Ganduje’s Khadimul Islam: Shame on Jaafar Jaafar
By Yahaya Kana Ismaila
When George Orwell declared that “Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations”, he probably never imagined that a nation such as Nigeria would one day perfect the art of turning that logic upside down. We have now reached a stage where public relations in the reasoning of George Orwell is celebrated as the highest form of media communication, while real journalism is treated like a contagious disease and must therefore, be ostracised, proscribed, and criminalised.
Right before our very eyes, investigative journalism has been silenced, its practitioners embargoed enemies of state and declared persona non grata in their own land. Of course, journalists have always been trained to expect persecution, particularly when they are doing their jobs too well. But what no one quite prepared us for is that the very people for whom we risk everything, the ones we inform, protect, and defend with the truth would one day turn on us. Yet, here in Nigeria, that betrayal is unfolding in real time.
The situation with Jaafar Jaafar is a perfect case study. His experience and indeed that of many journalists across Nigeria’s so-called democratic era, is nothing short of astonishing. Toward the twilight of Umar Ganduje’s administration in Kano, Jaafar released a video that appears to show the sitting governor caught on tape stuffing dollars, reasonably suspected to be bribes from a contractor, into his flowing Babbar riga.
In saner climes, that clip should have shaken the nation and sparked an outrage sufficient to end a political career. But here in Nigeria, it only left the people excited for a fleeting moment serving up nothing more than a catharsis. But soon, as is often the case in this country, we moved on as though nothing had happened. Ganduje’s supporters, instead of dwindling, seemed to multiply. In a grotesque twist, his popularity swelled so much that he was rewarded with the exalted position of National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
There was no investigation into the viral evidence. No serious attempt to hold him accountable. In fact, Ganduje himself has never felt the need to directly deny or even explain the scandal. I mean why should he when millions of hapless Nigerians are ever ready to rationalise the indefensible on his behalf? What incentive does he have to defend his honour when Nigerians have repaired it for him?
Many Nigerians have resigned themselves to the sad reality that our laws were not crafted to restrain the powerful anyway, so no need to overflog a dead horse. Powerful glide above our laws as effortlessly as Lionel Messi sidesteps defenders anyway so no need to lose sleep that one powerful man has been left off the hook. But what we never quite expected was that religious organisations, especially in Islam, would join this tragic dance of indulgence. So, imagine my shock when I read that Abdullahi Umar Ganduje had been appointed Khadimul Islam (Servant of Islam) by the Jama’atu Izalatul Bid’ah Wa Iqamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS), one of Nigeria’s most prominent Islamic movements. Now I’m compelled to ask: was this appointment in recognition of his exemplary religious activities of stuffing dollars in babbar riga or for what exactly?
The smiling pictures of Ganduje receiving that recognition amounts to a cruel mockery. Mockery on all of us. Mockery especially on Jaafar Jaafar, the journalist who risked everything to expose him. The man who thought that showing the world Ganduje’s dollar-stuffing escapades would be enough to end his political life. Instead, Jaafar’s sacrifice has been rewarded with the spectacle of his subject being decorated with religious honours.
And it’ll appear Jaafar doesn’t learn from such insults because he’s already at it again. This time he has set his sight on publishing fresh allegations targeting elements of government in his darling state of Kano. According to his trending report, Abdullahi Rogo, an aide to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano, used fronts such as Kazo Nazo and Namu Nakune business establishments to convert billions of naira into dollars, supposedly to finance religious activities in Saudi Arabia ermmm sort of. Only, those funds did not reach Saudi Arabia for “religious activities” but allegedly to finance some enrichment schemes of some high and mighty in Kano.
And, rather than confront the allegations or allow institutions like the EFCC who originally did the uncovering to follow through, Governor Yusuf has instead come out swinging, threatening fire and brimstone on Jaafar and anyone who dares to expose what was meant to be a quiet investigation by Nigeria’s antigraft agencies.
If this trajectory continues, I won’t be surprised if Abdullahi Rogo like Ganduje before him emerges tomorrow to be garlanded with another pious title from one Islamic sect. Seeing that funds involved in the Ganduje allegations pale in comparison to Rogo’s, perhaps he’s would be something grander than Khadimul Islam, bestowed for the noble service of allegedly siphoning public funds under shady circumstances.
Let me end with this! As journalists, we have long accepted that leaders will persecute us. We understand that power fears scrutiny and often lashes out when held accountable. But what we cannot stand, what may ultimately break the profession in Nigeria, is the creeping collusion of the very masses we serve. When the people join hands with the oppressor to ridicule and punish those who stand for truth, that is no longer persecution from above; it is betrayal from below. And that, I fear, will be the greatest tragedy of all.
Yahaya writes from Kana and can be reached on kanaismail@yahoo.com
