Before former Governor Yari’s embarrassing letter demanding for his obscene multi-million Naira monthly upkeep allowance, if I was to nominate one candidate out of the gluttonous community across Nigeria living fat on innocent Nigerians through dubious means like packages of former political office holders, my choice would have been Yari’s former Deputy Governor, Malam Ibrahim Wakkala.
For two reasons, first, being a leading figure of the Islamic figure and secondly, being a patron of “Muryar Talaka” (an NGO fighting for the rights and betterment of the poor and downtrodden), one would expect Malam Wakalla not to be caught pants down experimenting with any policy that is in conflict with the ideals and advocacy of Islam and “Muryar Talaka”.
Actually, one would expect Malam Wakkala to not only reject but protest the unjustifiable largesse captured in the attached document and others captured elsewhere that were repealed recently by the Zamfara House of Assembly after the public uproar that followed the leakage of Yari’s letter demanding for the payment of the inhuman largesse. Instead, he put aside his differences with Yari and the two harmoniously pocketed a large chunk of the little that was supposed to make life bearable for the over 4 million citizens of Zamfara State only to continue with their hostilities after.
To say one is disappointed with this insensitivity is to say the least. Many people excused Malam Wakkala from the excesses of Yari because they knew his limitations as a Deputy especially to an egotistic overbearing principal. However, he fell short of expectations by not fulfilling part of his bargain with “Muryar Talaka” who promoted, supported and stood by him from beginning to the end, by not doing that which he could easily do in fulfillment of his moral obligations and in solidarity with “Muryar Talaka”.
Malam Wakkala also fell short of expectations of his primary constituency — Islam — which proffered easy solutions to conundrums like this. Islam instructs we should correct wrongs physically with our hands, verbally with out tongues or at least, disagree and protest evil in our minds. Had Malam rejected this booty without saying a word to anybody, he would’ve been absolved of any blame. Sadly he didn’t!
It’s quite amazing that despite the hostility that was the last chapter of the Yari/Wakkala tenure, somehow the two find the peace to privately shortchange citizens of the state while blowing trumpets of war and going after each other’s throat in public simultaneously.
Even funnier, where Malam Wakkala was quick to go to the public announcing how he was sidelined by Yari; how fundings that are supposed to be made to his office were stopped by the state government, he was entirely silent about collecting a multi-million Naira booty in the corresponding period.
Now the burden of rebuking Malam Wakkala has been shifted to Islamic clerics. And they should do so quickly to re-write their profile and adjust public perception. Already Zamfara citizens are holding one against them for endorsing and pocketing millions of Naira from the Zamfara treasury meant for millions of citizens which was gifted the group by Yari while they looked the other way and pretended not noticing the sectoral deficits and the impoverishment of the state that were the hallmark of Yari’s administration.
After endorsing alleged illicit actions of former Governor Yarima, which he almost legitimize, the burden of absolving these clerics could be said to be fairly rested with Sheikh (Dr) Ahmad Gumi. People may be tempted to say it was his advocacy that pushed Malam Wakkala to see less the ideals Islam and “Muryar Talaka” promotes in favor of those invented by Yari.
Allah Ya bamu ikon ganin gaskiya da tsayawa kanta.
Note:
My attention was drawn to the fact that Malam Ibrahim Wakkala is not a member of JIBWIS hence, the parts I indicated so were edited and the error regretted. I stand by the rest.
