By Mustapha Atiku Ribadu
Sometimes, one is forced to make a rejoinder to very trifling and trivial issue for the sake of putting the records straight and to guard against deliberate distortion of history, and prevent spread of malicious lies.
It is for this purpose that I find it exceedingly important to respond to Aminu Iyawa’s catharsis, unvarnished drivel and wicked lies calculated to cast aspersions on the newly created Fufore emirate and its Emir, HRH Alhaji Sani Ribadu.
Iyawa, a man with very low standards, dubious loyalty, and a penchant for character savaging, is a pathological rabble rouser any day, anytime. His double standards and weakness to maintain loyalty to anyone are phenomenal. Such an invidious character manifested when he served as Nyako’s cabinet member and shortly after Nyako was impeached.
Iyawa, who virtually hero worshipped Nyako when he was enjoying the perks of power provided to him by the former governor, made a magical u-turn and became Nyako’s sworn enemy within the twinkle of an eye.
The man who established a reputation of savagery against anyone who disagreed with Nyako regardless of the issue at hand decided to wage a war of attrition against Nyako and even led a delegation of Nyako’s cabinet members on a solidarity visit to governor Fintiri who impeached Nyako for doing a yeoman’s job.
Such character trait makes Iyawa a villain who does not deserve an ounce of trust or respect. Sane people have already dismissed the rabid and baseless piece of bunkum written by Iyawa with the wave of the hand, simply for the fact that a comedy of errors from an unreliable character only deserved derision.
Iyawa, who has since being consigned to political oblivion, as no one wants to touch him with a ten mile pole felt that the only way he could reincarnate his lost political glory is by launching a diatribe against the Ribadu family through malice, and despicable lies depicting a non existent rivalry and misunderstanding between the Lamido and Ribadu families.
But his kite will not fly for the fact that the two families not only enjoyed untrammelled comradeship but have enjoyed unalloyed goodwill and respect, culminating in the conferment of traditional titles on many sons of Ribadu family.
In his delusional attempt to give substance to his fiction, Iyawa craftly brought the name of Nigeria’s serving NSA into the mix of his ill-fated article, inferring that Ribadu has used his position to secure the position of the emirship for Sani Ribadu his younger brother. Such deliberate mischief is the height of ungodliness displayed by a completely drowned charlatan who has lost value in all turfs.
If it is said that a fool at forty is a fool forever, it will be disheartening to see a man in his seventies embracing lies as a means of livelihood. Such life is already a waste.
To set the records straight, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria’s NSA, has nothing to do with the appointment of HRH Sani Ribadu as the new emir of Ribadu It is preposterous for an old man to come with this hogwash that even children half of his age will avoid.
Fintiri, as the executive governor of Adamawa State, has been constitutionally given the privilege to emplace independent policies and programs to run the state. He has been doing that without interference by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
The decision of governor Fintiri to float new emirates and chiefdoms has not the remotest input by Ribadu, let alone nominate persons for any position. In fact, when the governor intimated Sani Ribadu about the appointment, the latter vehemently rejected the proposal. Sani finally succumbed and accepted the appointment after a lot of pressure from political associates, government officials, and friends.
Iyawa has in his haste to indict Nuhu Ribadu develop selective amnesia by sidestepping the fact that in all his political life, Sani Ribadu, like Fintiri, has remained a consistent member of PDP even when Ribadu, his blood brother contested gubernatorial election on the crest of the opposition party in the state. The subtle lesson in this is that Sani Ribadu is closer to Fintiri than Nuhu Ribadu from the political point of view. Such closeness made Fintiri give Sani Ribadu a sensitive portfolio of the Chief of Staff to the deputy governor, and till this day, the relationship between the two politicians has remained strong and cordial.
So if Sani has traded his brother with Fintiri during election, it will be preposterous for any sane man to infer that Nuhu Ribadu, who has never pitched tent with the governor will be the one to look for favours for his younger brother from Fintiri.
It is important to lecture Iyawa to note that his allegation on the motive behind selecting Fufore as the new emirate is solely that of the governor. Otherwise, he should produce evidence to that effect Governor Fintiri, in his own wisdom, decided to create Fufore as a new emirate just as he decided to create Madagali, Michika, Huba, and Yungur chiefdoms But in his jaundiced and lopsided view of thinking, Iyawa only deemed it fit to exclusively talk dismally about Fufoure emirate. At the expense of holding brief for the governor, I think as a self-styled rights activist, Iyawa should have condemned the creation of the Emirates and chiefdoms. Singling out Fufure emirate as an object of ridicule exposed the fallacy of Iyawa’s misplaced umbrage.
It is high time for Iyawa to start doing the right thing by rebuilding his tattered image and to stop embarrassing himself, as only calculated self reinvention will save him from going into political extinction not savagery and character assassination.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Sky Daily
