Nasarawa: My Grouse With Al-Makura And How It All Began

By Ibrahim Kabiru Dallah

"There are two potential violators of man's rights: the criminal and the government" Alyn Rand.


As a young man whom is well cultured from the childhood up to this moment, I was morally taught how to respect elders, those behind me and constituted authorities.

I read with utmost sadness and alarm a statement credited to the Naasarawa State Scholarship Board, Executive Secretary, Sulaiman A. Sulaiman, ordinarily I do not want to join issues with him because his boss Gov Al-Makura is yet to recovered from my 'punches' but I was legally advised by the team of my lawyers to respond in order to set the record straight in the interest of the unsuspecting general public.

I personally do not have any issue with the man who parades zero regards for Nigerian Students and youths in Nasarawa State, I only have issue with the man who thinks these gross atrocities meted out by a governor to those people he was elected to represent and protect should be ignored, and yet thinks he deserves a second prospect to take us back where he has wasted 3years without scholarship and other sundry issues.

READ: Mr Sulaiman.
'DetractorsIbrahim Kabiru Dallah and his likes cannot derail us, as a Board and the government as a whole from the path of services to the people. What is important is that the bursary exercise has come to continue so as to put smiles on the faces of the students'.

I think I should thank Mr Suleiman for finding something positive in things I have said, as a matter of facts; I am not a detractor but an eagle eye that's ready to watch the corruptible acts of the government of the day and expose them at any point in time.

With the above quoted statement, I can categorically states that the government wants to deceives us again with their bogus promises, in facts this is a deception of the highest order, if not how would one described a government that has wasted 3years without anything meaningful in the area of Students bursary, youths empowerment and others but are only interested in the looting of the public treasury. Should we allow Al-Makura to continue with his deception again beyond 2015? No, we are tired.

'Kabiru Dallah should answer these questions:
'Did previous administration initiated and executed any bursary exercise?'

Before I answer this salient question, we are not ignorant of history, I want to draw the attention of Mr Sulaiman to the facts that government is a continue process if he doesn't understand the working of the government, as a beneficiary of Nasarawa State bursary during Gov Doma administration, in facts I was paid twice just because he believes in the continuity of the government, one would have expected Al-Makura to listen to the voice of reasoning and pay those students that obtained the scholarship form during Akwe Doma administration but instead he allowed his personal ego to affect the payment of the bursary when he newly came on board as the governor of Nasarawa State.

It is worthy to note that the Students of Nasarawa State are crying for their N2,000 that is still hanging with the government, all we are saying now is that the government should as a matter of urgency shortlists and pay those students affected or else the government their money in no distance time.

For the avoidance of doubt, Al-Makura has claimed that he inherited debts from the previous government and all have been paid by his administration, if I may ask, why not extending the kind gesture to the matter of the bursary of those students that the state government is presently owing. We are not unaware of the facts that the government of the day in Nasarawa State owes N10b as a debt, OMG, our future has been mortgaged and at the same time our future is at stake.

'Is there anybody that decides for the government to relief the students the burden of the payment of N1,000.00 for the Xplorer verb card?'

On this particular issue of conniving with the Sky Bank Plc to defraud the Students of N1,000, from the available facts before me, the Al-makura has no hand in it, it is the handiwork of the Executive Secretary (ES) whom has unquestionable character when it comes money, it is no more news that the ES is contesting for Member Nasarawa State House of Assembly (NSHA) and he needed to defraud students in order to have financial backups for his election. This question goes to the students, were you able to withdraw your N1, 000 on Monday or not? , Students are still thanking me for exposing the government of the day, if fact, one of my APC's friend from Keana sent me a text, READ: 'I love your courage and intellects, keep on the good work, the government are afraid of your post, if not because of your this N1,000 would have gone forever, I am in APC but I love your criticism. May Allah increase your knowledge and courage, amen'.

'Did Governor, Almakura paid N500,000.00 to each of the Nigerian law School students of the 2011/2012 session or Not? Yes, he did paid'.

It is laughable that the government of Nasarawa state is not ready to change for good, it is on record that former governor Aliyu Akwe Doma has concluded everything for the payment of the law students before Al-makura came on board, and as at that time he has no any other option than to pay the students the exact amount approved by the previous government, we are tired of all these excuse, all what we are interested is that, has Al-makura paid any students N500, 000 since when he came on board as the governor, the answer is NO, why does the government of the day want to claims glory of these little thing, it is better for the government to have a rethink on the decision to pay the law students N100,000 as scholarship instead of N500,000 than making noise in the media for peculiar gains.

'Did governor Al_Makura Paid the sum of fifty eight million, two hundred and fifty eight thousand, and one hundred and seventy three naira (58,258,173.00) only for fourteen (14) students studying in Ukraine or Not? Yes he did paid'.

It is a slap on our intellectual capacity for the government to stoop so low in to be regarded with suspicion by the people of Nasarawa State, since Al-Makura assumption in office in 2011 he has never, I said he has never took any students to study in Diaspora but the 14 Students studying in Ukraine gained the admission during the former governor Aliyu Akwe Doma and their school fees were paid by him, if there is any please they should mention their names in the media. What shall it profit a man to claimed what does not belong to him.

However, my grouse with His Excellency, Alhaji Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State can be traced back to the crisis that led to the unjustifiable killings of the two harmless and promising Students of Nasarawa State University Keffi (NSUK) killed by happy-trigger men yet to be identified, as I write no any members of their family has been compensated, sacking of over 15,000 youths from works in Nasarawa State, The polarizations of the National Body of the Nasarawa State Students Association (NASSA) ,The unlawful detention of Comrade Yusuf Abubakar Doma, former Director of Action and Mobilization of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and a leading gubernatorial aspirant in Nasarawa State and many others, it is all there in the internet.

In facts, I have written several open letters and public condemnation of the above listed sins of Al-Makura, these commentaries were neither acted upon nor responded to.

It will be an injustice on my own part to complete this article without commending the efforts of the indefatigable, palatable, reliable, vibrant, peaceful, and dynamic immediate past National President of NASSA, Comrade Taimako A. Sunday who stood firmly amidst of the oppressors to identified with the authentic NASSA National President Comrade Nasiru Abdullahi of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria against the interest of the government of Nasarawa State.

Therefore, without any form of contradiction, I have no doubt in my mind that I have directly educated some of the apologists of Al-Makura who are trying to be more catholic than the Pope himself.

While looking forward to constructive and responsible response devoid of any insults from the Nasarawa State Government, it's should be noted that henceforth respect be accorded to the Students and youths in State any without delay.

This Too Shall Pass, Nothing More, Nothing Less.
[Ibrahim Kabiru Dallah, Is The National President Nasarawa State Youths Network (NASTYNET), Writes from Lafia, @ik_dallah On Twitter]

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