February 15, 2008
Media reports on Thursday February 14, 2008 quoted the Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido as describing General Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as “noise makers”.
This is the second time in as many weeks that Lamido will abuse leaders of this calibre. A week earlier, he abused former Vice President Atiku as an “ingrate” because of his disagreements with former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Incidentally, that diatribe was made as he left the Obasanjo farms in Ota, Ogun State after paying a visit to the former President.
In the second attack on Atiku and Buhari, Lamido was addressing a chairmanship candidate of the PDP, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, who had visited to seek his support.
In the two instances in which he launched into tirades against these national leaders of northern extraction, Lamido was not under any obvious pressure to attack these personalities.
It is therefore suggestive that he suffers from a psychological crisis that makes him turn into a loose canon at the sight of pressmen.
Senator Anyim and other candidates had visited other state governors and no where were governors recorded as using the opportunity to abuse other people. Rather, they have used the opportunity of such campaign visits to counsel on the need for free and fair convention in the PDP and why the candidates should work towards restoring the lost glory of the party.
Why can’t Lamido learn from the laudable and mature dispositions of other governors? The North is afflicted by myriad of problems like massive illiteracy, crushing poverty, widespread unemployment, rampaging crime and inter-communal strives. Why is it that none of these social problems bother Lamido? Why is it that he cannot devote his thoughts to addressing these problems? Instead, he comes across as a man who is perpetually angry and in search of someone to abuse. Was he rigged in as governor purposely to abuse northern leaders?
Even if Obasanjo asked him to abuse his fellow northerners, is he not old and mature enough to know that this disrespectful conduct of his diminishes him and brings shame to the people of Jigawa State that he claims to govern?
Jigawa State is a state in need of urgent rapid social and economic development. A sensible leader will devote his time to looking for solution to the problems of the state; not on looking for people to abuse.
Enough of this rascality. Please!
Binta Abdullahi,
Department of Mass Communication,
Bayero University,
Kano.
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