
In Borno, Goni was having an endless battle of wits with the NPN. On at least four occasions, their actions brought Borno on edge.
From the outset, Goni stirred controversy when his first major appointments went to non-indigenes. He appointed Mr. Michael Oluwalaimo from Kabba, Kwara State as the Secretary to the State Government and Ladipo Olakunle Sanyaolu from Ogun State as the Attorney General. This unsettled not quite a few in the state’s public service and incensed the opposition. The NPN mounted a strident campaign against this but the appointment stood.
Goni began to demand absolute loyalty from the state civil servants across board and there was price to pay for disobedience. When he suspected that the Emir of Bade, Alhaji Mai Umar Suleiman, was hobnobbing with the opposition NPN, he split the emirate into two to settle score. He appointed Alhaji Yerima Saleh as the new emir with headquarters in Jakusko. The court voided the appointment.
Goni tried unsuccessfully to remove the Chief Judge, Justice Kalu Anya. One morning, the governor left the Government House with a large entourage and headed for the High Court. It was alleged that he intended to forcefully stop the Chief Judge from sitting. The police barricaded his way. Goni disembarked and began to walk to the Court on foot.
The Police Commissioner, Tahiru Jidda, had placed himself at the gate of the court complex with his pistol strapped to his belt. The governor marched on; the police commissioner met him halfway. They came face to face. The governor refused all pleas and continued to push forward.
Suddenly, the police commissioner whipped out his pistol and threatened to shoot should anyone take one more step. Alarmed senior officials present begged and pleaded with the governor to return to the Government House. Finally, he backed down but not before hurling out harsh words and a promise to return.
As the 1983 general elections drew near, Goni, Barde and Rimi had fallen out with their benefactors. As a result, they lost their parties platforms on which to re-contest. The Federal Electoral Commission had ruled that any governor who wanted to re-contest on a different party must first resign. Goni and Barde resigned their governorship position and joined the UPN, Rimi too resigned in May but went to the NPP. The Supreme Court would rule months later that the electoral body’s position was unconstitutional. But all of them lost their re-election bids.
The crisis that followed the general elections caused the Second Republic to crush on all of them. Within a few days of his coming to power, General Buhari threw all of them into detention. Many were jailed for long prison sentences.
To his credit, Goni was able to prove his innocence before the investigation panel and he was released.
Goni continued to play active role in politics, becoming a kingmaker at one point. He was on the 1995 constitution drafting committee. In the April 2003 general elections, he ran as Vice President with Jim Nwobodo on the platform of the United Nigeria Peoples Party.
Because of his popularity, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) nominated him to run for the governor in 2011 but he lost to Kashim Shettima.
May his gentle soul rest in peace.