By Abdul Jelil Adebayo
As of today, there is no where the name, Sen. Mohammed Ali Ndume will be mentioned that someone somewhere will not be conversant with it. It is a name that connotes many things to different persons, but the truth remains that Ndume is a man that speaks out not minding whose ox is gored, and that is the hallmark of a man of honour and integrity. A man that is fearless and looks at the lions eyeball to eyeball and tells who cares to know that truth remains what it is, the truth.
So when I read on Thursday October 17th, 2019 of a piece in the inside back page of the Leadership newspaper by one Hassan Biu, I was initially tempted to ignore but on second thought, I felt there was need to put the record straight as there was the tendency to believe the lies and hatred of this faceless writer from Maiduguri in that piece. The summary of the write up was either he was paid to tarnish the good deeds of Ndume or outright hatred, or even both.
The reality of the piece goes to show that those looking for hate speech don’t need to go too far, the writer of that piece should be answering some questions with our security agencies by now. But this is Nigeria, after all anybody can wake up and spew invectives on anybody, especially our leaders and nobody cares to call them to book. And Hassan Biu falls into that category of hate speech advocate and we don’t need to go far but if there is a punishment for haters in speech, I think the law should not be kind to the likes of Hassan Biu. He twisted history and facts upside down that if care is not taken even the father of liars, that is the devil, will shrink in his everlasting chains
Ndume without doubt has touched more lives than people like Hassan Biu would ever imagined. He could not hide his hatred for Ndume that he threw caution to the winds and used all unprintable vocabulary for an opinion writer. Yet he believes Ndume who happens to be the chairman of the senate committee of the Army is inciting the boys in Khaki against the military and government. From his writing, Biu should be held responsible for disaffection that might resort out of his piece.
What is bad in suggesting that those who died in the warfront could be given family burial? That was the sin Biu is holding Ndume to for suggesting. Hatred was let loosed in his piece in which he said Ndume’s voice was rather muffled nor his actions ever felt as his contributions to ending insurgency’,
He needs to be reminded that the spurious allegation that Ndume was a financier of Boko Haram was his insistence that the Jonathan administration must do something urgent because of his prime and privilege position as a parliamentarian whose jurisdictional enclave was directly affected. Because of this he was co-opted into the committee in finding lasting solution to the menace of Boko Haram. But because he was unrelenting as his voice remained loudest, he was roped in and with the intention of quieting him and taking him off from the scene, he went through a trial that at the end he came out victorious and the victory is what is paining the likes of Biu, what a pity.
No matter the hatred Biu may be having against Ndume, he was ungentlemanly to describe a serving senator as a celebrated disappointment and a study in beastly values. He is a senator of the Federal Republic and even in our madness we should be cautious and courteous in the language we used in describing our leaders.
Biu needs to go and found out who Ali Konduga is or was, as even his family has described him as insane, which the court affirmed, except if Biu wants to tell us the court erred by freeing Ndume of all charges leveled against him.
We may pardon Biu for not culturally brought up as there are families that still want to bury their dead no matter the condition of their death, and that was what Ndume raised on the floor of the senate which has become irritant to Biu and his ilk. What a pity again.
There is this misconception which Biu also fell victim of, that anyone outside the Federal Executive is not part of the government of the day. But the truth is that the tripod that holds democracy includes not only the executive, but both the legislature and the judiciary, and most importantly, legislature gives meaning to what we today refer to as democracy.
Thank God Biu admitted that a large chunk of recruits of Boko Haram are idle youths, and I am yet to see in today’s senate any senator that can beat the record of Ndume in the empowerment of youths. In Abuja for instance, it is on record that he bought not too long ago, before the election several Honda Accord cars for indigent indigenes of Borno nay Borno South in Abuja to take them out of the unemployment circle. He also bought several hundreds of motorcycles popularly known as okada for many Borno south residents in Abuja. This is not minding a replica in his constituency.
One indisputable fact remains that among the internally displaced persons in Abuja today, Ndume has touched more lives than any living senator in Nigeria today; and yet people like Hassan Biu pretends he has not impacted anything to his constituency.
I have once said and I stand bold to be corrected that Ndume’s home in Apo legislative quarters has remained a Mecca of a sort as every other day, especially Fridays every indigent Nigerian irrespective of tribe and religion have made his house a refugee where he dishes out largess to augment their living conditions. Yet Hassan Biu does not know this or pretends not to know, what a pity.
If Hassan does not know, his type can never come between the Borno governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum and Ndume they are friends and each visit the other for counsel when the need arises.
I like challenges, just as he rightly puts it, let Hassan also swear by the Holy Books that he is not out for mischief or outright hatred of the laudable achievements of Sen. Mohammed Ali Ndume. He who goes to equity must go with clean hands; Hassan Biu has bloody hands with fingers dripping of pecuniary interest, what a shame.
Unguarded utterances are weighty and if it were in other clime, people like Hassan Biu supposed to be guest of security agencies to confirm their spurious allegations against a national leader like Ndume.
Let it be known that Ndume was rich enough even before coming to National Assembly, go and ask Baba Musami in Maiduguri. Ndume has been an enterprising young man that has remains whom he said he is, a son of nobody that has become somebody by the special grace of God.
Hassan needs to go back to history and he will find out that Ndume can never be a link to Boko Haram, why, because he is also a victim. His father a traditional chief in Gwoza had his house torched, his younger sister had her husband killed by this same people that Hassan Biu is calling associates.
Hassan Biu can say anything because I am sure none of his relatives have been victims, but for those who have gone through the dirty path of pains inflicted by Boko Haram, it is more than crocodile tears to call for an end to their activities.
Needless to say that many people consider Ndume as highly respected national leader no matter what the hate speech advocates may infer or think. Millions of Hassan Biu may never, by the mercy of God, reach where Ndume has reached for now and he is not stopping as he adds value to people’s lives that come in contact with him. No matter the hatred, the laudable achievements and speaking out when it matters have remained the hallmark of leaders and Ndume falls in the bracket. Shalom.
Abdul is an Abuja based journalist.
