By TPL Umar Shuaibu
Senator Adamu Aliero was appointed the FCT Minister by President Yar’adua in 2008 but was replaced by Bala Mohammed by Jonathan in his capacity as Acting President in 2010. All keen observers understood Bala’s appointment as a compensation for his support on the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ in the Senate that led to the emergence of Jonathan as the Acting President.
Earlier, Bala fell out with his political godfather, Governor Yuguda. However, as the FCT Minister and with his strong alliance with Jonathan, he never displayed arrogance or attempted any destabilization in his Bauchi State, akin to the prevailing situation in Rivers State. It would have been inimical to his success in the gubernatorial position he now enjoys.
As a person, former President Muhammadu Buhari can be accused of anything by his foes, but not corruption. His appointee for the FCT Ministerial position was Muhammadu Musa Bello, a man we considered to be more Buhari than Buhari himself in terms of intolerance to corruption and its tendencies.
As the Coordinator of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), he never knew me, nor did I lobby or pay any bribe to anybody when he nominated me for the appointment in his first tenure. He also returned me in his second tenure. What he told me was that he had been reading my articles on Abuja in the Daily Trust long before he became the Minister and would like to work with me. A person who reposed such confidence in me should never be disappointed. So it was up to the end of our service.
Whenever any traffic light malfunctioned, before any report reached me as the Coordinator, the former Minister would receive a security report and call me and the Transportation Secretary to ensure that we immediately put it in order. Unfortunately, today there are many junctions in the city that are accident-prone because the traffic lights have malfunctioned for a very long time and remain unattended to, with the number increasing.
I cannot remember the number of times that he went around the city, both in the day and night, with me as the Chief City Manager and the FCDA Executive Secretary, including all relevant Directors, to monitor and ensure the functions of streetlights, drainages, roads, and other critical infrastructures. As a human, it is natural for him to have shortcomings and critics. But on my part, I learned and imbibed a lot of virtues from many of his selfless dispositions.
Engr. Muhammad Abba Gana left that capacity more than 20 years ago and mentioned that he doesn’t own a house in Abuja today. Perhaps, during his time, there was less interest in material acquisition by leaders than it is today. But M. M. Bello left less than two years ago, without any interest in nor does he own a house in the city. More on this subject is reserved for later.
If the reigning President Bola Ahmed Tinubu desires, as the FCT Minister, a southerner, not a northerner, or another party different from his APC, or any other criteria, the whole of Nigeria as his constituency parades a multitude he can choose from. No one poses any challenge to his mandate. However, he didn’t see anyone capable except Barr. Nyesom Wike, the immediate past Governor of Rivers State.
The fact that he is the first Minister in the history of the FCT to come from the other side of the River Niger is not any concern, although there was a deviation from the known norms which only the former Presidents understood. Whatever their cautions and wisdom were, was thrown out by Tinubu. However, whatever the characters, disposition, or antecedents of Wike must have fit the type of person President Tinubu needs for the FCT. Whatever our observations and concerns were, were not his.
Irrespective of his position as the FCT Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike is at the center of the ongoing violent crisis in his home state of Rivers. The relative peace in Abuja, the Nation’s Capital, should never be allowed to degenerate to a situation akin to what Wike turned his native Rivers State into. Our fear doesn’t seem to concern Mr. President.
The green component of the city is now being depleted for selfish reasons. The critical infrastructure is not being attended to and the rate of vandalism has multiplied, certainly skyrocketing the cost of restoration. It is widely known that the Minister’s attention is unrelentingly divided between managing the protracted violent conflict in his native Rivers State and his responsibilities in the FCT.
The prevailing scenario has now reached a climax with a recent declaration of a controversial state of emergency. The President deemed it fit to suspend a democratically elected governor but refused to see any fault or take any action against Nyesom Wike, his political appointee who is equally or more culpable. The challenges in the FCT and the loss of lives among the warring factions and innocent citizens in Rivers, which are supposed to be addressed by the Government, are not of any concern as long as political gains are made towards 2023, irrespective of how.
In the words of Robert Mitchum, “There are three times in man’s life when it’s useless to hold him to anything: when he’s madly in love, drunk, or running for office
