Several newspapers recently published controversial remarks by Senator Ahmad Maccido, in which he appeared to cast aspersions against the respected traditional institutions, especially the Sultanate. It was unexpected of a scion to the throne to link politics with the Sultanate which, as everyone knows, bestrides wide range of influences that stretch from Sokoto to Ilorin and down to Adamawa in the Islamic hegemony of Shehu Usman Dan Fodiyo.
It is preposterous for the Senator to seek to widen his political ambition by claiming to represent vast areas. Senator Maccido’s remarks in every material perspective portray intent to drag the Sultanate into the murky and divisive politics of this country. This is a dangerous trend that must not be allowed to take root. The Sultanate is the custodian of Islamic religious rites and provides a canopy of peace, unity and piety and promoter of upright values to every Muslim, and indeed all Nigerians.
In consonance with this avowed commitment and obligation to neutrality from politics the Sultanate Council has issued a statement against any attempt to drag it into politics and political controversy such as contained in Maccido’s interview. The Council took the rare step of disclaiming the Senator statement purporting to represent it in the National Assembly. The publication also appeared to invoke some outlandish and wholly inapplicable comparisons between the Senator and Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko.
But what are Maccido’s credentials? After his first tenure in the Senate his constituency (Sokoto Central) became disenchanted with his performance and wanted him replaced; Governor Wamakko intervened to save his political neck. Indeed, many now see him as a political liability.
The current campaign by Senator Maccido has akin to one of those betrayals that dot our political landscape. Freedom of association is our constitutional guaranteed right, but this right does not confer impunity or unreasonable behaviours and utterances in its exercise. Senator Maccido is an heir apparent to the Sultanate, but that is no political legitimacy. The institution is insulated from politics, and the Council has reaffirmed it in its recent press statement repudiating Maccido.
A careful perusal of the interview reveals a lack of grasp of the scope of the art of politics. There is nowhere in it that the Senator mentioned his scorecard to the people that elected him. If he is really serving his constituency, it is not showing on the ground. To attempt conflate that constituency with the institution of the Sultanate would be a vaulting ambition that is way off the mark. I think it has gone past time that Wamakko and others should stop shoring his political fortunes; he should now be up and doing on his own, and let’s see how far he can go.
It is indeed ridiculous to precipitate comparison between active and inactive personalities. The interview was mainly orchestrated as latitude to disparage Governor Wamakko. Given Wamakko’s stature and political profile, that project is a dismal failure. Wamakko has positively affected lives of the less-privileged including the disabled that receive monthly stipend for their upkeep. He has not discriminated against any interest or victimized political opponents in his overall welfare package, including the Ramadan Fast feeding programme which he introduced and nurtured to date.
Governor Wamakko executed vital projects that addressed the poverty level of the state through provision of critical infrastructure viz: township and rural roads, water and electricity supplies, housing; encouraged greater food production through agriculture (construction of dams for irrigation, creation of grazing reserves, institution of veterinary hospitals across the state, distribution of farm inputs and loans to farmers etc).
Comparisons become in this case become relevant only when the issues are matched; they are not, so Maccido is not in any position to make them.
Sahabi Garba,
Abdullahi Fodio Road, Sokoto
