On clerics’ visit to Yar’adua and the unsung cabal

It is obvious from the explanation offered by the Imam, that Yar’adua, in his present state of health, cannot communicate verbally. This is not Yar’adua that we left in the custody of Turai Yar’adua and the so called Katsina mafia. There is need for all Nigerians who love Yar’adua to demand what transpired which led […]

It is obvious from the explanation offered by the Imam, that Yar’adua, in his present state of health, cannot communicate verbally. This is not Yar’adua that we left in the custody of Turai Yar’adua and the so called Katsina mafia. There is need for all Nigerians who love Yar’adua to demand what transpired which led to Yar’adua’s present state of health.

This clique has demonstrated unquenchable appetite for money and power. There is no doubt about the fact that they have exercised a sizeable control over the affairs of the country from the inception of the Yar’adua administration. The urge to continue to manipulate Yar’adua in running the affairs of Nigeria for their own selfish interest might have pushed them to compound Yar’adua’s health problems.

Is it not curious that Yar’adua’s personal physician has refused to utter any statement? The way and manner Yar’adua’s health issue was managed by his close associates raised the issue of foul play. Why is it that the mind boggling allegation of corrupt practices are being recorded in various ministries and parastatals headed by President Yar’adua associates. Most especially these cases of corruption were alleged to have been recorded between November, 2009 and February 2010.

Enough is enough. Let President Yar’adua’s so called political associates stop shedding crocodile tears. They owe Nigerians a lot of explanation on what happened to the President in their custody. The game is up. The issue to continue link Yar’adua’s health to the position of the Presidency is no longer tenable. For more than three months they have held the President hostage. Nowhere in world history was the health issue of leaders so mismanaged like that of President Yar’adua, all in the quest to amass wealth and power by aclique. The media needs to rise to the defence of the nation in beaming a searchlight into the activities of Yar’adua’s men. There is need for the federal government, through the security agencies, to launch full investigations into what transpired as far as Yar’adua’s health is concerned. The so called Katsina mafia have questions to answer from security agencies. The sources of their assets and wealth need to be investigated.

From the way and manner the Muslim clerics visit to Yar’adua was arranged by the cabal, the plan did not include Christian clerics initially. Their plan was to whip religious sentiment, create a situation of confusion and utilize the opportunity to divert people’s attention from the allegations of abuse of public trust levied against them. It is painful that the so called cabal did all they did to serve their personal interests, not even that of Yar’adua their political leader.

Already there is widespread allegations of non-disbursement of the N200 billion agricultural guarantee credit scheme approved last year by the federal government. It is being alleged that the money was deposited in the banks with interest accrued to the tune of N32 billion which could not be accounted for. It is a good development that the House of Representative Committee on Agriculture is investigating the alleged mismanagement of public resources under the leadership of former Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Abba Ruma. The chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Hon. Gbenga Makanjuola, recently disclosed that none of the research institutes in Nigeria has benefited from the N6 billion research fund approved by the federal government.

Nigerians should stop talking in parables. The so called cabal are not ghosts. They are well known to us. The time has come to ask them critical questions. They have exploited Yar’adua’s illness, Nigeria’s ethnic and religious composition for their self-centredness. We need to know from Turai Yar’adua, Abba Ruma, Tanimu Yakubu, Shehu Inuwa Imam, Dahiru Mangal and the rest of them, what happened to Yar’adua in their custody. There is need to investigate all of them individually, their antecedents and also their sources of wealth.

For instance, Shehu Inuwa was the chairman of the Katsina State Universal Primary Education Board between 1999 and 2007. His tenure was characterized by crisis. It is on record that since Inuwa left the position of Chairman of SUBEB, there has been harmonious relationship between the government and teachers’ in the state.

Similarly, Dahiru Mangal is a well known as a businessman. The questions on the lips of many Nigerians are, what are the nature of his businesses, and what are the source of his ‘sudden’ wealth? There is need for the federal government to beam a searchlight on the trading activities along Katsina – Magama/Jibia border of Nigeria/Niger Republic.

Unknown to President Yar’adua himself, his associates have been using his name to enrich themselves. Yar’adua that we know, is an apostle of transparency and accountability. He did not only preach it, but he ensured that he practised the doctrine. But it is amazing that his trusted aides and associates betrayed him. It is a known fact that some of them were financially down when Yar’adua brought them closer, but within a twinkle of an eye, they are now billionaires, even richer than Yar’adua, their boss.

There is need for the Code of Conduct Bureau in partnership with the Economic and Financial Crime Commission to investigate the assets declaration of some of these aides of the president.

Aliyu wrote this piece from Kaduna