By Wale Ojo-Lanre
With the 2023 campaign officially over, and the APC Presidential Campaign Council has been officially dissolved, media mercenaries who fell out in the jostling to get attached to one group or another have started showing their frustration openly.
They have realized that their duplicity and vindictiveness have landed them deep into the very holes they dug for others.
One of them is Abu Najakku, a serial Pay as You Want mercenary – a writer who wrote a mendacious and malicious opinion in some online platforms with the headline
“Letter to Tinubu: The Atiku Bagudu Matter
After a painstaking peruse of the article and being conversant with the personality and person of Bagudu, I decided to unveil the character and motive of Abu Najakku’s destructive angst against Bagudu.
My intention in this write-up is not to join issues with him rather, I intend to set the records straight and expose the persecution and destructive agenda of this so-called pen activist whose trademark is pulled him down at all costs
Proper profiling of Abu Najakku, as he comically calls himself, is necessary here to give a panoramic view of his frustrated chequered life, which conditioned his profanity and media absurdity.
He is a poorly brought up fellow who sees anyone through his blotted life experience and thus not accustomed to applauding accomplishments and success.
A woefully failed politician who contested and failed to clinch a House of Representatives ticket on APC’s platform in Kebbi State
He also schemed albeit abysmally very hard to be appointed as S.A. Media and Publicity to Governor Atiku Bagudu, but he failed again due to his ignoble record of treachery and unbridled personal, blind, and rude ambition.
I mention these two facts so that the reader will understand the motive behind Najjakku’s toxic writings.
Over the years, Mr. Najakku has turned into a digital mad dog, rabidly going on the rampage, insulting highly placed personalities and trying to impugn their hard-earned integrity and credibility.
This act of stupidity he embraced after his humiliating expunge from the Daily Trust newspaper upon several allegations of unprofessional and ethical bankruptcy.
He has consistently in his stupidity and foolishness attacked Atiku Bagudu on the Kebbi WhatsApp group, Kebbi Development forum, dragging the forum’s name into the mud and detracting from its purpose of promoting development issues concerning the Kebbi State.
The victory of President-elect Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the 2023 election was a very deserving one and a testimony to the Herculean efforts put in by APC leaders and supporters from all over the country.
Millions of party stakeholders contributed to Asiwaju’s smashing victory.
One stakeholder whose contribution can not be ignored is the Kebbi state governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, who doubles as Chairman of the APC Governors Forum
Governor Bagudu was a prominent feature on the 2023 APC Presidential Campaign Council with whom the campaign train traversed all parts of the country.
Apart from the diligent behind-the-scenes hard work to deliver millions of votes from remote areas. It must be in recognition of this that President-elect Tinubu recently nominated him as one of his two representatives on the Federal Government’s Transition Council.
Now, to the facts that the writer attempted to twist. Governor Bagudu was elected twice by the people of Kebbi State as Governor, and before that, he was twice elected as Senator.
Mr. Najakku made wild, fabricated, embellished, and legally dubious Abacha era allegations, during which the Governor was not a public servant. Despite such allegations circulating on the social media grapevine, these stories are farcical garbage.
More to the point, Mr. Najakku, in his acrimonious ignorance, labeled the governor’s nationally famous Lake Rice project as fake. This amounts to being malicious or economical with the truth.
The initiative is part of a wider one to make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production. It is a joint project of both Kebbi and Lagos states in which both states cooperated to successfully promote Nigerian rice as equivalent to or even better than imported brands.
The Pilot project took off successfully with Lake Rice flooding the Lagos market at moderate prices, and ever since then, Nigeria has progressively grown self-sufficient in rice.
Imota Rice Mill, owned by the Lagos State Government, a product of the partnership, was commissioned by President Buhari a few months ago. It was not surprising, therefore, that President Buhari described Governor Bagudu as an “ambassador for rural economic transformation.”
The ethanol project is a futuristic project that is progressing very well under the leadership of Professor Mohammed Abubakar Kaoje, former Minister of Science and Technology.
A tripartite agreement for the project has been signed by the NNPC and Kebbi State Government. Ethanol Biofuel production from cassava will be a reality.
Mr. Najakku can save his readers valuable time to make a proper investigation before going to pathless.
As for the Dangote 100,000 tonnes per annum Rice Mill in Yauri mentioned by Mr. Najakku- senselessly accused the Governor of Dangote’s inability to complete the project as scheduled. This is stupidity bordering on insanity for the land required has since been provided by the state, and construction has been ongoing, though not at Yauri as erroneously mentioned but at Saminaka in Shanga Local Government.
The business of government in this was to provide an enabling environment that was promptly attended to.
This project is purely private, as in other Dangote projects across the country. Najakku should have checked on Dangote on the progress of the initiative instead of writing balderdash and libellous thrash.
Road network projects executed by Governor Bagudu are spread around the state, as stated by the writer himself. Motorists in the state have been plying the Roads and are satisfied with their quality. Birnin Kebbi now boasts dual carriageways as never before. This is progress. Someday, another government will build flyovers if it deems it a priority.
In yet another gross blunder, Najakku cites Erisco Foods in Yauri as building a tomato factory. A simple Google search would have told him the tomato factory in Ngaski Local Government is owned by GB Foods (not Erisco), and despite an unfortunate target by bandits 2 years ago, it is currently in operation. It is imperative to add that it is the largest tomato production facility in Nigeria.
Instead of hiding behind a pseudo name in the CBN glass House and churning out poisonously fake writings, Najakku should come back home and retest his popularity at the polls and stop using fake binoculars to try and wield influence.
Finally, hack writers and attack dogs of politicians should know that the erudite and highly experienced President-elect Tinubu does not need ethically bankrupt hack writers to tell him who to entrust with responsibility
Governor Bagudu is a seasoned banker, former university lecturer, twice elected to the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and a serving second-term governor. In his tenure, he has been the recipient of many awards, including Commander of the Order of the Niger as well as the second highest award of the Niger Republic. Ambassadors from numerous countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, have visited Kebbi and appreciated him in different ways.
With the experience and respect earned, Mr. Bagudu is humbly leading his colleagues as the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, vice chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, as well as Vice Chairman to President Buhari at the Nigerian Food Security Council. In all these roles, in addition to numerous ad-hoc assignments, he has demonstrated competence and leadership, thus justifying the confidence imposed on him.
•Ojo-Lanre sent in this piece. He was the former chairman, Oyo State NUJ; Member Special Media Projects – New Media, APC, PCC; Tourism Advocate; Child Rights Activist; Ex-SSA to Gov Kayode Fayemi
