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Matawalle, Deputy Should Emulate Wamakko And I – Shagari

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5 years ago

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In this interview with former deputy governor of Sokoto State Murtakr Shagari speaks on some topical political issues.

Looking at the recent leadership crisis in PDP and the defections of some governors, it would seem like the party is yet to get its act together ahead of 2023. Isn’t that the case?

PDP is the most dynamic political party in Nigeria today. Defections from one party to another have become a tradition in the political setup of Nigeria because of lack of ideology and principles. Governors moving from PDP to APC is not new because governors had also moved from APC to PDP. Do not forget that APC is a collection of dissatisfied and disgruntled politicians who left PDP and moved to APC. So it will not be surprising to me if before the end of this year, or early next year, we see governors, senators and politicians moving from from APC into PDP and from PDP to APC.

It has become part of a political tradition which is unfortunate because if we do not have stability of membership in parties it will affect our political culture. I think it is important that we imbibe politics of principles, ideology, service to the nation and the people rather than politics of self-aggrandisement and satisfying of self ego. The governors that moved from PDP to APC have given their reasons for doing so but Nigerians are not satisfied with those reasons. In my view, if there is a problem in your political party you should stay in the party and resolve the problem so that democracy will be strengthened.

You have mentioned the need for politicians to change their behaviour. But the political class does not seem ready for that. How should parties begin to address this situation?

The big political parties must have a mechanism of selecting leaders and candidates who have character, integrity, pedigree and interest of the nation at heart. What can change or destroy things is leadership. Parties need to have the right kind of people in leadership, that way it can select the right people into the State and National Assemblies, get the best persons as governors and commissioners. You have to produce people who will see party leadership as a calling and an assignment to move the nation forward and bring about good change and good leadership with transparency and integrity in politics. People tend to mirror their leaders. If they see that their leader is corrupt, then they think corruption is okay. When one leader is seen as an honest man but those people around him are corrupt you can’t make a difference because no single tree can make a forest. You need almost everybody to do so. So the parties must go back to the drawing board and decide to bring people, not on account of how much money they can contribute to the party, but in terms of how much positive change they can bring to the leadership of the country.

Let’s look at Zamfara State. You and only a handful of people have gone through the experience of the deputy governor of the state who has refused to defect with his governor. He decided to stay back in his party and they want him out of the position. Being a member of your party, have you had an opportunity to speak with him on the situation?

The matter in Zamfara State is subjudice. The parties have gone to court. PDP has gone to court and I know that some APC members have also gone to court to challenge the dissolution of the state executive committee. PDP is saying the governorship is ours and it can’t be taken to another party, particularly a party that did not participate in the election. So I think we should leave it to the judiciary to decide what the real situation should be. However, the scenarios between me and the deputy governor of Zamfara State are different. But I salute his courage and principles. I know this family. I know they always stand by what they believe is right. I actually salute him for having the courage to stay in his party and like I said, as long as we do not develop this mindset of staying back and resolving issues in our party, we will continue to have problems in our democratic journey.

In my case, I was elected by the delegates with 80 percent of the votes to be PDP flag bearer. Without consultation, President Obasanjo agreed with the ANPP at that time to come into PDP, and they asked him to concede the governorship to them, even without their candidate being part of the process. He (Obasanjo) did that. He only informed me after he had already decided to do that. I have told everybody that when he mentioned it to me, he wasn’t sure whether I would agree or not. But I said this is President and leader of my party, who without anybody’s prompting, having met me at a meeting, decided to invite me to be part of his cabinet. He also gave me all the opportunities in this world to perform which I did to the extent that he gave me the third highest award in the country: CFR. Interestingly, he had called me to the Villa and requested that I resign my appointment to contest the governorship in Sokoto State. He was made the request reluctantly because he said I was doing a wonderful job as water resources minister. But he said he wants PDP to win Sokoto State and that I was the one that can do that. I asked him if it was the directive and he said yes. So I resigned.

After I resigned, he was told I won’t be able to win the primary election because there were some other political gladiators. But I said winning elections takes a process. So I agreed to run. Initially, I didn’t want to be deputy governor but I was told that if I don’t contest, the possibility of a DPP candidate winning was high. According to the report he had, if the election held at that time, Governor Wamakko who was in ANPP and I in PDP would each get 30 percent of the votes while the DPP candidate, Bafarawa’s party at the time, would get 40 percent of the votes. Being a loyal party member coupled with the respect I have for the elders who spoke to me, I agreed to team up with Wamakko and we won the election.

So you could see that it was not Wamakko that nominated me, I surrendered my own ticket to him to contest. In our second term he decided to move to APC. He didn’t consult me despite the fact that he consulted almost everybody. So based on principles, political ideology and my belief in solving party problems rather than running away, when he announced that he was going, I said I was not going. In Zamfara, the deputy governor was nominated by the governor as his running mate. So, morally, what would Wamakko have used to try and impeach me? I stood on a higher moral ground. I have been a member of the party since 1998, I am a founding member.

In Zamfara, the governor can want to tell the deputy to go on the grounds that he brought him. Even though I can’t talk about the matter because it is still in court, I don’t know what the House of Assembly would use to impeach the young man. But you can see that the scenarios are different. I can say that up till now, I have not received a call from the deputy governor on what he should do. And when someone does not ask for your advice why do you have to go and say I have come to advise you. But I wish him well and it is my hope that he and the governor would work together in the interest of the people of the state. They can work together. It happened with Wamakko and I, despite the fact that he left PDP and I stayed. I must commend Wamakko for tolerating me despite the fact that we were members of different parties. We showed Nigerians that it is possible for members of different parties to work together in the interest of the people and that is what we did.

What are the prospects of PDP in Sokoto and what is your next move?

PDP is actually the ruling party in Sokoto State. I played a very important role, alongside others, to ensure that we won the 2019 election. My priority now is to help the governor fulfill his mandate based on the promises made to the people of the state. To also help him ensure that his performance is spectacular. Also help him to ensure that at the end of the day when 2023 comes, we give him the opportunity to also select the best person he thinks can build on his achievements, and cement his legacies and move the state forward. We will also help him to find somebody who understands the dynamics of development and the economy and how to move the state forward and make it better. Somebody who can interact and will be fully acceptable by the people. I can say, without any fear of contradiction, that we have good governance and management of resources in Sokoto. By the 24th to 26th of every month salaries are paid.

With the economic problems we have in this country today, it is an important achievement for a governor to be able to pay a monthly salary on 24th and 26th. And he does owe a single kobo. It is a legacy whoever comes after him has to continue with it. In Education, water supply, infrastructure, healthcare delivery and management of resources Tambuwal has done well. I’m so proud of him and I am happy that I supported him to become governor this time. What will happen in the future we leave to him to decide.

Let’s look at the politics in the Northwest, where people think PDP might have it tough in 2023 because of its inability to hold congress months after, the rising profile of PRP in the region and the dominance of the APC in the zone. What are the prospects of PDP in the region ahead of 2023?

Our zonal congress will come up.
Reconciliation is ongoing. The major problem about the congress is in Kano and not all the states. The zonal chairmanship was actually zoned to Kano. So it is the gladiators in Kano that are the problem. But we will overcome that. Like I said, PDP is a dynamic party, full of people with experience and wisdom, so we will overcome that. Secondly, I do not know what you mean by the rising profile of PRP. Is it because Prof Jega has joined or what? I have not heard anybody talking about PRP in Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi or anywhere in the North West. PRP was a party that was formed by an icon at that time.

But since the party divided into two in the Second Republic, PRP has never been the same again. I do not know if the party has a counsellor even in Kano State, so where is the rising profile. As far as APC is concerned they have a lot of explanations to give to the people of the North West when it comes to 2023 because of the security situation in the region. Today, it will be madness for anybody to start going from Sokoto to Zamfara or Gusau to Sokoto anytime after 5pm. Many villagers have left their places because they are being attacked almost on a daily basis by bandits.

Zamfara is a theater of insecurity. See what is happening in Katsina. Kaduna has become the center of kidnapping. We shouldn’t forget that despite the love they have for Buhari, northerners voted for APC because they believed that there will be security for everybody. They actually believe that poverty will be a thing of the past. They believed there would be infrastructure. But all these are absent. APC would have to prepare itself to tell the people of the North, not just North West why all the promises they made are not being fulfilled, especially on security. One of the things used against Jonathan was that the North has become completely insecure, especially the North East. But is it secure today? It is still not secured.

Also in politics before you are elected into office your rating will be about 80 percent. By the time you come into power, the rating will start nosediving particularly if the expectations of electorates are not being met. Are the expectations of electorates being met today by the APC? I won’t answer it and I don’t want you to answer it. We will leave that to the electorates to answer in 2023.

Culled from the Leadership News Nigeria

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Books

The Color of Memory: A Rescue Mission in Print

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3 weeks ago

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April 7, 2026

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  • Book Title: Abiriba Calendar of Events: Past and Present.
  • Author: Dr. Nwojo Kalu Ugah and Prof. Igwe Ebe Udeh, PhD.
  • Publishers:  MIDIUN GROUP INC.
  • Reviewer: Emeaba Onuma Emeaba.
  • Pages: 129.

History is often a silent, monochromatic affair—a collection of graying facts relegated to the dusty corners of the academy. But every so often, a work arrives that refuses to let the past remain quiet. In their latest volume, Abiriba Calendar of Events: Past and Present, Dr. Nwojo Kalu Ugah and Prof. Igwe Ebe Udeh, PhD, do more than document a region; they stage a sensory intervention. Through a marriage of historical rigor and lively visual storytelling, the authors transform what might have been a static archive into a pulsing, audible record of the Abiriba people.

The importance of this intervention cannot be overstated. As a long-standing observer of the region’s social fabric, I find that this work stands as a thoughtful and valuable contribution to the documentation of Abiriba’s history, institutions, and cultural philosophy. It will serve both scholars and future generations as an important record of the distinctive republican heritage of the Abiriba people. It is a sentiment echoed throughout the three pages of glowing commendations that preface the text, where community titans and political leaders unite to praise a volume that has clearly become a communal milestone.

Dr. Ugah and Dr. Udeh’s most striking achievement is the “physicality” of the narrative. The book is heavily illustrated with archival photographs, many of which have been meticulously restored and brought into vivid color. By injecting color into the black-and-white silhouettes of the past, the authors collapse the distance between the contemporary reader and the historical subject. These images are literal and evidentiary; they do not merely “decorate” the text but are woven directly into the paragraphs. As the eye moves from a description of a festival to a photograph of dancers in mid-motion, the prose begins to hum.

However, the book’s unwavering devotion to preservation occasionally veers into the hagiographic. By focusing so intently on the “lively” and the “republican,” the authors sometimes sidestep the more uncomfortable frictions between these ancient rites and the complexities of the twenty-first century. One wishes for a more rigorous interrogation of how these traditions—some rooted in rigid social hierarchies or exclusionary practices—survive the scrutiny of a modern, globalized generation. At times, the narrative feels like a rescue mission so concerned with saving the artifacts that it forgets to ask whether the culture itself can sustain the weight of its own history without significant evolution. This idealistic lens, while beautiful, can occasionally obscure the very real internal conflicts that define a living, breathing community.

Despite this leaning toward the ideal, the book’s “sound” remains undeniable. The authors’ meticulous approach to sensory details suggests a profound sensitivity to the mechanics of cultural memory. By documenting the “snoring and bellowing” of the village drums—the ufĩẽ and the ikoro—with such granular detail, they transcend mere description. We see maidens of Am̃anta village daintily dressed for the Obina dance and Ukpo youths clothed in green ẹkọrọ weeds, and in doing so, we hear the pulse of the marketplace and the rhythm of the festival.

The volume’s sensory immersion is matched by its structural precision. Dr. Ugah and Dr. Udeh have included a comprehensive glossary of Abiriba terms, complete with English translations, ensuring that the “sound” of the culture is decoded for the uninitiated. This appendix is more than a utilitarian tool; it is a vital act of cultural rescue. By documenting the specific vocabulary of the month of Iri Am̃a or the legal principles of Onye Parị Ọba, the authors provide a permanent bridge between oral traditions and the written record.

In an era where history is often flattened by the passage of time, Dr. Ugah and Dr. Udeh have added depth and dimension back to the record. By the final page, the reader is left with the sense that they haven’t just read a history; they have witnessed a revival. They have ensured that, for the Abiriba people, the past will no longer be seen in shades of gray and will certainly no longer be silent.

_________

♦ Dr. Emeaba, the author of “A Dictionary of Literature,” writes dime novels in the style of the Onitsha Market Literature sub-genre.

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Africa

U.S. Signals More Strikes in Nigeria as Abuja Confirms Joint Military Campaign

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4 months ago

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December 27, 2025

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The United States has warned that further airstrikes against Islamic State targets in north-western Nigeria are imminent, as Nigerian officials confirmed that recent attacks were part of coordinated operations between both countries.

The warning came hours after U.S. forces struck militant camps in Sokoto State, an operation President Donald Trump publicly framed as a response to what he described as the killing of Christians in Nigeria. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strikes were only the beginning.

“The president was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end,” Hegseth wrote on X. “The Pentagon is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight—on Christmas. More to come. Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation.”

Nigeria’s foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, confirmed on Friday that the strikes were carried out as part of “joint ongoing operations,” pushing back against earlier tensions sparked by Trump’s public criticism of Nigeria’s handling of insecurity.

The airstrikes followed a brief diplomatic rift after Trump accused Nigeria’s government of failing to protect Christians from militant violence. Nigerian officials responded by reiterating that extremist groups in the country target both Christians and Muslims, and that the conflict is driven by insurgency and criminality rather than religious persecution.

Speaking to Channels Television, Tuggar said Nigeria provided intelligence support for the strikes in Sokoto and described close coordination with Washington. He said he spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for nearly 20 minutes before briefing President Bola Tinubu and receiving approval to proceed, followed by another call with Rubio to finalize arrangements.

“We have been working closely with the Americans,” Tuggar said. “This is what we’ve always been hoping for—to work together to combat terrorism and stop the deaths of innocent Nigerians. It’s a collaborative effort.”

U.S. Africa Command later confirmed that the strikes were conducted in coordination with Nigerian authorities. An earlier statement, later removed, had suggested the operation was carried out at Nigeria’s request.

Trump, speaking in an interview with Politico, said the operation had originally been scheduled for Wednesday but was delayed at his instruction. “They were going to do it earlier,” he said. “And I said, ‘Nope, let’s give a Christmas present.’ They didn’t think that was coming, but we hit them hard. Every camp got decimated.”

Neither the U.S. nor Nigerian authorities have disclosed casualty figures or confirmed whether militants were killed. Tuggar, when asked whether additional strikes were planned, said only: “You can call it a new phase of an old conflict. For us, this is ongoing.”

Nigeria is officially a secular state, with a population split roughly between Muslims and Christians. While violence against Christian communities has drawn increasing attention from religious conservatives in the United States, Nigeria’s government maintains that extremist groups operate without regard to faith, attacking civilians across religious lines.

Trump’s public rhetoric contrasts with his 2024 campaign messaging, in which he cast himself as a “candidate of peace” who would pull the United States out of what he called endless foreign wars. Yet his second term has already seen expanded U.S. military action abroad, including strikes in Yemen, Iran, and Syria, as well as a significant military buildup in the Caribbean directed at Venezuela.

On the ground in Sokoto State, residents of Jabo village—near one of the strike sites—reported panic and confusion as missiles hit nearby areas. Local residents said no casualties had been recorded, but security forces quickly sealed off the area.

“As it approached our area, the heat became intense,” Abubakar Sani told the Associated Press. “The government should take appropriate measures to protect us. We have never experienced anything like this before.”

Another resident, farmer Sanusi Madabo, said the night sky glowed red for hours. “It was almost like daytime,” he said. “We only learned later that it was a U.S. airstrike.”

For now, both Washington and Abuja are projecting unity. Whether the strikes mark a sustained shift in strategy—or another brief escalation in a long war—remains unclear.

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Africa

Nigeria–Burkina Faso Rift: Military Power, Mistrust, and a Region Out of Balance

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4 months ago

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December 14, 2025

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The brief detention of a Nigerian Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft and its crew in Burkina Faso may have ended quietly, but it exposed a deeper rift shaped by mistrust, insecurity, and uneven military power in West Africa. What was officially a technical emergency landing quickly became a diplomatic and security flashpoint, reflecting not hostility between equals, but anxiety between unequally matched states navigating very different political realities.

On December 8, 2025, the Nigerian Air Force transport aircraft made an unscheduled landing in Bobo-Dioulasso while en route to Portugal. Nigerian authorities described the stop as a precautionary response to a technical fault—standard procedure under international aviation and military safety protocols. Burkina Faso acknowledged the emergency landing but emphasized that the aircraft had violated its airspace, prompting the temporary detention of 11 Nigerian personnel while investigations and repairs were conducted. Within days, the crew and aircraft were released, underscoring a professional, if tense, resolution.

Yet the symbolism mattered. In a Sahel region gripped by coups, insurgencies, and fragile legitimacy, airspace is not merely technical—it is political. Burkina Faso’s reaction reflected a state on edge, hyper-vigilant about sovereignty amid persistent internal threats. Nigeria’s response, measured and restrained, reflected confidence rooted in capacity.

The military imbalance between the two countries is stark. Nigeria fields one of Africa’s most formidable armed forces, with a tri-service structure that includes a large, well-equipped air force, a dominant regional navy, and a sizable army capable of sustained operations. The Nigerian Air Force operates fighter jets such as the JF-17 and F-7Ni, as well as A-29 Super Tucanos for counterinsurgency operations, heavy transport aircraft like the C-130, and an extensive helicopter fleet. This force is designed not only for internal security but for regional power projection and multinational operations.

Burkina Faso’s military, by contrast, is compact and narrowly focused. Its air arm relies on a limited number of light attack aircraft, including Super Tucanos, and a small helicopter fleet primarily dedicated to internal counterinsurgency. There is no navy, no strategic airlift capacity comparable to Nigeria’s, and limited logistical depth. The Burkinabè military is stretched thin, fighting multiple insurgent groups while also managing the political consequences of repeated military takeovers.

This imbalance shapes behavior. Nigeria’s military posture is institutional, outward-looking, and anchored in regional frameworks such as ECOWAS. Burkina Faso’s posture is defensive, reactive, and inward-facing. Where Nigeria seeks stability through deterrence and cooperation, Burkina Faso seeks survival amid constant internal pressure. That difference explains why a technical landing could be perceived as a “serious security breach” rather than a routine aviation incident.

The incident also illuminates why Burkina Faso continues to struggle to regain political balance. Repeated coups have eroded civilian institutions, fractured command structures, and blurred the line between governance and militarization. The armed forces are not just security actors; they are political stakeholders. This creates a cycle where insecurity justifies military rule, and military rule deepens insecurity by weakening democratic legitimacy and regional trust.

Nigeria, despite its own security challenges, has managed to avoid this spiral. Civilian control of the military remains intact, democratic transitions—however imperfect—continue, and its armed forces operate within a clearer constitutional framework. This stability enhances Nigeria’s regional credibility and amplifies its military superiority beyond hardware alone.

The C-130 episode did not escalate into confrontation precisely because of this asymmetry. Burkina Faso could assert sovereignty, but not sustain defiance. Nigeria could have asserted its capability, but chose restraint. In the end, professionalism prevailed.

Still, the rift lingers. It is not about one aircraft or one landing, but about two countries moving in different strategic directions. Nigeria stands as a regional anchor with superior military power and institutional depth. Burkina Faso remains a state searching for equilibrium—politically fragile, militarily constrained, and acutely sensitive to every perceived threat from the skies above.

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