Re: Does democracy exist in Katsina State?
The writer warned the Katsina state commissioner of Police, ‘’not to be used for anything other than those things that promote justice, equity and fair play, even if he is forcefully involving himself in the politics of Katsina State. He has been ordering the arrest of people for simply being in possession of posters and […]
The writer warned the Katsina state commissioner of Police, ‘’not to be used for anything other than those things that promote justice, equity and fair play, even if he is forcefully involving himself in the politics of Katsina State. He has been ordering the arrest of people for simply being in possession of posters and raising innocent billboards. This is not the job of the police and he should please restrict himself to his constitutional duty of maintaining law and order, not aiding its abuse.’’
This allegation is surprising. Probably, Tata and his political supporters are not aware that embarking on political campaign without the go-ahead by INEC, through its timetable and guideline, contravenes the country’s electoral law. To embark on a political campaign when there is no election in Katsina State, is, therefore not lawful.
It would be recalled that in the Daily Trust edition of Friday, January 6, 2012, the same Umar Abdullahi Tata, in an interview, disclosed the role he played with millions of naira during the 2011 general elections. He lamented that in spite of the huge expenditure, he did not receive any assistance from anybody. In the said publication, Tsauri said, “the Jonathan/Sambo campaign committee in my local government was only given N 2.5 million to mobilize to vote for the President. I don’t know how you could win election in Katsina State where Buhari was standing against Jonathan with that amount of money. I am telling you, I spent over N80 million on that day in my local government. Nobody gave me any penny and people were saying that Jonathan had given me money’’.
Also, in the interview, Tata added that in spite of what he did for Jonathan/Sambo, there were petitions against him which targeted his job as a civil servant in the Ministry of Defence. He said ‘that petition… copied to my Minister, I work in the Ministry of Defence. They copied him with the hope that he will sack me. It was sent to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation with the hope that he will sack me or sanction me. The reason for this is that, they think I am getting money from where I am working, but my Minister knows that I am an ordinary Assistant Director. I don’t have power to approve one naira’’.
How could a civil servant a Level 14 officer boast of spending N80 million on a single day? Now, we are being told that he is spending several millions of naira on ‘humanitarian’ activities in Katsina State. It is a known fact that presently in Katsina state, the electoral body has not issued any guideline for any election because there is none in view. So on what grounds is Tsauri embarking on political campaign with posters and billboards across the 34 local government in the state as he claimed?
The Katsina State police command should not allow itself to be intimidated by media propaganda in the state. This group of people also should know that the campaign of calumny embarked upon to cover their atrocities cannot stand the test of time. The members of the public should also be wary of individuals with questionable character in associating with them because sooner than later the arms of the law will catch up with them. The law enforcement agents should also ensure that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is respected by all without exception, failure to do so will serve as impetus for breakdown of law and order in the country, the consequence of which is already evident in Nigeria.
Also, the only way the federal government and its anti-corruption agencies can regain public confidence in their fight against corruption is to ensure that questionable sources of wealth are investigated. Anything short of this will only further confirm the opinion that the much touted federal government war against corruption is more or less a window dressing.
Salisu Mohammed wrote from Kofar Kaura Layout, Katsina