I did not know his real name, only the nickname he bears, so what I wrote about him was purely based on what I heard and read about him. Even his nickname, which I knew as Kwaskwaro, is suffixed with ‘na Buhari,’ and this was unknown to me. However, I later came to know his name was (now Honourable) Surajo Abdullahi. And I am not sure he knows me.
By Abdu Labaran
About two months ago, he distributed materials estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of naira to his constituents. The materials included motorcars, motorcycles, bicycles, fertilizers, and money, in hundreds of thousands to individuals.
I did not write about that at the time of the donation, but only now when I remembered doing something along this line. It was when I learned that three people took care of most of the not-so-rich people in Musawa Local Government Area.
Alhaji Haruna Isa Jikamshi, now of blessed memory, once told me that these are the three people who took care of the food needs of most of the people in the local government during the fasting period of the month of Ramadan. The three people were Senator Abu Ibrahim, Alhaji Abdullahi Imam, then an accountant at the House of Representatives in Abuja, and Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko Inde, then a Customs Assistant Comptroller General in charge of operations, Abuja. All three were Abuja-based, from Musawa Local Government of Katsina State.
The trio also paid the ANNUAL hospital bills for the poor and the school needs of the children of the poor, including fees, in the local government area. And they did it quietly, known to only a few and those affected, of course.
Based on what I learned from my very good friend, Haruna Isa, I wrote an opinion article on them and what they were doing and urged other wealthy individuals in the state to follow suit. I did not consult them, so they were not expecting a favorable article praising them for their selflessness. The name I gave the article was ‘Being Their Brothers’ Keepers,’ which I did not bother to consult them to ‘hear their side of the story,’ since what I heard about them was positive.
The day after it was published in the Daily Trust, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko Inde called me from his office and thanked yours sincerely. He then requested me to meet him the following day. I said it was fine with me, except that I did not know where the Customs Headquarters was located in Abuja, and the time he wanted us to meet. He gave me the direction to the Customs Headquarters and said I could meet him in the office anytime from 8.00 am, as it would give him enough time to tidy up. He said he usually reported to the office at 7.00 am. I was hardly out of bed at that time because, as the Group Political Editor at Daily Trust, I only reported to my office around 12.00 pm.
I met him in his office the following day, where I met ‘his Lawyer,’ as he introduced the only person with him, and asked me to wait for him a few moments, as his ‘oga at the top’ had given him an assignment he wanted to finish. When he was nearly done with what he was doing, a fourth man (civilian) came to the office, and that was the end of why Alhaji Inde called me.
The person overruled the other two as to why I was called when he himself was around. Well, that was the end of it. And to show them that I was not worried about the ‘shabby’ situation, I asked Alhaji Inde what story he wanted me to write for him. He gave me some papers to ‘go through and see if a story can be made out.’ A story was indeed made and published in the Daily Trust some days later. But I did not bother to see him again, even as he called me repeatedly.
Back to Honourable Surajo Abdullahi, alias Kwaskwaro na Buhari. What he did for his constituents in Kaita Local Government Area is definitely worthy of praise and emulation by others in positions of power, whatever the level may be.
In a country where the passion among politicians is to get as much as possible from the Commonwealth and give back to society as little as possible, even though they know that they cannot take the money they so amassed with them at the end of their lives, the gesture of the Katsina State House of Assembly member is highly commendable and worthy of recognition by the governments, at both federal and state levels.
So is the gesture of Alhaji Ibrahim Kabir Masari, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President, who, some months back, distributed materials to some people in his Funtua Senatorial Zone worth one billion naira (1 billion naira), including cash.
Such people, who come to their constituency with a lot of goodies without any election in sight, are very rare among the political class on these shores. It is therefore important for Honourable Surajo and Alhaji Ibrahim Masari’s political party to take a special interest in them, as their type would bring it more voting members and move it forward further.
May we have such selfless politicians in abundance in Nigeria, especially at this time when many of the top politicians do little to assist the less privileged in the country, despite the millions or even billions they amass, most of it from the Commonwealth.
Malam Malumfashi wrote from Katsina.
