Between Yari and Matawalle who is ignorant? By Badamasi Umaru
NEWS DIGEST – My attention has been drawn to a press statement where the Governor of Zamfara State Bello Muhammed Matawalle called his predecessor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari, unprintable names.
The press release signed by the governor’s Special Adviser on Public Enlightement, Media and Communications, Zailani Bappa, dated February 12, 2020, quoted Matawalle describing former Governor Yari as “ignorant and pathetic loser.”
Governor Matawalle’s outburst is laughable and dismissible for obvious reasons. The recent serial outbursts being unleashed from the Government House Gusau clearly reveals a pathetic situation: that all is not well with Governor Matawalle, and he really needs help of good spirited Nigerians.
It dawned on Matawalle and his co-travelers who were accidentally propelled into the totem pole of power in the state through the instrumentality of a controversial judgement of the Supreme Court that governance is indeed not a tea party.
For a start, it is expedient to put it on record that despite ex-Governor Yari’s “ignorance” as claimed by Matawalle, he never for once forged a certificate to secure a teaching jobs in Kwatarkwashi and Rabah schools.
It is pertinent to mention it to the hearing of all that former Governor Yari has never forged a certificate to secure another job at the Ministry of Water Resources. These are facts. Yari is “ignorant” but never a serial forger.
It is not therefore surprising for Matawalle whose educational deficiencies is common secret to have the audacity to described former Governor Yari as ignorant. It is apparent that the governance burden in Zamfara has drained his energy and exposed his stark illiteracy in both western and Islamic education.
Matawalle also described Yari as a pathetic loser. That is unimaginable and clear but failed attempt to impeach the integrity and political prowess of the former governor.
It is an understatement to say Yari is a colossus with a successful and unblemished credentials throughout in his over 25 years of political odyssey.
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Yari was a state secretary of the defunct All Peoples Party (ANPP) before he became the party chairman in Zamfara state. He was subsequently elected as a member of the House of Representatives, before his elections twice as executive governor in the state in 2011 and 2015. I wondered where Matawalle got the pseudo idea that Yari is a “pathetic loser” even though he has never lost any election he contested for.
Despite the artificially engineered crisis in the ruling APC in Zamfara state on the eve of last general elections, which reached its climax with when some elements in the party having realized that they have lost their electoral value launched a vicious campaign against the party in courts, Yari won the entire state for the APC.
Yari won his senatorial elections and ensured victory for the 33 other elective positions in the state that included a governor, his deputy, senators, House of Representatives members, and members House of House of Assembly.
These unprecedented effort of Yari was only truncated on April 24 2020 when the Supreme Court transferred APC’s victories to the PDP. Without the apex court verdict, Matawalle wouldn’t have smelled the Zamfara Government House.
Governor Matawalle’s claim that Yari has refused to accept the will of Allah (the Supreme Court judgement), that sounds funny and childish to say the least. He was basking over the APC decision to seek a review of the apex court judgement as guaranteed by the constitution.
It is surprising that Matawalle has audacity to accuse Yari and APC for adopting a constitutional measure of seeking redress. The governor has forgotten that his party, the PDP is also in the apex court seeking a review of the judgement that dethroned Emeka Ihedioha and enthroned Hope Uzodimma as governor of Imo. What is wrong with that.
It was on record that Matawalle’s party went to the extent of taking their matter to the United States embassy over the Imo state election matter. It is within their rights, that is why nobody is blaming them as Matawalle is trying to blame Yari and APC in Zamfara.
Umaru wrote from Gusau, Zamfara state.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial policy of NewsDigest.ng.
