I read with dismay, an appalling write-up by an acclaimed communication expert, Dahiru Hassan Kera, a protégé of the incumbent Governor of Gombe State, Hassan Dankwanbo, who tried effortlessly to satisfy his paymaster or curry more favour from him considering his dwindling purse and an inordinate desire to be reckoned with in the forthcoming political space especially in Gombe State.
Kera’s benefactor has performed abysmally poor going by the revenues generated, federal allocations and series of Paris Club Refund monies rolled out to him since 2015.
I feel and I know that every good writer who is compelled by his conscience to address ills in the society or address burning issue do so by discussing and analyzing issues logically and backing them with facts and ample evidences to educate or convince his or her readers rather than attacking personalities, incoherently casting aspersions and fabricating lies or whipping up sentiments just to deceive the people.
In the light of the above, Dahiru Hassan Kera, would have been ignored for calling out Muhammad Jibrin Dan Barde, a successful man who has carved a niche for himself and made impact on the lives of people tremendously and positively. He is a trusted man, unsullied with an enviable career that has spanned decades.
According to Kera’s narration, Dan Barde’s only crime was his desire to challenge the status quo and expose the many lies, propaganda and deceptions of the Dankwanbo led administration over the past 7 years.
Dan Barde’s crime again, is his superior knowledge and a dynamic understanding of the challenges of his people and his desire to liberate them from the shackles of poverty and under-development which Dankwanbo introduced albeit shrouding it with the cosmetic cover-up of the Gombe metropolis while ignoring other 10 local governments area in terms of education, health sector, road infrastructure, inability to provide ordinary water for the people and the ‘mortuarilisation’ of hospitals which had led to deaths of both young and old in the state.
Dan Barde’s crime again, is his being a rallying point and a unifying factor for the once troubled APC in the state. The unity of purpose of the opposition party in the state and the rising profile of Dan Barde and his strategic reach out to the people of Gombe especially the derided poor and less privileged is causing Kera and his boss sleepless nights.
Whatever are his reasons, Kera and his paymaster should embrace reality and come to terms with the fact that there would be a change in government on May 29, 2019 when an APC candidate will be sworn-in as the elected governor.
Perhaps they are afraid that their evil deeds and misappropriations would be probed or the commonwealth of the Gombelites that are being saved for a dead-on-arrival presidential bid would be recovered. Time shall tell on these.
Until then, the PDP administration in the state should know that the time ticks for it and a new sheriff already in town would liberate the people and make life meaningful for them.
My advice to Kera and his cohorts is to seek another way of discrediting Dan Barde beyond questioning his nativity and origin or a less-impressive narrative on his bank while he served as CEO.
It is on record that the CBN regulates all banks and in less than three years, Sun Trust bank is soaring and competing so well with banks that had existed for decades. The robustness and the healthiness of the bank is making it even more relevant with many regional and international institutions regularly signing MoUs with it.
On a final note, perhaps Kera is seeking attention of Dan Barde in order to join his campaign team, hence his mudslinging. Let it be known to him that Dan Barde deals only with men and women of integrity who are saddened by the developments in Gombe and selflessly volunteered to vote out an irresponsible administration. Should he repent and seek Allah’s forgiveness for deriding an innocent man, we will advise that he starts his penitence by using his PVC if he even have to vote for APC in the forthcoming election.
Mr Okoh, a media practitioner, writes from Gombe.
