I read this “story”, for that is what it is, a story, with interest and a lot of concern. But when I read those fourteen comments by your readers my concern grew to a mountain proportions. But first, let me tell you why my concern about the story itself.
To begin with, let me get this clear to you and your readers, that I am a very ardent student of Sheikh Jafar, RahimahuAllah. There is not a single lecture or sermon of his that I do not have on tape. I attended his lectures whenever I could and I fully subscribe to his da’awah. In effect, I respect this martyred Islamic scholar just as much as anybody else. On the other hand, I never had the chance to vote for Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau both in the first and during the second polls. Meaning, I am not crazy about politics and I am one of those who have lost faith in Nigerian politicians. But, indeed, this does not blind my judgement and appreciation of there deeds nor does it in anyway stop me from trying to know as much as anybody could know about current affairs in my state and country.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });
In line with my global overview of the politics and spiritual happenings surrounding the assassination of Sheikh Jafar, your story is disturbing owing to the observable one track minded misguiding political inclination in it. For example, you said, “ We can confirm from the overwhelming evidence gathered during the period under review that the Kano State Governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, who is supposedly an advocate of the Sharia implementation through an expensive programme called A Daidaita Sahu and the creation of the Hisbah group through which billions of naira in Kano State wealth was wasted and siphoned, was the one that plotted and sponsored the cold-blooded assassination of the late Islamic Cleric.” This is a gross hideous statement to make and very expensive to a keen observer of events since, one, no body both within and outside the country has ever even alleged that the Hisbah and Daidaita Sahu programmes were being used as instruments to siphon money from the Government. And, two, your story never showed the “overwhelming evidence gathered during the period under review,” to allege that the governor planned the assassination of Sheikh Jafar. If you meant your somewhat, loose analysis of Shekarau’s desire and manoeuvres for the second term in office with which you filled the remaining paragraphs of your story, that is hardly anything to be taken seriously. Why? Because anybody could have wrongly and unprofessionally arrive at those assertions and allegations. The only one unpardonably misleading evidence you have in your print is a scanned copy of what you want to have us believe is a police document written by the assassin. I am sorry, but every reader of some scholarship will have thrown that piece of garbage in the dustbin as a fabrication and forgery on a piece of stationery gotten from only God knows where. Certainly the Nigerian Police are not so gullible as to confess someone in such a brief and sympathetically way? A point for you
To note here is that you better read between the lines before going to press. Else you stand a chance of being thrown out as an inconsequential rag. Obviously, your reporter or the architect of this story has gotten so overzealous that he has forgotten about the laws of justification. Otherwise, we will be forced to believe that your publication accepts bitter and slanderous political stories and threats.
But let me take you to task. I am sure you are aware that it was before the killing of Sheikh Jafar, RahimahuAllah, and around the time you said, “Abba Gana was once arrested in London with the sum of ten million pounds belonging to Governor Shekarau on his way to deposit the money at HSBC Bank London and Royal Bank of Scotland. The money laundering scandal was later referred to Nigeria but the police took advantage of the situation, benefited immensely and frustrated the case. It was among the reasons the then Chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu indicted and disqualified Shekarau but he was eventually rescued by Chief Obasanjo because of the sealed deal of ensuring Yar’Adua’s victory in Kano by all means.” Those Hisbah officials were arrested by the same Obasanjo regime that you said had some dealings with Shekarau. If indeed this was the case and it has even gotten to EFCC, there is no way a story like this would have escaped other news agencies, national or foreign, not to
Talk of your most investigative and thorough publication, or some politically critical individual. But, In any case, it is a shame that the architect of this story would have only one rat ridden paper and a host of folklore story around it expecting the world of intelligent Muslims to believe it.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });
My second mountain big concern I mentioned earlier on is that among all the commentators of this story, none could muster more than a few lines for or against the story. Are Muslim readers of this story in complete limbo, not even concerned anymore? It would have been interesting to see this story as a beginning of a series of serious responses that could go on as a great forum of before, during and after the life and assassination of Sheikh Jafar. If that has not been possible at the end, at least let us see, in written and inside the worldwide net, all those verbal bombshells thrown around because of this assassination. I am really sad to see no real responses because of this story but sympathies and wishes.
In the end, we must continue to pray that Allah reveals the real story, the assassins and those behind them. We must also, in a bigger voice, persist in demanding from the Federal and State Governments to show us what efforts they are making and how far they have gone in the investigation of the assassins of Sheikh Jafar, RahimahuAllah.
Wassalam.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });