What my father insisted on, which I passed on to my children, and what two of my uncles who I worked with before and after working with Habib Bank Ltd. rubbed on me, are respect, discipline and humility.
Boss Mustapha, a Christian, taught me ordinary courtroom procedure when I worked with him at Mustapha and Associates on the 3rd Floor of Bornoma House along Muhammadu Musdafa Way in Jimeta-Yola. Boss insisted that, as he did, we must, as lawyers, always address the judge before whom we appear in court as “my lord, with humility and respect” my name is Sadiq Ibrahim.
Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, also a Christian, who was speaker of the House of Reps., always identified me to speak on the floor of the House as “Hon. Sadiq, please.” Dogara always added ‘please’ to the permission he gave all to speak.
I am well schooled in this, such that even at age 60, I dare not address any of the 34 members of Gongola Peoples Forum (GPF) with the minutest iota of disrespect. Not even Sen. Abbo who is my junior in age; for Abbo has attained the highest point of his career, at young age, but which I am yet to attain. I must therefore respect him.
Suffice it say, with humility and respect, as Boss Mustapha would say, that most of the 34 members of the GPF who are all honorable men and women are grandparents. Almost half of them are great grandparents who, expectedly, and at this twilight of their lives, should not suppose form a group of ‘ethnic nationalities’ only; whatever that may mean.
Adamawa youth; whether Christians or Muslims, this is all politics. They want to use you, achieve political gain and discard you by the roadside. This is a dangerous precedent.
I is totally embarrassing for great grandparents, many of whom I have interacted with and found to be good people, to form a group, chose at least one person from each of the 21 local government areas of Adamawa state but completely excluded any Hausa-Fulani from their membership. Their aim, as they said, to struggle for “self-determination” by, as it shows, changing the name Adamawa to Gongola state.
Not that changing the name of the state or attempting to do so is bad in itself. If achievable for common good through peaceful means, it is all fine and good. It is not bad to congregate as group to achieve a common purpose or objective that will bring unity. It is not. It is rather a right to which every one is entitled to, under section 40 of the constitution.
What is reallly bad is selecting themselves, while they are in a multi-religious, multi ethnic and multi lingual society, to the exclusion of one ethnic group, Hausa-Fulani. In our state where most families are mixed with the Hausa and the Fulani for generations, this, I submit, is not right.
Brig. Gen. Danladi M. Zakari, Mr. Fwa and I believe that truth is always the truth no matter who says it. It is for this that Mr. Fwa and I, in particular, are often looked down upon with disdain by our respective tribes and adherents of our religion. Yet we trudge on.
I have no apologies for saying that I have no problem with the creation of any Chiefdom. Col. Zakari and Mr. Fwa have said “there is nothing in a name.” Dr. Akewata Emanuel thinks so too. And Mr. Yusuf Jabatawa Jabs says he has no objection.These are ‘ethnic nationalities’ who have no apologies for insisting that they have no problem with the name Adamawa.
What you make of our stand on this, whether you are a Christian or Muslim of Adamawa state origin is your business. Just as you have freedom of association under the constitution, we and other indigines of Adamawa state are entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom under S. 39 of the constitution, to hold opinions contrary to yours.
However the bottom line is, nobody has the right in Adamawa state ‘ya dasawa yara ƙanana gaba a zukatan su’ and thus divide our state along ethnic lines. You don’t teach young people to hate. Rwanda started this way when some old people isolated others with whom they have been for generations, and told their children to hate those others as being responsible for their underdevelopment. And it ended up in genocide.
Youth of Adamawa, Christians and Muslims, please activate your search engine and google the meaning of ‘Al-Shabab’. It is an Arabic word meaning ‘youth’. But today Al-Shabab is a terror organization in Somalia. The youth in that country were misled by some old people who formed Al-Shabab in 2004 following the collapse of government of Muhammad Siad Barre in 1992. Since then every young person in Somalia carry a gun. He goes out every day to kill or be killed. There is no government in Somalia any more.
Adamawa has been a very peaceful state. We are one people. But if care is not taken the ambition of one man may take us to war. Young people I advise you not to take the message of these people seriously. They are our elders no doubt. You can respectfully refuse to follow in their footsteps by telling them, “grandpa/grandma, I think we can do it better this way” without hurting their feelings.
I personally respect their age but I don’t respect the age of their ideas.
If you see them, ask them where are their children, grandchildren and great grandchild, right now? Do they have children in M.A.U? Do they have children in SPY, ADSU, FCE, CLS Yola, College for Agriculture, Ganye or College for Education, Hong? I doubt.
Please my dear young boys and girls of Adamawa state origin, do not follow in the direction they want you to follow. Tell them that in this digital age, disputes are settled by brain not brawl,
I urge you if you go back to school after this Christmas and New Year holiday season, form associations together with your friends among the Hausa-Fulani. Live together, grow together and be friends forever. Do not isolate a tribe or any ethnic group. The people fighting themselves or fighting others over legal tender called money or politics or over change of the name of this state, do not have children, grandchildren or great grandchildren amongst you.
Their children, including mine, are in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Jos and Port Harcourt. They will not be there in Adamawa state if push comes to shove.
Some of us may start it, but non of us would know how it would end. Hitler started what seemed like a political play but he ended up exterminating 6 million Jews.
In the end, I swear no ‘ethnic nationality’ would leave Adamwa state for Hausa-Fulani, nor would any Hausa-Fulani man or woman leave the state for any ‘ethnic nationality. As the Igbo would say, ‘we die here’. But I would rather ‘we live here’.
Don’t let them deceive you Magdalene. Please remain friends with Aisha. Peter remain Yusuf’s friend. They want to use you to achieve political purpose that may lead to violence in the state where their children do not reside
After all, what is in a name?
- Dasin is a former House of Representatives member from Adamawa State
