In a widely circulated video showing the Governor of Niger State ordering his aides to slap a man, Ibraheem Dooba made a Facebook post defending the governor. In his post, he said, “The latest inquiry came from the secretary of FCT Imams, Malam Ishaq Zango.”
Dooba stated, “The Governor didn’t order an imam or any cleric to be slapped. If you watched the video, the Governor called for an Imam, but an imposter (a political thug) stepped forward. And for his trouble, the Governor ordered that he be punished.”
That a seasoned columnist with Daily Trust, who has written on diverse issues over the years, recently celebrated being a columnist for over 20 years, and an author of Islamic books, would defend the governor in such a flimsy, embarrassing, and uncalled-for manner is disheartening.
Since when does a state governor have the right to ask or task his aides to slap people for being imposters? He had no right to slap that man, let alone ask others to slap him for simply claiming to be a Imam. Must he be an Imam to claim he is? If emulated, the governor’s act may justify the people’s actions should they one day decide that the governor has failed to deliver his campaign promises and therefore is liable to be slapped for being an imposter.
“I was surprised that the Hausa speakers didn’t figure out what was happening from the dialogue,” said Dooba, attempting to justify the governor’s actions by saying that the governor gave the man the chance to retract his claim. However, neither the governor, Dooba, nor the aides were aware of the hardship that pushed the man to make his claim.
The sad thing about Dooba’s defense was when he listed seven reasons why the governor slapped the poor man in the video. Dooba said his reasons are “from my experience as a former aide to a Governor and the context of political thuggery in Niger State.”
Dooba’s first reason is “Political thugs have become a huge menace in our state,” as if politicians are not the ones who created them as a tool for winning elections. If politicians are not slapped for creating political thugs, why would any right-thinking person believe those same politicians have the moral justification to fault, let alone slap, them? If they have the will to end political thuggery, there are many ways to do that, but slapping them is certainly not one of the remedies.
Dooba’s second reason is “When leaders talk during public events, thugs interrupt their speeches with chants and other nonsense, which is very annoying.” If a journalist is prescribing punishment for citizens heckling their leaders, there is nothing left for thugs to do.
The third reason is “These thugs have no other jobs but to follow politicians, praise singing those who give them money and insulting those who don’t. They’re completely useless, but politicians are afraid of their mouths.”
Mr. Dooba, were you expecting political thugs to be reciting the Holy Qur’an at political events? Politicians created them for nothing but being annoying and insulting people, and if they did that, they are just being who they are. But perhaps it hurts this time because they are doing it against their creators and not their creators’ adversaries.
The fourth reason was that “Governor Bago is trying to stop this madness. Even former Governor Lolo gave them jobs, but they refused them.”
It is obviously seems like a family affair, hence the attempt to give them their share of the cake. Perhaps their refusal was because they believed they deserved more for doing more. I can only consider the attempt to give them jobs as a selfless service when evidence is shown that peace-loving citizens of the state were given similar offers. Sir, the thugs were offered jobs because they had done something in exchange.
Dooba’s fifth reason was that “This individual in the video made his case worse because he didn’t read the crowd. It was a sober gathering to pray for the death of a good woman.”.
Seriously? Of all the reasons, this is the lamest. If in a sober gathering a governor can instruct that a man be slapped for claiming to be a mallam, what will the governor do if he is offended at a political rally, where the word “sober” has no relevance? The death of a good woman ought to move us into being good people by being merciful and sincere, just as she was. If the slapped man was not sober enough to refrain from claiming who he was not, where is the governor’s soberness to mercifully ignore the man’s wrongdoing? After all, the damage caused by the governor slapping him is far greater than the man’s wrong of claiming to be a mallam. Aren’t we all mallams at some point?
The sixth reason is not only speculative, demeaning, and pathetic but gives an example of how poorly our leaders think. Dooba said, “Bago has his own way of reforming the thugs. In the video, he says that the guy should be brought back to him after punishment. So he’s likely going to gift him something and warn him to desist.” The seasoned columnist’s use of “likely” indicates that the entire defense was based on speculation, guesses, and an avoidable attempt to justify a governor’s dictatorial leadership style instead of condemning his inhumane treatment of a citizen.
In the seventh reason, Dooba showed that his whole defense was based on speculations and hearsay.
After repeatedly admitting that the man was slapped, Dooba later relied on the man’s later revelations. Dooba said, “I saw a video showing the guy apologizing for stepping forward instead of a real Malam. He also surprisingly said that no one slapped him.”
Remember, Dooba speculated that the governor asked the man to meet him later and he might likely give him something and warn him. Perhaps he was given something and warned to deny being slapped and admit that he was not the mallam he claimed to be.
And Malam Dooba concluded, “PS: I’m not going to comment on the legality of the order since that wasn’t the question I was asked.”
Sir, with all due respect, you said you were asked to confirm if the governor ordered the man to be slapped or not, and you digressed into listing reasons justifying the slap. Why will the generosity of your pen not extend to the legality of the order, which you know has no chance of passing the test of our laws?
It is understandable, though morally blameworthy, when aides of politicians defend the acts of their masters, however horrific such acts are. But for a seasoned columnist and a religious author to justify a governor’s heartless order to demean a man in public for simply claiming to be a mallam is inexcusable.
Mr Abdulraham, a lawyer, writes from Kano
