Bala Mohammed: History will vindicate the just

On one occasion in 2016, I was with His Excellency Senator Bala Mohammed, the governor of Bauchi state, in the interrogation room of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as the investigating officer aggressively quizzed him over allegations of financial impropriety while he was in office as minister of the federal capital territory (FCT) between 2010 and 2015.

As the nearly two hours of interrogation dragged on, time and again, Bala Mohammed got increasingly agitated. But the properly groomed son of a district head, schooled in deference to constituted authority, would not lose his cool over the antics of an investigator. Actually, his unease had not much to do with the belligerent style of the officer who, in my view, was applying the best approach he knew, to extract information that unfortunately did not exist or if it did, could only have incubated in the jaundiced imagination of the former minister’s adversaries.

Rather, what irked Bala Mohammed the more was the allegation that he had somehow managed to stash away N1.3 trillion. Social media was awash with that charade which purportedly emanated from the website of the anti-graft agency. To Bala Mohammed and perhaps every right-thinking person, alleging that someone had stolen more than the entire budget of the FCT for the duration of his tenure seemed not just preposterous but a huge slight on the intelligence of Nigerians.

To buttress that position, let me recall another needless inquisition inflicted on Bala Mohammed. Ignoring that following an inquest, the senate had already given a clean bill of health to the Land Swap programme of the Bala Mohammed-led FCT administration of the Jonathan era, the house committee on the FCT embarked on what lawyers would describe as a voyage of discovery. Reminiscent of the EFCC interrogation room episode, I sat beside Bala Mohammed during one of the heated hearings of the house where the chairman’s style fell short of the decorum expected of a legislator. If my memory has not failed me, the former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, who was also present minced no words in excoriating the committee chairman over his high-handed and utterly disrespectful attitude towards the former legislator.

By a curious twist of fate, at one of the meetings of the federal executive council five years after that needless dramatic inquest, the Buhari administration reinstated the Land Swap programme and described it in such highly complementary terms as could embarrass all those who, contrary to the basic tenet of our jurisprudence that an accused is innocent until proven guilty, had arrogated to themselves the prerogative to hold Bala Mohammed guilty until he proved himself innocent!

They were wrong. Writing under the headline, ‘FG approves resumption of FCT land swap scheme’ in its June 16, 2021 edition, The Guardian, one of Nigeria’s most authoritative newspapers reported thus: “The federal executive council (FEC) has approved the resumption of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) land swap initiative which was begun under the previous administration.

“Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello, made the disclosure at the end of Wednesday’s meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa, Abuja.

“The initiative worth about N1 trillion under the immediate past Senator Bala Mohammed-led administration was specifically designed to remedy the infrastructure deficit in the federal capital by swapping land with private investors who would, in turn, provide the necessary infrastructure.”

Certainly, it was providential that Bello graciously acknowledged that Bala Mohammed’s Land Swap programme would save the country about N1 trillion. To imagine that much of the minister’s vilification to date emanated largely from that undeserved persecution smacks of unspeakable injustice. Yet, some mischief makers keep alluding to it as if they have nothing else to talk about.

Over time, the more Bala Mohammed pleaded his innocence, the more those intent on pulling him down have come after him. And yet, even till he became governor and in spite of very diligent prosecution by the anti-graft agencies, nothing has been found on him.

Naturally, that got me curious. I always had the feeling that something was amiss, that the overzealousness of the anti-graft agencies seemed to transcend the normal call of duty, to something definitely sinister and personal. But I could not lay my hands on it. There were moments I wondered if he was still being persecuted for the ‘crime’ of catalysing the emergence of then Vice President Goodluck as president when, against some vested interests, he spearheaded the doctrine of necessity motion that removed any constitutional obstacles to doing what was right. But I had thought that that would be grossly unfair to a patriot who rightly felt that equity and justice should transcend narrow political interests.

Typical of Bala Mohammed, he could only have been motivated more by the desire to defend the constitution and like the true statesman that he has always been, guard against actions that could destroy the country’s fragile unity.

However, when against all odds, Bala Mohammed defeated the incumbent governor of Bauchi state on his way to being elected governor in 2019, it dawned on me that the unremitting demonisation of the former minister was predicated more on a grand plot to derail his political career than a patriotic duty to recover any funds. Sadly, his family members were not spared the ordeal; they have been maligned, threatened and humiliated. Yet, Bala Mohammed takes all of this as the price he has to pay for leadership.

I have recalled the above incidents to place in perspective the recent searchlight by some blackmailers, on the ongoing development of his personal house in Bauchi, the capital of Bauchi state. In their nefarious yet laughable plot, the promoters of this blackmail went to the extent of procuring photographs and videos of a property in South Africa that they claimed to be the house being developed by the governor.

There is no doubt that when completed, the building promises to be an architectural masterpiece, a showpiece of the urban renewal vision of his administration, befitting the stature of a man who has been a director in the Federal Civil Service, a senator, a minister and a governor in his second term. It is a matter of personal choice. How has his decision to retire in some comfort, in his native Bauchi become a crime?

Or would Bala Mohammed’s detractors have preferred that he chose to live in opulence outside the shores of Nigeria, probably funded by the common patrimony? The patriot in him will not allow that. For good measure, if those peddling the totally false allegation about the project had done their homework, they would have discovered that the family complex in question is being developed with a well-structured bank facility which any person of the governor’s stature would have no difficulty in securing.

And I pause to ask: What again have the fortune tellers told Bala Mohammed’s traducers, that has informed the new wave of jaundiced media scrutiny? What new thing(s) have they seen in their crystal ball? Could this be a continuation of the treachery and betrayal he had suffered in the run-up to the 2023 governorship election when, fearing that his re-election could bolster his already rising political profile, some members of his party ganged up with his opponents in a futile effort to halt his success?

Perhaps, his political opponents are right! His re-election apart, it would appear that the recent upswing in his political trajectory has stirred the anger of his opponents. Firstly, he was elected chairman of the Governors Forum of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). As if that was not enough, that was followed with his appointment as the representative of the northeast on the technical committee on fuel subsidy alleviation set up by the National Economic Council (NEC). So, his traducers must pull him down before he gets the next responsibility?

It is indeed a sad commentary on our political evolution that quite often, committed patriots and selfless statesmen like Bala Mohammed, who have acquitted themselves creditably in various national assignments, become victims of villainous haranguing by selfish characters whose only interest is to feather their own nests. However, the Bauchi governor’s antecedents continue to speak for him. Let me recall, this time, a very positive incident.

Shortly after the 2019 elections, I was opportune to be present at the maiden executive retreat for senior members of the Bauchi state administration in Azare. In his speech, the chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, a former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF) under whom Bala Mohammed served his civil service apprenticeship, went down memory lane to proudly provide a personal insight into the governor’s illustrious career in the federal civil service. His testimony was profound, iconic and enchanting.

Emeka Ezeh who was director general of the Due Process Office under President Goodluck Jonathan presented a well-received paper (it couldn’t have been otherwise) at the event. Before he left, Ezeh and I ruminated over the exceptional qualities of Bala Mohammed and concluded that his unstoppable political trajectory was just beginning to gather momentum. Could that be what his opponents want to halt by this new offensive? And if I may ask, in whose interest?

If my close interaction with Governor Bala Mohammed is anything to go by, I can vouch that his immediate preoccupation is with how to sustain the administration’s vision to not only redress Bauchi’s stunted growth prior to his assumption of office in 2019 but to leapfrog the state’s developmental trajectory, anchored on the solid foundation laid during his first term; achievements that earned him his well-deserved re-election.

Four years on and as has been widely acknowledged, his first term as governor of Bauchi state witnessed an unprecedented leap in infrastructure: roads, housing and urban renewal, water and rural electrification. The health and education sectors also received a new fillip while people empowerment and inclusive governance were prioritised, all in a genuine desire to give practical meaning to the ‘democracy dividend’ mantra that many public officials only pay lip service to.

It is apposite to add that in his determination to push the frontiers of transformational leadership, prior to his second term inauguration, Bala Mohammed had commissioned two teams: a transition committee and a technical committee headed respectively by a former deputy governor of the state, His Excellency Alhaji Sule Katagum and a former special adviser to Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Prof. Usman Bugaje. The reports of these committees provide the roadmap for Bala Mohammed’s dream of transforming Bauchi state into Nigeria’s Dubai. It is doable.

The signs are already there. The giant strides recorded in its first term earned the Bala Mohammed administration plaudits from several quarters. Top on the list is in the health sector where, in addition to several general hospitals, the state government established one primary health centre in each of the 323 electoral wards of the state, a feat that earned Bauchi state the UNICEF second place award for improving healthcare facilities and services among the states in the northeast. There were also several awards by reputable news media organisations. However, I consider the most prized of the recognitions, the presidential award won by Bauchi as the best state in infrastructural development in the federation. The award was personally presented to Governor Bala Mohammed by former President Muhammadu Buhari. Coming from a federal government controlled by a different party, the objectivity of such recognition cannot be over-emphasised.

Paradoxically, while the mischief-makers are paying attention to his family house, I think it makes better sense to explore the immense potential of the ongoing work on the Bauchi Government House, a lofty complex that is being remodelled not only to provide more functional residence and office for the governor but designed to provide an incomparable hub for both local and international events in the northeast and north-central zones of the country. With a conference centre, guest house and other facilities, this complex can be described as the epitome of strategic foresight.

Supported by a security architecture that has made Bauchi state the safest place in the northeast, the facilities in the Government House Complex will further catalyze Bala Mohammed’s dream of transforming Bauchi state into a major investment destination in Nigeria. Thus, despite the strong economic headwinds assailing the country presently, it can be said that, for Bauchi State under Bala Mohammed, the best is yet to come.

Deriving from the foregoing, I will say to Bala Mohammed’s opponents that rather than dissipate energy and precious time on mundane distractions such as jealousy-induced hallucinations over a legitimate personal project by the governor, any true lover of Bauchi state –journalist and all– should rather engage with how to sustain these life-changing milestones of the people-oriented and legacy-chasing Bala Mohammed administration.

Veteran journalist, Emma Agu, is a media consultant to Governor Bala Mohammed.