14 Sep 2008 |
|
|
Bashir Gusau, A profile in courage
by Abdulmumin Yinka Ajia When I read that Bashir Gusau, managing director of legacy newspaper out of Zamfara state wrote an article about Yar’adua’s indolence and the reign of kidnappings, armed robberies and communal clashes under his watch, I said to myself it couldn’t have been more timely. I was rudely shocked however to learn that the Governor of Zamfara state fired Gusau from his job for the simple fact that he was just putting to words what many Nigerians already know about President Yar’adua. Ensconced in the luxury of Aso rock, Nigeria ’s current president, Umaru Musa Yar’adua is effectively living in a bubble, some of it created by his retinue of hangers on, some of it created by himself. But while the leader of the most populous black nation is trapped in time and nothing around him seems to function, an opposition party in Zamfara state (ANPP) has just made it known that it has no business being in opposition, it needs to go ahead and cross carpet to the ruling PDP. See, this issue is bigger than Bashir Gusau alone, this is a clear case of executive lawlessness, for quite a long time I have often wondered if Nigeria is a commonwealth, where each and everyone is considered an equal regardless of your station in life, a place where it wouldn’t matter whether you are a governor or a carpenter, your dignity will be upheld and your rights secured. Alas Nigeria is far from this, at present Nigeria is more like a feudal state and the state governors are the mini gods whose wishes are law and whose ideas can not be challenged! They run roughshod over anyone that dares to cross their paths, they have been known to cripple enterprising businesses that belong to opposition politicians and they have jailed citizens arbitrarily on the flimsiest of excuse. It’s not a secret that they have pocketed a large section of the media and those who remained defiant or not in awe of their powers, they have sought to defang by relieving them of their jobs, Obasanjo did this to Mahmud Jega and now the Zamfara state governor has followed in his footstep. To Mahmud Shinkafi and his ilk, for every Bashir Gusau that you silenced, ten more people will rise up in his stead.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
# 
Your Comments
Please make The Square an enjoyable experience for everyone by refraining from gratuitous ad-hominem contributions, defamatory comments and off-topic posting. Such posts will be removed.