Opinion

Remembering Pius Adesanmi, Aburo I never met

Published

2 years ago

February 26, 2023

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By Tunde Olusunle

I had two spells as student at the University of Ilorin, abbreviated by us as Unilorin. True, our university started as a college under the University of Ibadan, (UI). We were in a hurry, however, to assert our independence and define our own corporate identity, soon after we were weaned off our mother’s breasts. Unilorin has since imprinted itself in Nigerian and global consciousness. The sheer quality of human resources it has availed the world, its groundbreaking ventures in research, teaching and mentoring, the holistic gamut of knowledge production and dissemination, has since earned it a more fitting appellation. We call it the Better By Far citadel. My primary excursion through my alma mater, ran from 1982 to 1985. The succeeding odyssey, straddled 1987 to 1989. I studied English on both occasions, with a dominant slant for literature which I explored for my long essays and thesis respectively.

Several years after my departure from Unilorin, the name “Pius Adesanmi” became recurring in the public and literary engagement circuits, in Nigeria and beyond. He was at once a poet, scholar, critic, satirist, columnist, author, maybe theorist as well. Biographical information about him which I picked up in places, described him as a product of Unilorin and he was said to have studied French. The English and French faculty subunits in my time, were subsumed under a single department, known as the “Department of Modern European Languages,” MEL for short. Far into its teething years, the department was steered by the respected English scholar, literary critic, editor, David Cook, who helped to build the twin-arms of the department, into formidable, global reckoning. Cook earned a first class degree in English from the University of London in 1954, and a masters degree in 1956. He taught at the University of Southampton, before relocating to Africa in 1962.

On your next outing, you just may encounter: Charles Bodunde; Taiwo Oloruntoba-Oju and his wife, Omotayo Oloruntoba-Oju; Sola Babatunde; Gbenga Ayeni; Tivlumun Nyitse; Sunnie Enessi Ododo; Wumi Raji; Sola Mike Olorunyomi; Tunde Akanni; Rasheed Na’Allah, Bayo Afolabi, and several others. They are all distinguished professors, or professorial-cadre eggheads serving in universities and other institutions in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world. They are all sterling products of the primordial MEL, Unilorin’s Department of Modern European Languages of yore, at the undergraduate or postgraduate levels, or in instances, all levels. Pius Adesanmi followed the footsteps of these older, inspirational alumni of MEL, Unilorin.

Even while I was still foraging for information on Pius Adesanmi, I would yet get to know that he was my “younger brother.” Within the context of the family and community in many African cultures, English-style labels such as: cousin, aunt, uncle, nephew, niece, are alien and rarely deployed in day-to-day interactions and conversations. In the Yoruba country for example, every other male or man, is as well your Baba or Boda, every female or woman your Mama or Anti. Egbon also suffices in referring to an older person, not as old as one’s parent, though, while aburo is a younger relative or kinsmen. Adesanmi actually hailed from the same hometown, Isanlu, headquarters of Yagba East local government area, (LGA), like me. His family house a whispering distance from ours. My family home is domiciled in Omowa Mopo, district, while the Adesanmis are in Itedo Ijowa, both in Isanlu. These were distances our people walked as leisure, before the advent of indulgent inventions.

I was born and raised out there in the old North Central and Midwestern states. Adesanmi was sired and groomed at home in Isanlu. This, however, did not detract from the genius he blossomed into. His father, Baba Alfred Dare Adesanmi, was a diligent, respected and inspirational educationist in contemporary Okun land in Kogi State. He taught and headed prominent schools in the area including: St. Kizito’s College, Isanlu; St. Augustine’s College, Kabba, and Titcombe College, Egbe. With his equally committed wife, Mama Olufunke Lois Adesanmi, they ensured their son got the best of education and mentoring, available anywhere. Remarkably, the younger Adesanmi demonstrated early passion for French studies even in these hitherto semi-urban destinations. He would go on to obtain a first class degree honours in the course. And he did so at an impressively young age of 20, in 1992! The differences in our generations, obviously privileged me to have gone through the university, many years before him.

Pius Adesanmi should have marked his 51st birthday February 27, 2023. It would also be four years after his very painful demise in a plane crash involving “flight ET 302” operated by Ethiopian Airlines, come March 10, 2023. The tragic incident occurred in an Ethiopian suburb called Bishoftu, en route Nairobi, Kenya. Jemilat Nasiru in a tribute in his memory, March 12, 2019, notes that: “If there is one name on the lips of many Nigerians, a name that weighs down the tongue with peculiar grief, a name that warms the heart with humour from memories past and pain of an unthinkable demise, a name that will only now encounter its embodiment in dreams and the world yonder, that name will be Pius Adebola Adesanmi.”

This is therefore a fitting opportunity to remember this meteor who shot through and shone in the global firmament of creativity and intellection, during his abridged sojourn on this side. As a poet, Adesanmi released his maiden, and sadly, only volume of poetry, The Wayfarer and Other Poems, in 2001. The book won the keenly contested Association of Nigerian Authors, (ANA) poetry prize, in the same year. It has been described as “a literary response to the ambiguities of oppressive power during military rule in Nigeria.” It is consistent with the over-arching thematic focus of poets writing within that milieu, who attempted “the mobilisation of poetic imagination in the resistance of the dominant military culture of the 1990s.”

Adesanmi released his collection of satirical essays, Naija No Dey Carry Last: Thoughts on a Nation in Progress in 2015. Despite his place in diaspora in a career which privileged him an American green-card holder and Canadian citizenship, simultaneously, Adesanmi’s umbilical interconnectivity to his homeland and to Africa, was never in doubt. The book is an overflow of the author’s vocation in public intellection. It is an aggregation of witty perspectives by the author about different sides and slides of Nigeria’s day-to-day experiences, even conversations. Udo Okoronkwo-Chukwu in a 2016 study suggests that the book deploys “satire to create political awareness and national memory… and scrutinises the growth of Nigeria’s democracy and the commitment of successive leaders.” The book was listed by Channels Television Book Club’s prestigious list of the “Best 15 Nigerian Books of 2015.”

His very seminal book, You’re Not A Country, Africa: A Personal History Of The African Present, ( 2011), is a groundbreaking collection of essays. Adesanmi attempts to interrogate what it really is, that Africa means to him as an African. By extension, it equally tries to distil the perspectives of other Africans, about their continent. An immensely prolific writer, he also authored *Who Owns the Problem? Africa and the Struggle for Agency, posthumously released in 2020, as well as Africa Matters: Cultural politics, political economies and grammars of protest, (2019), co-edited by Blair Rutherford, and among others.

Adesanmi obtained a masters degree in French at UI in 1998. He had engaged with some of Nigeria’s most revered scholars and literary creators, notably Olu Obafemi, Emeritus professor of English in Unilorin. UI will further expose him to literary icons like Wole Soyinka, Femi Osofisan and Niyi Osundare. He pursued a doctorate in French Studies from the University of British Colombia, graduating in 2002. He was between 2002 and 2005, assistant professor of Comparative Literature at the Pennsylvania State University, in the United States of America, (USA). He was engaged by the Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada in 2006, as professor of literature and African Studies. A prodigious global brand, Adesanmi harvested strings of honours and awards in his impactful career. He won the inaugural “Penguin Prize for African Writing” in the fiction category for his landmark work, You’re Not a Country, Africa. He also won the 2017 edition of the “Canada Bureau of International Education Leadership Award.”

Pius Adesanmi is survived by his aged mother, Mama Olufunke Lois Adesanmi, his wife, Muyiwa, and two young daughters, Oluwatise and Oluwadamilare. Back home in Isanlu and the broader Yagba sub-country, Adesanmi continues to be missed. Tayo Akanbi, an engineer and civil servant, one of Adesanmi’s childhood friends, recalls with nostalgia that Adesanmi was in the process of having his own address in Isanlu, by way of building a small house in the community. Ralph Omololu-Agbana, journalist and Adesanmi’s classmate at Titcombe College, Egbe, recalls his late friend’s consternation at the weaponisation of the 2019 elections, when they chatted before his departure. Agbana recalls Adesanmi saying in Yagba: “This is unbelievable. You mean arms were brought into our pristine oasis of peace and serenity in Yagbaland? This is ominous and totally out of our DNA.”

Nduka Otiono, also a Nigerian-Canadian like Adesanmi, who is associate professor at the Carleton University, collaborated with Uchechukwu Umezurike, to produce a memorial poetry collection in honour of Adesanmi. Titled; Wreaths for a Wayfarer, a pun on Adesanmi’s first and only poetry volume, the book was published in 2020. I have equally paid tribute to his memory in my newest volume of poetry, A Medley Of Echoes, (published in 2022), in a poem titled “A bouquet for Bola.” Bola is abbreviated from Adesanmi’s middle name, Adebola which he rarely used. February 17, 2023, Carleton University where he worked for nearly 15 years, rising to the position of Director, Institute for African Studies, (IAS), named a new *Pius Adesanmi African Studies Resource Centre, (PAASRC), after him. We all continue to savour the *cologned* memories of a brother and kindred spirit who was on this side, albeit for brief. One who nonetheless engraved his name indelibly, on the sands of time.

Tunde Olusunle, PhD, poet, journalist, scholar and author is a Member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, (NGE)

Opinion

How Governor Ododo stole the show at Edo APC Governorship campaign Mega Rally

Published

4 days ago

September 16, 2024

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By Ismaila Isah

The tempo of activities leading to the governorship election holding September 21, 2024 reached a crescendo last weekend when the Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, in company of other APC governors and leaders were in Edo state to campaign for the party’s candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo.
It was a homecoming for Governor Ododo whose first port of call wasIgarra in Akoko-Edo Local Government area of Edo state. The Igarra shares cultural and linguistic affinity with Ebira. Their language is a dialect of Ebira with a lot in common with the Ebiras in Kogi, Nasarawa, the FCT, Ondo, Ekiti and other states with high population of Ebira speakers and settlers.

The people also turned out in large numbers to support and join hands with their “son-governor” from another mother in last-minute campaign to win the hearts of Igarra and Edo people in general and to drum support for the APC candidate, Senator Okpebholo.

After successfully leading the youth rally in Igarra, headquarters of Akoko-Edo on Friday, Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo proceeded to Benin City, the Edo state capital where he was seen receiving other governors and party leaders ahead of the APC mega rally held at the University of Benin Sports Complex in Ugbowo.

Governor Ododo was the cynosure of all eyes as many party leaders including APC governors were seen consulting with him as the director of youth mobilization for the Edo State Edo APC Governorship Campaign Council.

He stayed awake through the night on Friday till early Saturday morning addressing different groups who thronged his base at the GRA in Benin City to consult with him on strategic direction for effective mobilization for the mega rally and grand finale of the Edo APC Governorship election campaign.

The Kogi State Governor was well supported by his brother and the Edo state Deputy Governor, Mr Philip Shaibu who hosted the Governor and his entourage and ensured that the Governor and members of his team enjoyed the comfort and hospitality of Edo state throughout the stay.

Governor Ododo who was at the Benin airport to receive Vice President Kashim Shettima who was the special guest at the mega rally also accompanied the Vice President to the palace of the Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II.

The Kogi State Governor received commendation from Vice President Kashim Shettima, the APC National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, other governors and members of the National Working Committee of the party who were impressed by the level of mobilization of youth for the mega rally which is largely atttibuted to Governor Ododo’s ground work which went on for weeks before the mega rally.

With stops, meet and greet in different communities in Etsako, Owan and Oredo where he interfaced with non-indigenous communities like Igbo traders and Kogi state indigenes in Edo state, Governor Ododo’s message for them to support the APC and its Governorship candidate was loud, clear and persuasive.

From Lampese, Igarra, Auchi through Afuze to Benin City, Governor Ododo’s presence was electric and his impact was felt throughout Edo State as he went with his team to mobilize support for the APC Governorship candidate Senator Monday Okpebholo.

The Ododo story in the 2024 Edo Governorship election which will be complete on Saturday the 21st of September is that of courageous and energetic young Governor who is following the footsteps of his boss and predecessor, Governor Yahaya Bello in unequivocal and absolute loyalty to the APC irrespective of the terrain, the personality of the candidate and the burden of staying true and committed to the success of the political party that has redefined partisan politics in Nigeria’s history.

With the statistics and predictions in favour of the APC, there is hope that Senator Monday Okpebholo will be victorious at the polls and become the next Governor of Edo state.

Isah is the Special Adviser on Media to the Kogi State Governor

Opinion

Edo 2024: Betsy Obaseki’s broadside and Adams Oshiomohle’s bombshell

Published

2 weeks ago

September 9, 2024

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By Ehichioya Ezomon

The 1967 hit song, “The First Cut Is the Deepest,” written by British singer-songwriter, Cat Stevens, may not be related to the discourse hereunder, but it’s a strong advice to humans, to bridle their tongues – as the Apostles admonish in James 3:8-9 – against censoriousness, and reproving others with a magisterial air, as true wisdom comes only from above.
“The First Cut Is the Deepest” was originally released in April 1967 by P. P. Arnold – an American soul singer, born Patricia Ann Cole, on October 3, 1946, in Los Angeles, California – who relocated in 1966 to London, the United Kingdom, to pursue a solo career, and enjoyed considerable success with the single, which also became a hit by Rod Stewart in his seventh album, “A Night On The Town,” released in 1976.)
In the past week, all eyes and mouths have been on former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, even as social media remains agog – albeit slantily – over the Senator’s attack on Governor Godwin Obaseki and First Lady Betsy Obaseki, over their childlessness – a very sensitive and no-go-area issue in our cultural, traditional and religious settings.
Yet, the judgmental critics have made the Oshiomhole tactless attack – that touches the underbelly of the Obasekis – to appear as out of the blue, whereas it’s a riposte to Mrs Obaseki’s equally graceless reminder of the Edo people – especially the women – that only the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr Asue Ighodalo, has a wife among the candidates vying to succeed her husband from the September 21, 2024, governorship election that’s 12 days away.
Below is Mrs Obaseki’s unprompted remarks at a PDP campaign rally in Benin City:
“Among the candidates wey dey contest election, na only one get wife. And na our own party candidate, Asue Ighodalo, na only him get wife. Na him wife bi dis” (as she raised Mrs Ighodalo’s right hand, to the cheers of the rallygoers).
“Women for Edo, make una know sey na only one candidate get wifeooo” (Mrs Obaseki added, as she pulled her left ear, as a sign of warning to the female voters).
What’s Mrs Obaseki’s motive(s) for dragging marital matters into the campaigns when there’re myriad issues of alleged poor performance in Mrs Obaseki’s husband’s eight-year governance, in which Mr Ighodalo’s the Economic Adviser?
Was it to change the opposition narratives on the subpar outing of Governor Obaseki; score political points for Ighodalo and the PDP; a dig at the other candidates, who, perhaps, have no wives to act as “First Lady” should they win the September 21 poll; or throw herself and family into the mix, to curry sympathy for themselves and votes for Ighodalo, and disparagement and denial of votes for the “wifeless” candidates?
On the basis of the law of reciprocity, one would be tempted to say good riddance to bad rubbish, as what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander: Considering that it’s Mrs Obaseki, who prompted the “familial controversy” at a campaign rally, which Oshiomhole – a non-candidate at the election –uncouscionably jumped in to respond to.
Now a case of “Two wrongs don’t make a right,” Oshiomhole’s likely unsolicited intervention on behalf of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central) – whose campaign council Oshiomhole chairs – has several contextual proverbs.
The axioms include: 1) Without pulling the trigger, the gun will not fire. 2) Actions speak louder than words. 3) Familiarity breeds contempt. 4) People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. 5) The farting of the rich smells sweet, that of the poor fouls the air. 6) Someone who knows how their anus is should learn to sit properly. 7) First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matt 7:5) 8) Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Matt 7:12) 9) If you point one finger, there are three more pointing back at you. 10) The bird whose feathers are used for sacrifice moves about stealthily.
Some or all of these sayings fit into Oshiomhole and Mrs Obaseki’s dockets, but only Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) ultimately opens himself up to vitriol and odium. Because – short of scientific attempts to challenge nature – childbearing is a gift and a miracle from God, the Creator. So, no one – no matter the circumstance – plays God over an issue they’ve no knowledge and power to determine.
Let’s look at a post on the WhatsApp page of PAN EDO POLITICAL FORUM – which may not be altruistic but politically-motivated – to gauge the public angst over Oshiomhole’s attack on the Obasekis. The anonymous post, entitled, “What All Truthful Pastors Should Preach This Sunday Until It Reaches All,” reads:
“Words can be weapons, and Adams Oshiomhole’s recent jabs at Governor Obaseki and his wife have left many Nigerians in shock and dismay. Mocking someone’s childlessness is a hurtful and personal attack that crosses the boundaries of decent political discourse.
“Imagine the pain and anguish that comes with longing for a child, only to be met with ridicule and scorn. The Obasekis have shown remarkable strength and resilience in the face of this adversity, but Oshiomhole’s comments have reopened old wounds and caused fresh hurt.
“Let us rally around the Obasekis and show them that we stand with them in solidarity and support. Let us reject the politics of personal attacks and embrace empathy and compassion.
“Childlessness is a sensitive issue that affects many families, and we must approach it with kindness and understanding. Let us create a society where people can share their struggles without fear of judgment or mockery.
“Oshiomhole’s comments may have been meant to score political points, but they have ultimately revealed his own character and exposed the dark underbelly of our political culture. Let us rise above this and choose a higher path – one of love, empathy, and respect for all.
“Furthermore, Oshiomhole’s behaviour falls short of the standards expected of a public figure, and his actions are a disservice to the people of Edo State and Nigeria as a whole. His comments are not only unbecoming of a leader but also contradict the values of our cultural heritage.
“In the Benin Kingdom, where Oshiomhole hails from, respect for elders and dignity for all individuals are deeply ingrained traditions. His utterances have brought shame to his people and tarnished the image of the kingdom.
“Let us reject Oshiomhole’s divisive and hurtful rhetoric and instead embrace a culture of empathy, kindness, and respect. We must hold our leaders accountable for their words and actions, and demand better from those who seek to represent us.”
The foregoing is a mild version of what concerned members of the public have written about and against Oshiomhole, whose public utterances – time and again – have tended to be unguarded and out of step and control, like a loose cannon. It’s time he checked his exuberance, and act as a Statesman!
That said, Oshiomhole appears unfairly treated by the same public that wears Mrs Obaseki the toga of victimhood! Why should the critics be one-sided? Why don’t they also censure Mrs Obaseki, who pulled the trigger first by mocking other candidates – who’ve no wives – in the September 21 governorship election?
While there’re pressing issues of governance to highlight at every stop on the campaign trail, Mrs Obaseki off-handedly threw “familial matter” into the political arena. Thus, as we blame Oshiomhole for unwarrantedly responding in kind – especially as he’s not a candidate in the election – Mrs Obaseki should also be held responsible for unnecessarily teasing the “unwived” candidates!
In the interim – as if Mrs Obaseki’s allusion to candidates with no wives was specifically targeted at Okpebholo – there’ve been calls from broadcast talking heads and pundits, and women groups for Okpebholo to introduce to the public his wife, who, they argue, should join in the campaigns to elect her husband on September 21 – citing, as an example, Mrs Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, who joins her husband’s campaign train and/or does separate stomps on his behalf.
Still, having a wife isn’t a requirement for the Office of Governor – and other elective positions of a Member of the Senate; a Member of the House of Representatives; a Member of the State House of Assembly; the President and Vice President; and the Deputy Governor – as spelt out in Sections 65, 106, 131, and 177 of the amended 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.
To qualify for any of those elective positions, a candidate must certify that: (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; (b) he has attained the age of 35, 30, 30, 40 and 35 (applicable to each office in that order); (c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and (d) he has been educated to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.
Clearly, there’s no provision of the 1999 Constitution requiring a candidate to have a wife before they can vie for the governorship. It’s an extraneous matter injected into the campaigns by Mrs Obaseki for political optics, to puncture the enthusiasm and momentum in Mr Ighodalo’s opposing camps.
So, going by the 1967 hit song, “The First Cut Is The Deepest,” shouldn’t Mrs Obaseki’s “polemic” on candidates, who’ve no wives, be ranked as the deepest cut – or at least placed on equal pedestal with Comrade Oshiomhole’s “thunderbolt” on the Obasekis childlessness – for attempting to throw an already tensed Edo politics into a tailspin, which, indeed, she’s succeeded in doing? Let’s not bury the truth in emotion or partisanship!

Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria

Opinion

APC Must Probe Zazzaga And Other Moles Within

Published

2 weeks ago

September 5, 2024

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Abdullahi Sule

By Dr Kassim Muh’d Kassim

The recent attack on Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule by one Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga a self acclaimed chairman of a faceless group, which referred to itself as “North Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum”, for visiting the National Chairman of APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, was in bad taste.
In a purported interview credited to him, Zazzaga made a so-called call for an apology from the governor. The said Zazzaga “condemned” Governor Sule, who is the Chairman of the APC North Central Governors’ Forum for “endorsing” the party’s national chiarman.
In the apparently sponsored outing syndicated in selected national newspapers, Zazzaga, acting the script of his pay masters, attempted to weep up emotion and hatred against Governor Sule across the North Central by connecting the visit to the national chairmanship seat struggle and the ongoing agitation to return it back to the zone.
In his desperation and that of his sponsors, Zazzaga also unsuccessfully tried to ignite sentiment in Governor Sule’s home state by pitching him against notable figure like the former National Chairman of our dear party and a father of the state, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and others, even as he veered off the track by bringing the issue of performance into the fray.
Now, how does a visit to the national secretariat of our great party amounted to an endorsement of a man who is already occupying the seat?
What motive does Zazzaga have for quoting Governor Sule out of contest? How does Governor Sule’s speech to the effect that: “I am here also to pay my respect to a man that deserves respect. To our National Chairman, Dr Ganduje. He deserves respect and deserves all the cooperation, especially at a time like this. In the next couple of weeks, we have an election in Edo, so the man does not need to be distracted in any other way so that we can go and win our election in Edo, and that is one of the reasons why I came to encourage him to be focused,’ translated to an endorsement?
But unknown to Zazzaga and his sponsors, Governor Sule was at the national secretariate of the party on a special invitation, as chairman of North Central Governor’s forum to find a solution to resolve the APC crisis in one of the state from the zone, “Benue state ” and he mentioned the elections in Edo because he is the publicity committee chairman for the party’s national campaign in Edo governorship election.
Now, let’s analyze the above statement by Governor Sule based on its content. If he called on stakeholders to rally behind Ganduje to enable the national chairman deliver Edo and Ondo for the party in the forthcoming governorship election in those states, why should someone who has the love of the party in his heart crucified him for that?
It is public knowledge that the governorship election for Edo State was slated for September 21 while that of Ondo is coming up on November 16. If the party’s stakeholders don’t put their houses in order and act collectively now how will it hope to win those states?
From all indications those faulting Governor Sule for calling for the stakeholders’ unity at this crucial time when the polls for the two strategic states are at hand do not mean well for the party and want it to lose. That is why it is imperative to initiate a probe to unmasked those using Zazzaga to further distablise the party because of their parochial interest. I don’t think Zazzaga is from Plateau State because if people like Zazzaga exist yet, we lost Plateau to opposition.
Come to think of it, who is Zazzaga within the party hierarchy to launch such attacks on the person and personality of the Chairman of the North Central Governors’Forum and key stakeholder of the party.
It must be stated here that the offensive against Governor Sule is an assault on the office of the North Central Governors Forum and an attempt to ridicule the party before the public.
But I’m challenging Zazzaga and his desperate sponsors to come to the NEC meeting of the party on the 11th of September to move a motion for the removal of Ganduje if they are serious about their agitation to have Ganduje removed from office, else their affront on Governor Sule deserves a decisive action against the perpetrators.
In it is surprising that despite his make-believe standing as stakeholder of the party in the North Central, Zazzaga is not even abreast with the transformation going in Nasarawa State under Governor Sule.
In his blind hatred and desperation to do the bidding of his pay masters, he failed to or probably ignored the need to do his research well before going public with his falsehood about the state of governance in the Home of Solid Mineral.
Even if he couldn’t take his time to visit the state for a firsthand information about the massive development going on in Nasarawa State, one would have think that as someone who is enlightened, Zazzaga should at listen to news and read the newspapers about what is happening in Nasarawa under Governor Sule.
If anything, the transformation in the solid mineral subsector courtesy of Governor Sule’s insight and resourcefulness, which has endeared the state and the governor to the presidency, should not have escaped Zazzaga ‘s attention. But he chooses to turn blind eyes and rather brook the disdain from the public over his misinformation regarding the situation in Nasarawa.
The state is now exposed to investors and development courtesy of Governor Sule. No one insults Governor Sule and goes free without being challenged by that community for his development strides across the state.
Dr Kassim Muh’d Kassim is the Special Adviser on Political Affairs to the Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule.