A story was told involving the Sardauna of Sokoto when he was Premier of northern region, and a meat vendor at Unguwar Sarki then.
Those who know Kaduna will understand that the road from the Premier’s house to the then Lugard Hall, seat of parliament passed by the side of Unguwar Sarki.
This meat vendor was a staunch critic and an avowed hater of NPC and all it stood for.
Every morning he would come by the roadside and as Sardauna’s convoy passed he would hurl the most vitriolitic insults to the hearing of the Premier. Ditto when coming back.
The security details told his PPS that they would arrest the man and charge him to Alkali court for abusing the Premier publicly.
Knowing the Premier very well, the PPS told them to wait while he broached the issue to him. Sardauna was livid with anger when told of the plan, he warned the PPS not to lift a finger against the man, that he was exercising his right in abusing the Sardauna. He said, ” i offered myself for service, so the good, the bad, the lovers and the haters are now all family”.
The abuses from the man continued for so many months and suddenly the man was no longer seen by the roadside again.
After about a week, the Premier asked his PPS, “that man abusing us, we no longer see him, i hope he has not died or he is not sick, if he is sick we will surely go and greet him, if he has passed away we would condole the family”.
After some investigation it was found out that the man was in detention in prison.
He took a cow on credit from a fulani herdsman, and instead of paying after sales he decided to engage in “cacca”, gambling with “cards”, hoping to double the money and therefore boost his capital. Unfortunately he lost everything. Trust the herdsman, he promptly took him to Alkali court and the Alkali oredered his detention for one month until his family could raise the money for the cow.
That was the reason why the man no longer came out to “greet” the Sardauna.
Upon hearing this, the Sardauna promptly gave the money and told his PPS, on no account should it be known, it was from him.
The money was paid and the man was released and trust Jack Roninson, the very next day he was back at his beat abusing the Sardauna and his convoy. The Sardauna was very happy to see him back and sometimes even waved at him.
It was when the PPS could not stomach it any longer that he went to the house of the man and rained abuses on him and told him that the Premier you took delight to abuse was the one who paid the money for the cow and ensured your freedom when nobody could.
The friday of that week, after Jumuat, the man came and as usual each friday, the Sardauna would sit in the forecourt and listen to complaints, and the man came and apologised but trust a NEPU faithful, he said, “By paying for my release you did not do anything extra ordinary, “kudin mu ne talakawa ake biyanka,” ( it is from our taxes you are being paid), but for showing humaness i want us to be friends not you as Sardauna or Premier or NPC leader but person to person only. I will never be NPC or agree to your conservative exploitation”
Sardauna laughed and said “I will also never be NEPU and agree to your propensity to anarchy and boundless ignorance, but yes, we could be friends, why not? Every friday if i am in town, come for lunch”. The aides could not believe what transpired and up to the death of Sardauna, the meat vendor was one of the people closest to him.
