A Greek gift refers to a gift or a kind gesture embedded with evil, devious and malicious intents. It applies, especially when an adversary suddenly turns friendly and advancing glittering items of gift. That which appears like a harmless, friendly gesture may not in all likelihood be an olive branch indicating peace overtures. Yes, it shines like a golden chalice, but, watch it, you might be about accepting either a kettle of concentrated acid, or similarly dangerous, lethal agents.
That was the scenario that played out in Sokoto state the other week between the state government and Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko when the latter went offering a surprising, unsolicited gift of providing an intensive fumigation at a cost of N8 million to himself in parts of the state. What? Fumigation by ALU? And, free?
Any one and every one at home with the political realities in Sokoto would have passed the relevant authorities, particularly, officials of the Ministry of Health as a horde of simpletons if they had accepted the offer. For a number of good reasons, it would have been the height of naivety, lack of circumspection and gross dereliction of duty to the populace to have believed that the senator’s intentions were as sincere, harmless and, altruistic as presented on the surface. Just like the foolish soldiers of Troy in their accepting the Greek gift of the wooden horse!
For as long as two years now, Senator Wamakko has been consistent in his disdain for the administration and person of Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. He has done everything to rubbish and to out rightly bring down the man and his government. These range from subtle actions of sabotage through cronies and paid agents within the administration to instigation of thugs to violence, thuggery and other forms of brigandage. The story has also been widespread of the engagement of marabouts in Nigeria, Niger Republic, Mali and Saudi Arabia to spiritually working against the sitting government.
The height of the animosity came out glaringly during the recent governorship election in the state. Political warfare, deafening propaganda, breathtaking sums of money, naira and dollars as well as huge number of rampaging armed political thugs, mercenaries from neighbouring states and Niger Republic were unleashed during the campaign. It was something like, “do or die” with a battle cry that seemed like: “To defeat Tambuwal is a TASK that must be done.” It was a fierce, all-out war; a sort of war of attrition.
At the end, victory was Governor Tambuwal’s and his PDP. APC, led by its leader, Senator Wamakko, challenged the outcome and got a rerun election. Again, in spite of all, Tambuwal emerged triumphant. Yet, Wamakko’s anointed candidate of the APC went on to question the veracity of the election and the case is pending at the tribunal.
Meantime, Wamakko has intensified engagement in activities that betray political motivation. For instance, he goes around towns and villages across the state in long convoys, just as he has continued with his trademark practice of spraying naira notes at the hapless citizens on occasions of marriage ceremonies, funerals and other social gatherings which he now frequents. Especially because of its timing, not a few critical observers believe that his recent stated intention to establish a private university in the state might just as well be a grandstanding political gimmick, made purely for political capital.
Logically, therefore, various reactions greeted the news of the senator’s proposed fumigation in parts of the state. There were views to the effect example, that the chemicals to be used in the fumigation had some “magical concoctions that would turn Tambuwal into an odious and repulsing object as repugnant as the odour oozing from the pesticides”. Related to this sort of perception among the local folks is the one that suggested the fumigation to contain poisonous chemicals whose long-term hazardous effects would be blamed on government.
Enlightened opinions would not, of course, align with the above interpretations on the motives behind the failed Wamakko’s gift of fumigation. That would mean believing that political desperation, craze for power and, hate, have got to such a bizarre level. All the same, no matter how charitable one’s position on the controversy, Senator Wamakko has a few critical questions to answer.
Was the erstwhile two-term governor of the state sincerely expecting the incumbent government to either look the other way or even, roll out the drums and clapping for him? Could he have, in all honesty accepted, while he was at the helms, a situation such as played out over his aborted fumigation? That is, a situation where an individual, no matter his standing in the society, or even an NGO regardless of its reputation, would just plunge into such a massive scale of fumigation without prior consultation and express authority of his administration?
To put it more practically and graphically, would Wamakko have accepted such a move while he was governor, from his predecessor, Dr Attahiru Bafarawa as a harmless, apolitical gesture of altruism? The senator cannot answer this in the affirmative. Lest he has forgotten, let him go down memory lane to 2007 when something similar occurred while he was governor.
Twelve years ago, his predecessor, Bafarawa, had in his longstanding practice sent meat of rams to the children at the Sokoto Orphanage Home during a festive occasion. All hell was let loose! Governor Wamakko, who was away in Saudi Arabia, was told by his aides of the development. Perhaps, on consultation with spiritualists, officials of the orphanage were ordered not to feed the meat to the children. Spokespersons of government told news correspondents that they suspected the meat to be fetish. The explanation was that by eating the meat, Wamakko would be made to become pathetic, forlorn and abandoned, just like the unfortunate children!
The state government went further to order the arrest, detention and prosecution of the chief security officer to Bafarawa and others allegedly involved in hatching the “diabolical” act. Is Senator Wamakko not lucky then that he just got away with a courteous act of rejection of his offer? “Do unto others as you would want others to do unto you”, is an old saying that Wamakko ought to have considered.
Moreover, no responsible and diligent government through its public health agencies would allow the spraying of chemicals in the public space under whatever guise or declared objective and by whosoever, without verification of the nature of chemicals involved. That is not to talk of allowing such a relatively large scale and potentially hazardous exercise without consultation and authorisation of government. Officials of Sokoto state Ministry of Health did the most intelligent thing by rejecting the Wamakko offer of fumigation on the suspicion of a Greek gift.
Modibo writes from Shika, Zaria, Kaduna state.
