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Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, Kauran Bauchi, former Senator, ex-Minister of the FCT and current Governor of Bauchi State, who by that virtue, is also the leader of Governors elected on the platform of the main opposition party in Nigeria, the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) Governors Forum towers high as a key politicalfigure on Nigeria. This is, by all standards a superlative resume that should in sane climes, confer nothing but the utmost respect.
That, however, does not apply to a country like Nigeria, a nation under the tightening grip of a regime, bent on sitting tight well beyond its acceptability by the people. In such a situation, the eligibility for respect is not achievement or pedigree but rather, a conformity to the agenda and the whims of the absolute leader.
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In such environments, as obtains in this country, personalities like Mr Mohammed are faced with two choices for survival; either to join the bandwagon or at least, remain obscure because merely being a model, against the chaos being foisted on the country is intolerable. And of course, dissent to the prevailing order incurs the ire of the skewed system.
The APC regime’s simplistic and persecution modus operandi consists of patronage and material inducement or in the alternative, coercion, using the instruments of state control to lure or compel the opposition into conformity. It is a tangle that only resilient forces like the Kaura, who are steadfast in the defence of democratic freedom in the country have successfully defied.
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Governor Mohammed has remained constant in opposition to the sustained effrontery of the current APC government against democratic order, while in spite of the perils associated with this posture, the Bauchi State Governor is unwavering in the struggle to mitigate the misrule of the present administration in 2027.
And that draws towards him, the wrath of the regime.
The witch-hunt is initiated, the hounds are let loose and Mr Mohammed is the target, with the intent to traduce him in the most damaging manner possible. In December last year, the EFCC went after his administration by filing terrorism financing and money laundering charges against the Bauchi State Finance Commissioner, Yakubu Adamu and three other officials.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the accused appointees authorised and facilitated payments of funds amounting to over $2 million to the National leader of the Miyyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Bello Bodejo, as well as other persons, who were accused of channelling the funds toward terrorist-related activities. The oddity of the case against the Bauchi State government officials is that prosecutors have since withdrawn all charges against the alleged recipients of the monies, while the purported payers are still being docked.
That the trial of the Bauchi State officials is raving more in the press and media than the court, indicates that the actual target of the trumped up case is Governor Mohammed himself. And since as serving governor, he could not be prosecuted, the object of the entire charade is to taint his reputation in the court of public opinion, using terrorism, which is the most damaging subject for a smear campaign.
Mr Mohammed’s pedigree however, affirmatively stands these inmuendos against him. He is a devout Muslim but he has bared his head in churches and hosted Christmas carols in the Bauchi Government House. He created the Sayawa Kingdom, which answered the decades old struggle of the predominantly Christian Bogoro, Dass, and Tafawa Balewa for autonomy after years of agitation for determination. In fact, Governor Mohammed elevated this domain to equal status with the Bauchi Emirate Council.
In 2010, Mr Mohammed as a serving Senator exhibited rare statesmanship, at a time when the nation’s political elite were embroiled in a divisive inter-regional dispute over presidential succession that had perilous implications for the corporate existence of Nigeria. He rose above sectional, religious and ethnic sentiment and spearheaded the Doctrine of Necessity that saw to the swearing-in of Goodluck Jonathan—a Southern Christian minority— as President of Nigeria.
Impossible as it is to scandalise a patriot with these outstanding qualities and credentials, detractors of Governor Mohammed are unrelenting in their dark agenda, still intent on whipping this leading opposition into line or pulling him down completely. And in their obsession with this arduous project they find synergy with other negative forces, who employ similar tactics with the objective of causing division within the country.
These divisive elements exploit these types of phantom cases against Northern opposition figures to lend credibility to their negative campaign. They adopt the claims of these trumped up investigations to stigmatise the Northern elites and stereotype the entire Northern society as terrorism supporters.
Through the illicit use of law enforcement and skewed judicial processes to witch-hunt of the opposition, the Nigerian government is not only threatening the nation’s democracy but also opening the floodgate of all kinds of dangers to the unity and corporate survival of Nigeria. This fact cannot be ignored by any sensible administration, no matter how desperate its leaders are to remain in power.
*Ahmed is head of Media, PDP Governors Forum.
