col.Umar versus Obasanjo: where Uba Sani went wrong

[Nuruddeen]

:D  :D  :D Col. Umar Versus Obasanjo: Where Uba Sani went wrong.

By
Jibo Nura

E-mail: jibonura@yahoo.com

Uba Sani?s soliloquize surreptitious intentions to blackmail Paul Mamza for revealing the basic truths about Umar Dangiwa, finds candour in exposing his political ineptitude, which is normal, especially in the case of lackey?s defense of his master. But such a subjective defense always belongs to the utopians, who resort to resonating outbursts whenever they want to play to the gallery.
It is absolutely true that your Boss?s (Dangiwa?s) procrastinating remarks on Obasanjo?s government have some retrospective effect that even the next generation of Nigerians will no doubt live to question the sincerity of Colonel Umar?s treatise letters to Mr. President. Though I am not interested in the gravity or quality of the challenges raised by Umar because even the blinds know that things do not work out well in Obasanjo?s government. And there is nothing new that is said pertaining the woeful events and/or performances of OBJ, which have not been said, as such, Umar?s is just a recapitulation of those failed events.

Mine, is to address some false and polemic contextual assertions made by Uba Sani in his belligerent attempt to mischievously denigrate the person of Mamza. Uba deliberately avoided the focal points of Mamza?s letter to the editor, titled ? Yes, Umar is an opportunist?, (Saturday Sun, April 3, 2004), and resort to score cheap emotions- just to win the hearts of his ordinary readers.

Going through the entire contents of Paul?s letter and Uba Sani?s disjointed essay titled ? How Paul Mamza goofed?, (Saturday Sun, May 1, 2004), I feel forced to reflect on some of the ?matters at issue?, with the hope that people will judge by themselves, the actual points raised by Mamza that Mallam Uba and his boss found offensive.

Primarily, Mamza challenged that ? Was it not General Buhari that appointed Col. Umar as a sole administrator of the FHA even at the rank of a major and extolled his uprightness, yet it is the same Umar that Babangida used to overthrow Buhari?s regime, thereby installing the most corrupt and opaque regime Nigeria ever had??

This is the cardinal question that Uba unintelligently attempted to answer thus ?Dangiwa?s participation in the coup that saw to the overthrow of General Buhari was a collective decision that a single individual (like col. Umar) cannot reverse?but he opposed it in principle?.

Agreeable, it was a collective decision, but was this not a clear case of robbing Peter to pay Paul?

Therefore, is not just the matter of opposing it in principle rather it is the issue of the effort or assistance that Dangiwa could have rendered voluntarily to Buhari by influencing the decision of the key players of that coup de etat, had it been he wished him well; since it is individuals that make decisions but not the reverse.

However, Dangiwa?s failure to do just that is what some of us regard as hard but unpardonable treachery on the part of Umar. Hence nemesis will keep on catching with him.

Secondly, instead of Uba to continue defending his master with altruistic civility, he preferred to tell lies about the indefatigable Mamza via unfathomable condemnation of his column (?Serious thoughts?). Uba perilously asserted ?Mamza?s column in Hotline titled ?Serious thoughts? was reduced from two pages, to a page?? And that ?the Hotline publisher had decided to stop devoting two precious pages of the popular magazine to ?serious thoughts? that deal with nothing new?, is just a whimsical invention that is common with fairy tellers.

Here, I would like to tell Uba that there was never a time when this cock and bull story happened. Mamza has been and is still a columnist with the Hotline Magazine. In fact, millions of Nigerians are crying for the sudden disappearance of the vast, rich and well-respected ?Serious thoughts?. And the reason for its disappearance is not unconnected with the fact that the publisher, Mallam Hassan Sani Kontagora (Magajin Rafi), wants to have a breathing space out of this failed system of democracy where no objectivity in journalism is allowed to reign. And I can assure not only Uba but also lovers of Hotline Magazine that once the atmosphere is good enough for constructive journalism, Magajin Rafi is unhesitant to return, and the missing ?serious thoughts?, will then be back in full force.

As regards to Mamza?s relationship with the Sun Newspaper, I would like the whole world to know that Mamza has identified with the Sun mainly because of its objectivity but partly to keep on feeding his numerous readers.

Thirdly, Uba ignorantly asserted, ?Remember how Mamza was in the forefront among those critics of Gani Fawehinmi?s Scholarship?Mamza, even as youth wing leader of the ACF could not convince anybody in the North, on the significance of Gani Scholarship. Mamza could not justify why, as an academic he kicked against the Gani Fawehinmi gesture without giving any alternative to it?.

What I would like to tell Uba is that whenever he wants to resort to his political brouhaha, there is no gain in saying pathological words of mouth. I therefore urge him to spare some time and search Gamji.com, so that he can go via Mamza?s archive and quickly show us either writing or oral account of Mamza?s campaign against Gani. I also advice that he should please take his time so that he can go very well through the archive and past write-ups by Paul Mamza, so as not to miss the specific critique against Gani?s scholarship. It is only by so doing that Nigerians will label Mamza as enemy of progress, not just by sheer deceit and lies of Mallam Uba.

On the issue of using big grammar, Uba should not feel intimidated. I assure him that by God grace, we will one day come down to his level in sha Allah!

Jibo Nura

E- mail:jibonura@yahoo.com :D  :D