“It’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubts.” – Mark Twain
By AbdulGaniyu Bolaji Abdullahi,
Dear Musty,
When I first noticed that you have reacted to my New Year’s Day open letter to you, I was excited thinking to myself that finally we are going to have the debate that you have consistently run away from. However, after reading it, my immediate feeling was that of disappointment, then realization. Afterall, what should we expect from a man who has proudly declared that he no longer has a need for ideas?
Rather than address the issues that I raised in my letter, you went on a tirade of personal attacks while hypocritically accusing me of the same. Please, lest we forget, you, Salihu Mustapha, are the AGGRESSOR here. I was busy minding my campaign the best way I know how, when you granted that interview attempting to denigrate my concept of ‘BIG IDEAS’ and claiming that my years of service had yielded no positive impacts. I am not the only opponent you have in this election. Yet, you keep whining and complaining to friends that I was campaigning against you. Pray, am I supposed to campaign for you? Your sense of entitlement is baffling indeed.
Go back and read the headlines. Most newspapers carried your interview of the 24th December as a direct attack on me. But it was not the first time. I have calmly endured your serial mudsling, alongside those of your gang of radio rabbles, because like Mrs. Obama famously counseled, “When they go low, we go high.” But I realized that falsehood, left unchallenged for long may begin to wear the garb of truth. That’s why I decided to reply you just that one time.
You see, unlike you, I do not need to pay people to write for me. That’s my occupation. I still try to understand what yours is. You claimed that I questioned the source of your wealth in my BBC interview. Well, that interview is in the public domain. I was only talking about money politics generally just as I have done since this race started. I did not mention your name. But if my words cut too close to the truth, I am sorry, that’s not my problem.
You claimed that I was behind recent stories about your travails with the EFCC. I only read the story like anyone else. And I noticed that since the story came out, you and your boys have openly suspected everyone that remotely looks to you like any
adversary. So, at what point did you conclude that I was the one behind the story and on the basis of what evidence? If you have any problem with EFCC, may Allah relieve you of it. If you don’t, good for you. But leave my name out of it.
You said people have warned you about me. Well, so many have also warned me about you. And what they warned me about was exactly what you demonstrated in your letter. They say you are a tale-bearer and that you are petty. You claimed that I “helplessly tried to benefit from” your wealth. I do not have a recollection of me trying to benefit from your “wealth” at any time. But please, I will be happy for you to remind me.
But let us assume, without conceding, that I did ask for your help, don’t you see that this actually says more about you than about me? It also serves as warning to those who benefit from you today how low you can get. What this means is that once you fall out with them in the future, you would not hesitate to weaponize whatever you did or did not do for them. That’s how dangerously petty you are. But I am not surprised.
This is your stock-in-trade. Is this not the same way you go about Abuja maligning our traditional institutions about how much money you are spending on them? I can understand that because of your inferiority complex, you need this bragging to validate yourself. Afterall, money does not buy class. But be careful not to denigrate the sanctity of our traditional institution that has honoured you so.
Listen to yourself: “At every occasion since early twenties that I have been an active partaker in the socio-political activities of this noble community and I have been called upon at her time of needs by her custodians, I have risen up unconditionally to it with everything I have got – be it knowledge, personal hard-earned resources, political, national and international networks.”
Even though, I am slightly at a loss what you mean by this statement, it is a typical example of how boastful you have become. I did not know you until 2014. I remember the first time was in Dr. Saraki’s house.
When you introduced yourself to me, you mentioned that you just came back from Ilorin and I asked you what you were doing in my town. I was surprised when you told me that you were from Ilorin. I had thought you were one of those Kaduna boys that came with President Buhari. And here you are, claiming that you have been helping Ilorin since ‘early twenties.’ Yet, I never heard of you before then. If not that this country has lost its soul to money, what would have been the basis of this contest between you and me?
You also claim that I am obsessed with your philanthropy. I am not. See, Musty this thing is about the senatorial election, and nothing more. I actually think that you come across as a pleasant person. I also believe that what you are doing has its place in any society. Where I have problem is that you think your acts of philanthropy should be your sole credential to the senate.
Look, no matter what anybody else may think, I believe you have earned the Turaki title as a form of recognition and honour for your generousity. And if Allah wills, you may even get greater reward. But the Senate? No. That requires a different skill set, which I believe you do not possess.
The word ‘senate’ is from the Latin word, ‘senex’, which means “the elder”. In its traditional sense therefore, the Senate is considered as an assembly of the wiser and more experienced members of the society. This is the crux of the matter. People who go to the senate are people who have held public positions, who have done things, who have made mistakes and learnt from their mistakes. By your own admission, you have never held a public office before. So, you want to start learning at the Senate?
Come on. Would you even recognize a government white paper or a budget if it fell on your head? I can see you have already awarded yourself victory for the February 25th polls. As a Muslim, shouldn’t you rather leave that to the Almighty Allah, the owner of victory?
Contrary to what you claim, I am actually not desperate to win at all cost. If anything, you are the one betraying desperation. You are the one who have been chanting war songs (kol’ omo o kilo f’omo re), and having nocturnal meetings with dangerous boys. But this is what I believe: wa yam kuru na, wa yam kuru llah, wallahu khairul makirin (“But they plan and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners Anfal 30)
This is nothing personal. But what I am worried about is that if you win, Kwara Central would be greatly short-changed and under-served in the Senate at this crucial time in our history. And we would have laid the unfortunate precedence, which would make our youths think that the only thing that matters in life is money. What was my argument? That a nation or society cannot progress based on the generosity of individuals, no matter how well-intentioned those individuals are.
That it is only ideas, big and innovative ideas that move nations forward. That our youths want jobs, not handouts and we need big ideas to create jobs that will enable them live a life of dignity and not rely on the generousity of anybody, including myself. That the Senate is a marketplace of ideas not a money market where people would just go, trade and make deals. That’s all. You did not contest any of these arguments. But I am glad to see that you have somehow moved from dismissing ‘big ideas’ to attempting to give it a definition of your own, no matter how myopic. Well done. It shows we are getting somewhere.
This brings me to your favourite mantra, ‘impact’. You claimed that despite the multiple opportunities that I have had to serve in government, I have not left any impact. Well, I can understand why you would say so. Because, like Bob Marley said, “Some people are so poor all they have is money.” I do not need to defend my track records to you. But for those who would genuinely want to know, I will do a quick recap.
As Commissioner for Education under the direction of Dr. Saraki as Governor, I led one of the most ambitious education reforms in this country. I do not have to go into the details of what we went through to achieve the modest success that we recorded.
But we feel greatly satisfied to see majority of the children that we fought to give education testifying that if not for the work that we did, they would not have been where they are today. Many of them who were in school when we launched the “Every Child Counts,” in 2007 have gone on to a life of successful careers as professionals in different fields. My brother, what impacts can be greater than giving the child of a poor parent education to become somebody in life? You may not know that only one educated child, can change the story of a family. But I would not expect you to understand this, since it does not have to do with spending money, which you believe is the only driver of impacts.
Again, I give the credit to Dr. Saraki who took the risk of putting a journalist in charge of education. I served only at his discretion and all credits are due to him. But these are my impacts. And does it say something to you that I left the office as commissioner for education some 12 years ago, and people still talk about my period as though it were yesterday? That’s to tell you what our people really appreciate.
You alleged that I have problems with teachers. No, I don’t. The reform that I attempted was difficult for everyone, including myself. I knew I was making so many enemies, but I would rather make these enemies than betray the trust of my boss or more importantly the future of the children put in my care. You see my brother; I pray that one day you would have the opportunity to learn this truth: governance is not a popularity contest.
Any public official who wants everybody to like him would be better off selling ice cream. But if you want to get things done in government, you have to be prepared to step on toes. I did what I had to do to the best of my ability, and I leave God to judge my accordingly. Did I get everything right? No. Would I have done some things differently? Absolutely yes. But hey, I was passionate, or even zealous. But my intentions were pure and focused on the singular objective of helping our children to get education.
If any teacher has problems with me, it could only be based on the falsehood that you and your team have continued to peddle against me because that’s all you have got on me. Didn’t you, Musty, say publicly that I slapped a teacher? But I have challenged anyone with evidence to come forward with it and even promised a reward of one million naira. But uptill now, we haven’t seen anything. You think you can turn the teachers against me? No, you can’t.
The teachers of Kwara State knew what I did for them. They know how they were being fleeced and humiliated before I introduced e-payment, which ensured that they get alert on their phones without suffering the indignity of lining up in the sun as
though they were beggars. They knew that when the decision was taken to pay 27.5 percent special teaching allowance to teacher, Kwara was the first to pay. The non-academic staff would tell you how I also fought for them to get their own due
allowances. The teachers knew that it was during my time that they were getting paid for attending trainings. They knew that unlike your APC government, we did not sack a single teacher, instead, we absorbed the teachers in the Federal Voluntary Teachers Service Scheme into the mainstream at the end of their volunteering service, even though we had no obligation to do that.
The teachers would recall that I was the one that revolutionized school inspection by establishing the Quality Assurance Bureau, the first in the country. Many of them who end up in the SSOs and the SSITs remember that I created that. The head of schools would remember that I restored their authority over their staff. Teachers have cluster meetings across the state to review and support each other till today, I created that.
Again, thanks to my governor, every child in Kwara State had at least 5 textbooks in core subjects and no child who passed our mock examination had to pay a kobo to register for WAEC and NECO. These are my legacies. But if you are in doubt, let us bring teachers together in a room and let the two of us stand before them and say what we have done for teachers and what we will still do when elected. Perhaps, that would be a good way to settle this debate once and for all. All these are products of big ideas.
As commissioner for education, I did everything in the interest of the children of poor people in my care. And I prayed to Allah to reward me according to my intentions and if indeed You know what? Allah answered my prayers. Out of the blues, I was appointed a Federal Minister. Again, you asked what I did with that? I will educate you. I was in Youth Development briefly before I was moved to sports. Even then, I did my best to leave a mark. You ever heard of You-Win programme? It was an initiative of the Federal Government to support young entrepreneurs with the best business ideas with training, mentoring and startup capital. Have you heard of “JumboOri ” in Adewole? That’s one of the beneficiaries. Have you heard of ‘Moringa Tea’ along Afon Road? That’s another beneficiary. There are many others. I was the minister who launched the You-Win across Nigeria. That’s the product of big ideas. You talked about me employing aides from other states. Well, how would you know?
The policy of the Federal Government at the time was that ministers were allowed only one Special Assistant and one Personal Assistant; this was meant to discourage a situation where personal aides take over the job of civil servants. My only SA was from Ilorin, his name is Suleiman Saka and my PA was Salmon Babatunde Salmon. All those others from other states were seconded to my office on request by international donor agencies who were willing to support the work I was doing.
Again, your team have been using this to campaign against me. Now you know. Even in the short time that I was in the youth development, I have a record of so many Kwarans who I helped to get jobs and trainings. The list is intact, if you or anyone wants to verify.
And as Sports Minister; well, what can I say? I don’t know where you were in 2013? But that was the year I led Nigeria to win the Africa Cup of Nations after 19 years; a feat that has not been equaled since then. My record, not only in football, but in all sports, remains unassailable even after eight years since I left office. I would not even bother to dignify your uneducated allegation about Kwara United with a response. I concede that you didn’t write the letter anywayLike I said in my first letter, we all do this charity thing to the best of our ability. The problem is that you think you can weaponize the poverty among our people to propel yourself into an office that you were never prepared for. Can you even mention one thing that you have done that does not have to do with money or buying something? I bet you can’t.
You mentioned the Harmony IPP Step-Down Project, which you said was abandoned by a government that I served in. This is another thing that baffles me about you. You grandstand against Dr. Saraki in the day and you come crawling back at night begging for his support. You actually think he will trade me for you? It’s either you have such a low estimation of him or you actually believe everything can be “dealed”.
You were one of the first people I informed of my plan to go to the senate. You never told me you were also interested. Only for you to call me a few days later to say you have also decided to run for the senate. And according to you, anybody that is running against you must know that he is running against an institution!
How arrogant could you get! What makes you an institution? You actually believe in your own hype so much that you went round boasting that Dr. Saraki withdrew from the senate race because he could not withstand you. Okay, why have you been going round seducing the Saraki people and claiming that you are also some kind of mutated Sarakite!
I am Omoluabi. And the Almighty Allah had given me an opportunity to prove it. It was the former Governor of Lagos State that said “may our loyalty not be tested.” My loyalty was tested. Alhamdulillah, I passed. If I considered money to be the most important thing in life, I would have followed President Jonathan in 2014, when I was asked to choose between him and Dr. Saraki. I know how much money was at stake. But my parents taught me that a good name is better than all the gold in the world. I chose to go with my original benefactor, because to do otherwise would have been to fail the principles of my upbringing and to bite a finger that I fed from. But I have seen
how you and your boys have tried to use even this against me by trying to portray me as someone that does not have a mind of his own. But how would I expect you to appreciate the sacrifice that some of us have made?
You see Musty, everyone has important role to play in a society. We all exist in a value-chain. The work of a doctor is as important as that of a governor, he keeps people alive. The work of a teacher is as important as that of senator, he develops the human soul. The work of a waste-manager or a driver or even a cleaner is as important.
Every single day, a teacher that leaves his house early in the morning to some remote village to teach other people’s children even when he barely can afford to feed his own children is making great impacts and a great contribution to the society.
You need to cure yourself of this messiah mentality and understand that it is not only with money that people can impact society. That police man that stands in the cold at night while
the rest of us snore in our bed is making a great sacrifice and a great impact. That soldier who runs towards the bandits while the rest of us run for safety is making a great impact. We need to start showing respect for the contributions of others. To every man his own way.
In conclusion, let me serve your APC party this warning through you. Your 2019 propaganda will not work this time. We all know that lying comes to you people naturally, but it will not save you in this election. You people think you can buy your
ways to victory having run the country and our state aground? You will see the limits of money and propaganda in a few weeks. May God keep us alive and well.
Finally, I thank you for calling my attention to the borehole you sunk in front of my family house. Again, may God reward you according to your intentions. I hope your borehole serves my people well, just like the two I have dug in the same area many years ago, fully equipped with generators, which are still serving my community.
Thank you and God bless.
Abdullahi, Kwara Central Senatorial Candidate People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
