Last weekend, I read his piece titled “Back to Maiduguri” in The Point newspaper. It was a beautiful piece. It brought back the memories or nostalgia of the challenges and hazards of a versatile reporter in the hands of the editor who wanted the best and nothing but the best. Any editor that fell into this category at this period would never take any excuse for the reporter’s failure. The editor wanted result and nothing short of this, notwithstanding the pains encountered by the reporter trying to achieve this. The challenges so encountered could come later, either for redress or for the dustbin.
However, in spite of the hard knocks and pressure on the reporter, there was always the soothing and the comforting side. For his or her daunting, goal-getter disposition and matching investigation prowess, the reward in cash or kind was always in handy. This is the synopsis of the relationship in the 20th century of the reporter that is worth his salt and the prying eyes of the acclaimed editor. I cannot say much of the 21st century. So brother, EmanYawe, kudos forthe hard knocks.
As a matter of fact, it is the concluding paragraph of my veteran journalist colleague’s article thatinformedthe title of the subject in discourse. In this paragraph, he wrote, “GovernorKashimShettimahasgiven the town (Maiduguri) an impressive facelift. But he needs the support of allthe elite ofthe state to returnMaidugurito its good old days. They should all go back to Maiduguri and rebuild their communities.” This iswhathewrote inthe last paragraph while commenting on his latest visit to Maiduguri where he attended the wedding ceremony of the children of Kashim Imam, a prominent Borno politician.
In the same article, Yawe made reference to various important occasions that ought to take place in Maiduguri due to its allure and strategic status, but couldn’t, due to the insurgency.
However, itis the call by my colleague on the Borno elite to go back to Maiduguri in the last paragraph of his article to help Governor Kashimto build Borno thatis instructive and as stated earlier,prompted this exercise. Though not in writing, Yawe told me in conversation that on the two occasions he was in Maiduguri from Abuja to attend the wedding ceremonies, he was shocked to see almost all Borno citizens who came to the occasions leave en mass by air, either to Abuja or Lagos. He then wondered who would help Kashim to build Borno, especially in this period of reconstruction,rehabilitation and resettlement.
Unknown to my brother,the slipshod approach and less concerned disposition of the Borno elite in the on-giving war against the insurgency is not only disappointing and worrisome but has also become a thing that is no longer strange to Borno residents living in the war zone. The situation became more disturbing with the allegation even from the military high command, indicting some prominent politicians and the elite of Borno in particular, of frustrating the efforts of the military through unwholesome activities in the former’s bid to end the insurgency.
Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, a one-time governor of Kano State, was more forthcoming on this when he, on the recent 50th birthday ceremony of Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State in Maiduguri, accused the Borno elite of betrayal. Speaking as the chairman of the occasion, Kwankwaso regretted that when Borno was on fire, the elite, instead of giving a helping hand, scampered for safety, abandoning the state with their families and pets to Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kaduna and other places, leaving Governor Shettima alone to bolsterthrough the debris of catastrophe.
Aside from KwanKwaso’s indictment of the elite, some left the state for fear of the unknown, while some, out of selfcenteredness. Some left because they saw others leaving; some left in the circumstances they could not comprehend, while others left as a result of guilty conscience-for, having some complicity in the crime, they might be exposed.
There were, however, a few, who, out of choice, decided to remainbehind,nomatter what. Of this number, some maintained the popular “siddon look”posture,resigning to fate; while the few bold ones spoke their mind, but had no effect.
The situation became more disturbing with the allegation even from the military high command, indicting some prominent politicians and the elite of Borno in particular, of frustrating the efforts of the military through unwholesome activities in the former’s bid to end the insurgency
At a point, Governor Shettima had cause to warn the runaway elite who choice was to make the state ungovernable for him, to desist or hewould be compelled to spill the beans. Reading the 2017 Budget Speech before the state House of Assembly in December, 2016 in Maiduguri, Kashim took a swipe at those he described as “paper tigers”
who are in the habit of running down his administration through incitement. According to the governor, this group of mischief makers from Borno who have abandoned the state for the past four years has constituted itself into a seat of acute subversion against his government. He warned that should they persist, he would be forced to “unmask the masquerade’’despite the fact the he is aware of the consequences of such action. “Even at the point of death, I will unmask the masquerade, provided it is in the interest of the state,” the governor once said.By this, Shettima sowed the wind and dared the whirlwind.
So, brother Yawe, you call on the Borno elite to go home and help Kashim rebuild the state now. Hence, I say at the appropriate time, for the jury or history to scrutinise the role of stakeholders, especially of Borno elite, in the post-insurgency Borno, you will be my witness.
Izekor, journalist and public affairs analyst, writes at thepointng. com
