IF SAS HAS FORGOTTEN The mechanic demanded that he needed a litre of petrol to tidy up the generator. He then handed the money to the fuel vendor beside us. As the vendor was about to measure out the demanded quantity using a hose, the mechanic said, What a good business you have, you make money and also get intoxicated. I asked them, Isnt it a bad thing to get intoxicated? They laughed it off and said that they were only joking. I kept remembering the statement, that they called a joke, as if it were a nightmare. I remember during the 8 year administration of Senator Ali Sherriff as a Borno state governor, fuel vendoring was the major occupation the youth were engaged in. The governor even distributed jerry-cans with his acronym (SAS) to vendors to sell fuel all around the state capital and Jere. There were fuel vendors all over the major streets, within less than 100 metres apart, as testified by everyone that lives in Maiduguri and even outsiders like Jeremiah Useini. SAS status as a hawk (a politician that cherishes the use of force) is also beyond dispute. He brought thuggery to its peak in Borno state. Drug abuse and indiam hemps among other illicits were consumed beyond measure. Many youths empowered by SAS as thugs or fuel vendors got intoxicated, along the way, and fell in love with Boko Haram. This was testified by countless Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) members who arrested Boko Haramites with smoking guns in Maiduguri. The culprits often alleged that they were given the guns by the then Borno State Chairman of ANPP -- Mala Othman. This led to the burning down of the chairmans house and his arrest because the allegations against him were getting unbearable to the CJTF. The spokesman of SAS, Umar Duhu had admitted that they were engaged in political thuggery but never in Boko Haram activities. But the learned know that, it is just a thin line between the two as they often cross breed. Similarly, in connection with the sponsorship of Boko Haram allegations, the campaign headquarters of SAS in Maiduguri was also burnt down on Tuesday 14 January, 2014 immediately after the Maiduguri Post Office bomb blast. The incidence happened while SAS was a member of the APC contrary to his recent claim that he was witch hunted with the Boko Haram allegations by Davis Stephen because he has joined the PDP. The 280 bags of Indiam hemp, worth 20 million naira, confiscated from Kola Alade in a lorry on Monday 26 August, 2014 was a cause for alarm, as we know that such illicits are often used to negatively motivate thugs and elections are not faraway. If SAS has forgotten, whatever politician that uses the youth and dumps them, should know that when the chips are down such actions will surely count against them. And, he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 10:02:18 +0000
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