By Babachir Lawal

Since my Kachalla 1 post, almost the whole of Nigeria’s Fulani race has descended on me with all manner of insults and threats. ALL these insults are predicated on only two planks as follows but every single one of them avoided my arguments.

The first is that I am a “grass cutter” disgraced out of office on account of the scandal.  I find this amusing because it was clearly a setup to get me out of office on account of my very close relationship with Gen Muhammadu Buhari who unbeknownst to them had been my mentor since 1971 and who had personally requested me to join his campaign team that he was then assembling in 2002.

This close relationship annoyed so many people who were beginning to fear Buhari must be grooming me for something higher, but which he was not. Some others also felt that Buhari had no business appointing me as SGF because I was from the small tribe of Kilba and a Christian for that matter. But Buhari would not listen to the high powered delegation they sent to him in this regard. So they had to get me out of the seat of the very powerful SGF at all costs. The contract to get me out was awarded to some Northern Senators who proceeded to subcontract the assignment to its very well known legislative hatchet men who recruited some sympathizers and collaborators in the executive branch of government and in the press. I will save them the shame by not naming them here because the main contractor himself later apologized to me in the presence of three of our common friends and as a good christian that I strive to be, I forgave him right there at the meeting and it has remained so ever since.

The progression of this case was that the Senate submitted an interim report to the President urging him to sack me but which the president dismissed on the advise of the Attorney General as lacking in substance and fair hearing. But the matter would not die because the then Vice President for reasons best known to him decided to pursue the matter with the president incessantly pestering him until the president gave in and permitted him and two others to investigate the matter. It was this report that without a shred of evidence recommended my removal. 

This matter was eventually handed over to the EFCC for proper investigation and prosecution. I insisted on this because it was now clear to me that only the courts can clear me. During the trial, EFCC called 14 witnesses. Interestingly all of them testified to my innocence as if they were my own witnesses. Not one of them implicated me either in the contract award process or its execution. In the end I was discharged and acquitted along with the other accused on a “no-case submission” by our Lawyers. But the Kachalla’s supporters are not ready to accept this outcome because of their evil perverted mindsets. 

The president allowed me read the VP’s report and the conclusion, which to paraphrase the report said “the SGF did not commit any criminal offense but a company he once owned executed a contract in an agency under him thus abusing his oath of office”. The contract was for consultancy services at the cost of N7.2m which was won by my former company Rholavision Engineering Limited after a competitive bidding process of which I wasn’t even aware. The main contract was won by  Josmon Technologies Limited a company whose owners I never met in my life until we met in the court. I later found out that the contract had two phases with a total value of about 540 million naira. Both the main contract and the consultancy services were fully executed and payments effected only after the Auditor-General’s Office and the Internal Auditors had certified that the contracts were fully executed according to specifications. 

So no money was lost by the government, no bribe was given and no money was laundered. 7.2 million Naira; that is it. In these days when billions of dollars get taken out of government coffers in a single deal, is it not a wonder that an SGF would lose his position and scandalized over a pittance 7.2m Naira and someone is celeberations it?

Meanwhile, what  the Kachalla Goebelian propagandists and liars are calling “grass cutting scandal”  was actually  clearing of over 320Km of Komadugu Yobe river which sustains the livelihoods of millions of people through fishing, agriculture, and pastoralism. It was facing significant environmental and water scarcity concerns through  blockage by Typha grass.  The grass would grow on it and  prevent the free flow of water that also prevented irrigation, navigation and fishing activities. The blockage of free flow of water also frustrated the government’s accelerated wheat program, stopped the replenishing of the Lake Chad, and destroyed fauna around the wetland. 

Aside the clearing of the water ways the contract involved the reconstruction of 500 hectares of irrigated farmlands along the river bank divided into individual hectares with each provided with irrigation canals, a wash borehole and a 3” petrol pump. There was also the purchase and distribution of 25 dugout canoes, fishing nets and 25 speed boats for transportation. This was a contract that had in previous years attracted the attention of the World Bank, The African Development Bank, the Lake Chad Commission and the Yobe State Government. But previous efforts had yield no positive results until this intervention by the Buhari Government through the agency called Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE). It was the consultant that developed a more effective method of tackling the problem. It should be noted that the project employed over 1,000  displaced villagers and  refugees from the camps daily for the 4 months duration of the program. This achievement was by no means a small feat at all.

The second point is the vile propaganda, insults and threats that the Atiku Abubakar goons  and social media bandits have been churning ou on me because as they claim, I have insulted the whole Fulani race in pointing out his fallibility. Well, if pointing out the danger an Atiku presidency will pose to the country amounts to insulting the whole Fulani race, and if that is how the Fulani race chooses to see it, so be it; it is a free world. But in choosing to view it this way, they only validate my worry that his presidency will be synonymous to a Fulani presidency even as Bola Tinubu’s presidency is synonymous to a Yoruba presidency ( and the Yorubas are proud of him no doubt). Those Fulani attacking me might wish to be reminded too that the Fulani race also includes the elite group of Kabiru Sokoto, Kachalla Bello Turji, Kachalla Ado Alero, Kachalla Dogo Gide, Kachalla Gwaska, Kachalla Shehu Rekep etc. These people by their murderous actions make their race very proud indeed; or don’t they? And an Atiku presidency would make these elite group of Fulani very proud indeed; or won’t it? And it might embolden them; or won’t it?

This Kachalla’s social media  propagandists, devoid of common sense and reasoning, and seeing as their presidential hope is fast slipping away have come after me with a venom and brutality that is the envy of Kachalla Bello Turji or Kachalla Abubakar Shekau. I can see that while their kith and kin have taken over the forests, driven people from their farmlands, killed and maimed innocent farmers, raped women while their husbands and parents are watching, destroyed whole villages, kidnapped and/or slaughtered travelers and made kidnapping into a thriving industry, their idle city counterparts have trained themselves into social media bandits just like their brothers, cousins and nephews are in the forests. Both appear to be united in wanting to wage an Othman Danfodio Jihad Phase II and now need a Kachalla to lead and coordinate their efforts. They have taken over the forests; all they need now is a takeover of the government so our capture will be complete. Some of us see it coming hence, our resistance.

So I ask you once again, why has Atiku Abubakar never publicly sympathized or empathized with the victims of these mostly Fulani bandits? Why has he never lent a voice to those condemning Kachalla Bello Turji and his colleagues after burning, kidnapping and killing thousands of Hausa victims, sometimes happening in Mosques and markets? Why has he not done so when same thing happen in Tiv or Idoma lands? Why is he silent when it happens in  Birom, Mupum, Irigwe and Ngas lands in Plateau State? What did he say or do after the kidnapping and brutal murder of the First Class Hausa Emir of Gobir a Moslem like himself? What did he say or do when Christians were massacred in in a Church in Suleja or in Owo? Why did he recant his condemnation of the brutal and barbaric murder of Debora Samuel? Could it be because all the victims are not  of his tribe/race? Could it be this is  the trend we should expect if per remote chance he becomes President?

And some of his lemmings go about shouting how he is such a good business person and a lover of education. Then how come that some of his businesses such as Gotel Communications, Adama Beverages, Rico Gado Nutrition Company, even the Fast Food Restaurant, his Marine Logistic Company, etc are either in distress, leased out or he has divested from them? Even the University he is so proud of is only sustained by a “once-upon-a-time” glory given its now rotting infrastructure and dwindling faculty.

Now someone tell me, are we  wrong to enquire into the character and competence of someone who wants to be a Commander-in-Chief of our military and the Sole Manager of our common patrimony? Should we feign nonchalance to someone who once said he will “enrich his friends”?  

No, it is my right to interrogate the character and competence of someone who seeks to be my President. He is free to step down his ambition if he does not want to be so queried. Indeed I would urge ADC to replace this man with a more qualified candidate if they want to have any hope of winning the presidential election before INEC time table runs out on them.

I mean well for my country. But as I had written in a WhatsApp  message to Atiku Abubakar himself on 19th December, 2025 I will not lie low and allow his goons to lynch me be it physically or on the social media.

Atikulated social media bandits, how market now? You don chop today so?

Babachir David Lawal was the Secretary to the Government of the Federation under the late President Muhammadu Buhari