JamzNG Latest News, Gist, Entertainment in Nigeria
The ‘attacktics’ of Nigerian President Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s attack dogs appear to have failed them over a serious allegation against their master that has been trending in the media and chat groups for about two weeks. There have been no newspaper articles or social media posts refuting the allegation, and no choreographed radio and television appearances refuting the claim. There have been no threats against those who ‘slander’ Tinubu or midnight visits by clueless secret police or bungling regular police. The outspoken defenders of the Throne-sitter in the Villa have proven unable to lift a finger about what should be treated as slander and a calculated attempt to foment rebellion aimed at regime change.
More disturbing are the likes of Bayo Onanuga, a presidential adviser who was involved in ethnic profiling designed to incite genocide against the Igbo; Daniel Bwala, a so-called lawyer but who has carved a niche for himself as a political worker without an ounce of shame and self-respect; and Reno Omokri, an unstable and unmotivated speaker who wanders and isolates himself. Omokri believes in nothing but political prostitution. He has no religion. He has no faith despite his pretensions on social media. These three have one thing in common – they salivate, and then quickly swallow their own vomit.
For the record, Onanuga once headed a news magazine that declared his current employer a dubious person and unfit for any position of trust. Bwala, on his part, was the one who during last year’s election campaign made a statement that went viral when he said that people disassociate themselves from their brains as soon as they join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) political party. He just (re)joined the same APC about two weeks ago. The situation is worse because he had completely lost his brains before he returned to the APC. Omokri’s transgressions were so numerous that his attempts to delete some of his previous posts and positions on issues on social media proved impossible. One post that will haunt him for the rest of his life was when he said that the then presidential candidate, Tinubu, was a drug lord and a convict. He said that if he (Tinubu) felt sufficiently offended and aggrieved by what he (Omokri) said, he should sue him. Omokri also said he would never have imagined a world where he would call Tinubu president. The same people now call Tinubu a president who can do no wrong, and the best thing that has happened to Nigeria since the merger.
I almost got sidetracked. I would have written earlier that none of these characters who have openly shown that they are challenged in terms of principle and integrity have done what they have done since serious and damaging allegations were leveled against their master, Tinubu. Their default mode is to drag Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections every time an arrow is fired at Tinubu. Not this time for them. To do so would open a can of worms. They know that Obi’s supporters who are mostly young Nigerians will take no prisoners. In the local parlance, Obi’s tech-savvy and sharp supporters will ‘drag them and squeeze their necks’ relentlessly. What happened? Towards the end of July, Nigerians of all stripes were besieged and forced into a series of relays to the inner sanctum of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa(in) in Abuja. The regime was in panic mode. Some Nigerians had already designated August 1 as a 10-day protest which they hashtagged #Endbadgovernanceinnigeria. But instead of addressing the concerns of the youth, the regime adopted the playbook of previous military regimes. They chose to transport religious, traditional, cultural and some political elites to Abuja to be used as surrogates to appease the youth. The pattern of bribing certain figures to appease the people failed under the military. And how the current rulers felt it would work this time is beyond imagination. Of course, it failed. It failed. It is pathetic.
But there was a silver lining in the unsavory act. One of the clerics who attended one of the meetings at the Abuja gathering later made a ‘revelation’ about the revelations about last year’s controversial and hotly contested presidential election. Let’s say what the cleric shared was more of a horse’s mouth confession than an exposé of bad and despicable conduct. Most Nigerians know, while others suspect, that the Presidency was traded like a commodity during the last election cycle. No institution of state (armed forces, police, Independent National Electoral Commission, Directorate of State Services, fellow contestants, voters, etc.), no relevant individual and no process was spared from the brazen sale and auction. Few spoke in condemnation of the charade that was the election. Many spoke in hushed tones. The same attitude was expressed by the last August (sorry July) visitors to the Villa. Many left the gathering spouting nonsense except one.
Sheikh Muhammad Bello Aliyu Yabo is an Islamic cleric in Sokoto. He was among the tourists who visited the Villa in July. Upon returning to his base, he reportedly told his congregation in a sermon that he was captivated by Tinubu and his (Tinubu’s) honesty about how he became Nigeria’s president. Sheikh Yabo said Tinubu was not shy when he told them that he used his money to seize the presidency. Yabo’s ‘revelation’ of Tinubu’s admission that he bought the presidency with his own money, if spent, could be interpreted as meaning that he owes no loyalty or obligation to anyone, including Nigerians.
Online entries give Sheikh Yabo’s birth date as January 1, 1962, so he cannot be accused of being overly enthusiastic when he reported Tinubu telling them he bought his way into the presidency as published in the July 29 edition of the Peoples Gazette. He said: “Tinubu really impressed me; he invited all the traditional leaders from the North, West and East and told them frankly that: ‘I bought this seat with money’.
He then added that “Tinubu has never impressed me as much as he has now for daring to speak the truth. Whoever pays the flute player dictates the tune; isn’t Tinubu speaking the truth?” The Sheikh whose reputation precedes him also had a message for Nigerian voters. “You have eaten the spaghetti and macaroni that was given to you to vote for, and now it is over, it is all over, so what next? Tinubu said he spent a lot of money from the primaries to the actual presidential election. “It is all over now; let us pray and wait for the next election in 2027. If you like, collect the money again and vote for him, and I assure you, you will still suffer, that is all”.
READ ALSO:OPINION: The Importance of Creating an Anioma State
It is now two weeks and counting since the private confessions of Nigeria’s ruler and owner were made public, and there has been no ‘pim’ (angry reaction or denial) from the president’s usually loquacious and often misguided aides. No invective against Sheikh Yabo. No derogatory comments about how ‘backward’ the north is. No attacks on the sheikh for using the pulpit to incite Nigerians. No warnings from the president about the dangers of the losers of last year’s presidential election using Sheikh Yabo to orchestrate or foment regime change. No branding of the sermon as an insurrection. The secret police have not moved to arrest and interrogate the brazen sheikh.
Well, let’s just say the regime has been busy with the violent suppression of protesters calling for an end to bad governance and arrests over the rising cost of living crisis. Now that the regime has stirred up the protests in secret, the hope is that it will focus its attention on the recalcitrant sheikh. Yabo must not be allowed to get away with his accusation that the president said he bought the Nigerian presidency like a commodity at the Jankara market in Lagos. The presidency knows that Sheikh Yabo need not break the law to be arrested, and at the very least humiliated and tried in the media. That alone will send a strong message to anyone who might want to play tricks on our dear leader. Leave it to Bayo, Bwala and Reno. Nigerians are waiting.
But while we await the wrath of the president’s attack dogs, it is important to note that Yabo does not tolerate fools. His reputation as a fiery cleric is long-standing. And no one among the ‘agbadorians’ (Tinubu’s unthinking supporters) should think (in a mocking way) that Sheikh Yabo spoke this way because Tinubu is a Yoruba. Far from it. Yabo had something worse and perhaps more damning to say about Buhari and some other northerners.
In 2022, during the kidnapping of passengers on a train traveling from Abuja to Kaduna, Sheikh Yabo openly called on terrorists to kidnap the then president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, who was the most suffering man in Nigeria; the governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai; and the presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu. The kidnappers had released a video showing them physically punishing their victims and threatening to kidnap Buhari, el-Rufai, and Garba.
Yabo’s anger stemmed from the regime’s response to the kidnappers’ video, in which Shehu said in a reply video that “terrorist activities using propaganda and the use of violence to force governments to accept or submit to political demands are not new in the world”. The sheikh was upset with the government for describing the terrorist video as propaganda. He said Shehu was insensitive to the plight of the captives and prayed for Garba’s kidnappers. “We pray for you kidnappers. May God grant you success in carrying out your threats to kidnap people.
“If they are the ones you have been kidnapping, we will not bother. We will pray and bless you because they have been a disaster (for us). They are the ones who promised heaven and earth, and now they have the opportunity but (they) have become incompetent. Take them to the bush and flog them, instead of humiliating innocent civilians who are struggling to make ends meet. And please carry out your threats, and we will support you with prayers.” Sheikh Yabo was a staunch supporter of Buhari in 2015.
AUTHOR: UGO ONUOHA
Articles published on our Graffiti section are solely the opinions of the authors and do not represent the views of Ripples Nigeria or its editorial stance.
OPINION Post: Why is Sheikh Yabo not in jail? appeared first on Latest Nigerian News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.
