By Prince Bashir Adefaka
No one should make Tambuwal see Buhari as evil neither should anyone make Buhari see Tambuwal as evil, to the extent that even the Sultan of Sokoto that will now be in capacity to bring both of them together in love, peace, harmony and progress in the aftermath of everything, somebody would now want to tarnish his image thinking it is the best way to achieve a political goal. It does not work that way. People should allow Tambuwal and Buhari to play their respective politics neatly, Nigerians are watching and Allah is watching. Whichever way the pendulum falls in the end, if neatly done, it will then be easier for both contestants to relate well as tribesmen, religious people and nation’s citizens.
Sometimes politicisation, taken too far or to other level, makes practitioners senseless in that they say and do more unthinkable than reasonable. Else, what could have pushed a people who sponsored what we learned had trended on the social media about politics in Sultanate Council over the defection of Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the amiable lawyer and fantastic number four citizen during his days as Speaker of the Nigeria’s House of Representative, from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)?
Where I cannot deny my brotherhood with Tambuwal as my brother in Islam and one of very lovely, enigmatic person I have ever met in my young life, I cannot take it from any side of the politicking the injury on his political career, today or in future, with propaganda taken too far. Politics will end, but his sonship of Sokoto State and place as Mutawalle of Sokoto will remain, just like his Tribeship of Hausa/Fulani and religionship of Islam and citizenship of Nigeria will outlive all of the political. We have had enough of attempt to set other tribes in Nigeria against one single tribe of Hausa/Fulani and religion of Islam, we should think twice before we attempt to set Hausa/Fulani and Muslims against themselves in the name of politics because, it will not work!
Megrima Aminu Waziri Tambuwal does not need such propaganda such as capable of causing implosion in his tribe, Seat of Caliphate and religion to get to where he will be in life, just like the very highly religious and exceptionally meticulous leader did not ascend to the position of Speakership of the House of Representatives through such unfortunate medium. To many of us, who are brothers in Islam and humanity to the sitting Governor of Sokoto State, the best way we can make him succeed in life is not to say or do things which will cause problem for him, now and in the future.
We know people like Femi Fani-Kayode, who insulted and painted Sheikh Uthman Dan Fodio in bad light and questioned the place of Sokoto in the relevancy of Nigeria, had done even more than this in the past. No member of PDP or APC should venture into playing such home-cracking politics at this time because Tambuwal, I believe, does not send anybody to so do on his behalf. He and President Muhammadu Buhari are brothers. When politics ends, they will come back together.
No one should make Tambuwal see Buhari as evil neither should anyone make Buhari see Tambuwal as evil, to the extent that even the Sultan of Sokoto that will now be in capacity to bring both of them together in love, peace, harmony and progress in the aftermath of everything, somebody would now want to tarnish his image thinking it is the best way to achieve a political goal. It does not work that way. People should allow Tambuwal and Buhari to play their respective politics neatly, Nigerians are watching and Allah is watching. Whichever way the pendulum falls in the end, if neatly done, it will then be easier for both contestants to relate well as tribesmen, religious people and nation’s citizens.
Even as the Mutawalle has defected from All Progressives Congress (APC) today, one thing that is very clear to me is that, he has not and cannot ever defect from Islam and Fulani Tribe both of which are melting points for us including him, President Muhammadu Buhari, and by extension he can never defect from Nigeria, which is melting point for him and all of us including the Hausa/Fulani, Igbo and Yoruba tribes and all the religions. So, whoever wants to help him politically should not do things, which will cause problem for him at home by dragging the Sultanate Council into the politics that he has chosen to play based on good intention.
Sultan of Sokoto yesterday and today is a figure on seat, whose blessing – everybody wanting to be relevant whether politically, religiously, socially, economically, health, sports, security, diplomatically or even military, education – wants to seek. Therefore, every of these endeavours does nothing wrong to want to identify with the Sultan as father of all, just like the controversial Governor of Rivers State Nyesom Wike once declared “Sultan, my father, is father of all Nigerians”.
However, it is not certain whether those who want to be seen with the Sultan so they will be seen as proper human beings are now saying that when they come calling, the Africa’s fourth most influential traditional ruler and world’s number 17 most influential Muslim leader should snub him. If that is not the intention, why then using such as political game point?
The latest cheap blackmail on the social media being that, the Sultan, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar’s support has been conveyed for the defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. This has been refuted immediately by the Sultanate Council as directed by the Sultan.
Before I now state the reaction of the Sultanate Council to that unfortunate blackmail, let me first and foremost ask, of what sense could it be for a personality, whose reign transcends tenured occupancy but a lifetime one and even whose traditional extends beyond the borders of Nigeria, to want to relegate himself for the antics of politicking of the politicians? It is just like when Governor Olusegun Mimiko tried to gag a paramount monarch in the build up to governorship election in Ondo State and the monarch decided to play like he did not see what the governor was doing. I, yours sincerely, was in the picture at that time. What transpired is now history today. Whereas Mimiko has become an ordinary citizen currently, the monarch of Ondo State remains relevant and governing his people the traditional way.
It is on this ground that I would like to warn politicians who take audience granted them by traditional rulers for granted and, in most cases, for a political game. It should not be. What that will mean is that, if because of the bad behaviour of one politician the monarch denies him audience and he now grants audience to another politician of better character, he will now be seen as playing hanky-panky. Those who will carry that abroad will not tell their listeners the evil that they do which lead to the decision of the monarch.
So, the Nigerian politicians should stop putting traditional rulers in tight corners because, whether they have powers of whip or not, these traditional rulers by all standards are their fathers and, they should not forget it was from them the powers they are using today were taken. So, they should respect the institution of the traditional rulers and stop playing politics with their leniency because traditional rulers are more relevant than what political class want to make of them.
In the meantime, the Sultanate Council of Sokoto has dissociated itself from the post being circulated in the social media conveying the support of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, for the defection of Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the People’s Democracy Party (PDP).
The Council asserted that the post, which is made by unknown people, not in any way connected to it, is complete falsehood. It added that the Sultan, as a father to all Muslims, holds no partisan interests or opinion.
The royal father therefore called on the public and good people of Nigeria to disregard the post as the work of mischief, while reiterating the Council’s neutral stance in politics, praying Allah to grant greater peace and prosperity to Nigeria.
By this, it should be noted that the Sultan is not a politician and so no attempt by any politician to drag him along that line can succeed.
I am sure no reader of the post will find it difficult to understand that it is a mischievous post by some unscrupulous elements who want to use every opportunity to blackmail the Sultan. The fact that the writers neither indicated their source of the story is enough a proof of the lie that the post represents. Rather, it must pass the test of time to convince any sensible human being. When did the Sultan make the statement? Where? At what event? Who reported it?
And with the disjointed, incoherent and very immature language used to craft the purported “moving speech”, could it be qualified to be ascribed to an average secondary school leaver? The sad thing is how we easily accept any nonsense as a story worth giving attention and even sharing. This must stop!
For the records, the Sultan has not made such comments. The whole story is baseless. After all, the Sultan is not a politician. He does not belong to any political party. As a religious and traditional leader, he is actually a father to all and, I can say with all authority here that please, let us avoid circulating lies not even only against the clear integrity that the Alhaji Dr. Sheikh Ambassador General Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar represents and which has better positioned him for the great peace, unity and development work he has done among Nigerians of cross-religion, cross-ethnic enclaves.
For us to be truly good citizens who are always ready to promote peace, harmony and progress in our dear nation, we must avoid lies and unsubstantiated stories or news. We should be inquisitive at all times about news we receive no matter the medium of receipt: even traditional media as that news report wrongfully linking Fulani herdsmen of Plateau to the killings in Barkin Ladi and which led to the reprisal killing of Muslims in Jos recently was actually by traditional and respected media.
It will also be recalled how a particular online media published a mischief that Sultan collected Sokoto State money to buy a guest house for himself in Abuja whereas the story was untrue as Sultan neither collected such money from Sokoto State Government nor bought such personal guest house for himself in Abuja.
On one of my fact-finding visits to Governor Aliyu Wamakko then, President Goodluck Jonathan visited Sokoto and paid courtesy call on Sultan. Only for him and his party men to pass message round that the President had got Sultan to bring Wamakko back to PDP. Why are PDP after the image of Sultan? Don’t they know it has repercussion? Is it a bad thing to have world class popularity and still remain in Nigeria as leader of people?
So, we should learn to probe any received information before we decide whether to believe or disbelieve although we have some people who have difficulty in believing clear truth.
*Prince Bashir Adefaka is a Lagos-based media practitioner. Contact him via omope72@gmail.com.
