Divided Tarabians speaks on Governor Suntai Returns…………… says Umar is a tenant

Divided Tarabians speaks on Governor Suntai Returns…………… says Umar is a tenant

After nearly a year in foreign hospitals following an air accident, Taraba state governor, Danbaba Suntai, will return to Nigeria Today, his family and the state government have said, triggering days of a media buzz. We decided to bring what the People of Taraba, (Tarabians) are saying  

 Remember Suntai had spent four months at the rehabilitation centre, following injuries he sustained in an aircraft crash on his way  to Yola on Oct. 25, 2012

 Rex Bwase Gambo Gankwe

''First of all, an accident took place. It was all over the place that the governor is dead. It was first reported by Sahara Reporters. Even, some television houses reported he was dead, but they changed the news the following day.  

Later on, they said he was in a vegetable state and from there, they said he could no longer recognize people and later, they said he was talking. They said he spoke with the President and the Vice President. But later, we saw him walking out with the team that visited him in New York. I don't know which story will follow again. Maybe, finally, when we see him in the Government House, Jalingo, they would say he is not the one. There was a time they rumoured it was his brother that was holding forth for him. I now begin to imagine the kind of mischief surrounding the governor's accident? When has it become a crime for someone to get involved in an accident he never bargain for? This could happen to anybody. People should rather thank God and celebrate with him, instead of the politics they were playing.''

Theophilus Rifo Bonjoru

 

My stake on Governor Danbaba Danfulani Dansuntai It is obvious and clear that the politics of Taraba state has grown and matured from a mere 'Democratic' entity to a biased and sentimental institution where it is no more 'Anti-party' system, it is now an 'Anti-religious' system with supporters from the two religious groups. The crash of the ill-fated plane of the Governor did not only brought sadness to a particular group, it brought good news to another group as it was seen as a news which calls for jubilation and celebration.
Fate couldnt take it course, as the Governor and his Aides survived the crash. He was rushed abroad as treatment were trying their best to save the life of the helpless Governor. Lying unconscious, the leader who was voted by more than half of the state was expecting prayers from his people for his life to be spared by God. God spared his life thanks to Some few concerned and compassionate people. The news of his improved health should have brought joy in the state, it brought imbroglio and seta centre-stage for argument. Media and social network groups such as Sahara reporters, Taraba speaks e.t.c. were only concerned about the Governors' ability to govern the state again, which i think was the Governors last thought that time. More prayers should have been offered for full and quick recovery of the leader, yet argument took the place
of prayers as pictures of the Governor was said to be photo-staged.
The Governor who has responded well is to come home any moment from now. The people of the state are worried whether the said 'brain-damaged' Governor is capable of governing the state or not.
The fateful day of his arrival will declare it.
My fellow brothers and sisters (Tarabans), the governor will come into the state, we are the government lets allow fate to decide whether he rules us again or we look elsewhere.
He coming back into the state is a testimony if not to the state, but to his family and friends. We should drop religion out of politics and come in as true Democrats. Therefore i call on all Tarabans to come out em mass to welcome the man who almost lost his life to see that the state moves forward.

Bello Adamu Umar

 

NATURE'S GIFT TO THE NATION (TARABA) ON MY MIND TONIGHT:

As we await the arrival of His Excellency, Pharmacist (Pilot) Danbaba Danfulani Suntai...

Permit me to quickly draw the attention of all Tarabans that:

1. It is only God that gives and takes life. It is also only Him that gives power and authority. We cannot all be Governors at the same time. Therefore the return of DDS should rather be seen as a devine WISH. We hope he will return a complete/rational human being
2. DDS before he became AWOL has the mandate of all Tarabans to serve us and if it is true that he is certified sound, proper and fit, then his return should be heralded. But if his image makers are only trading the dangerous path of the "Yaradua's", then they need to be told that life has no duplicate. If Umaru Musa Yaradua as the C in C could NOT survive the gamble, i wonder how it will work out in our remote location of Taraba this time around.

3. We should all bear in mind that no amount of sacrifice we would make for peace to reign in our dear state is negligible. We can only prosper as a state when agree to disagree in order to agree not to disagree! Taraba is the only state we have to claim as ours and Taraba has millions of other DDS's and UTC's. Afterall we only saw them (DDS & UTC) together. So why fight on their behalf?

4. No man is worth your life and no mere jupiter is worth sacrificing your life for.
I can see the ultimate hands of non-Tarabans in this whole drama. If their aim is to distabalise our state for their selfish reasons, I want to say without mincing words that they will not succeed. Our surviving God who gave Moses the wisdom to survive inside Pharoah's house and later use him to crush Pharoah to a standstill is a Surviving God and will fight the cause of Tarabans this time around!

5. Lets us all be informed that "You can NEVER hold a man down without remaining down with him". For those who feel that they will not allow Taraba move forward due to their selfish and egoistic motives, should also know that they will REMAIN stagnated in the level they want us to stagnate. A Nigerian adage says: "A child that says his Mama no go sleep, him too no sleep"!

Finally, i wish to conclude by wishing Danbaba Suntai a mind of himself, Garba UTC the strength of Noah and all Tarabans the patience of Abraham! Ameen.

 

Jibrin Mohammed

No matter the condition of the ailing Governor as the cabalist are claiming or planning, time shall tell. I cant confidently tell the world that Senator Bwacha still remain unfit to become the next Governor, Tarabians are wise enough because the senator's perfomance in the senate is weak when compared to that of senator Aisha Alhassan and Abubakar Tutare.

Alice Malicia Luke  

 Power belongs to
God alone, He give it to whoever
He wish. Neither Danbaba
Suntai nor Garba Umar has ever
knew they will one day occupy
their present positions.What's
wrong with us the followers?
Leadership position should not
be determined by person's
affiliation rather by the person's
quality but that has been thrown
to the dustbin allowing
sentiment and personal interest
to be yardstick. Those trying to
deliberately cause tension in the
state should please have a
rethink. The absence of Suntai
didn't cause war so his return
should not cause war. The
acting gov should address the
people of the state, assured
them of the unity that is existing
between him and the gov and
urge everyone to emulate that.
Peace is all we want! The youths
should think scientifically in this
era to move the state forward. If
we believe that our elders have
failed us then we shouldn't
follow their ways of doing things
otherwise our so called
education, civilization and
modernity would judge us at the
end. Government and
governance is not about religion
or ethnicity but about service
delivery and that can only be
achieved on the platform of
unity, peace, and collective
effort.fly on eagle wings Capt
DD Suntai•

 

Parker Enganya Yakubu wrote;

Truth is, those who truly voted
for PDP are the ones in Jalingo
now expecting the arrival of
their hero while those over-
zealous CPC/ACN followers are
more concerned with the
Mambilla event. Hmmm,do
tenants possess the capability to
displace their Landlords, in
political parlance? Time shall
tell.....!

 

Anxiety, as Governor Suntai returns

Taraba State Governor Danbaba Suntai is expected to return in few days time.                

Anxiety and tension has rented the air in Jalingo, Taraba State capital as residents and government officials prepared to receive Governor  Danbaba Suntai who recovered from a air mishap late last year.

The State Acting Governor, Alhaji Garba Umar UTC  in a press statement yesterday confirmed that Governor Suntai is expected to arrive Abuja on Sunday by 10am alongside his friends and family, saying he has recovered .

The statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary Kefas Sule said Governor Danbaba has fully recovered from injuries sustained from the air mishap.

 

Nigerians speaks on Impunity in new video documentry

The Stop Impunity Nigeria (S.I.N.) Campaign, a multi-stakeholder project to check impunity in Nigeria, today in Lagos launched a documentary highlighting the manifestation of impunity in various sectors of the society and its debilitating effect on the country's social, political and economic development.

 

In his welcome remarks at the media event held in Yaba, the campaign coordinator, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, of Human Development Initiatives (HDI), described impunity as "a malady more widespread and more dangerous than corruption or any of the modern vices that daily occupy media space and headlines" adding: "Indeed, impunity fuels other vices and diminishes the capacity of the state to govern because it promotes the delusion of immunity from sanction according to law."

 

Professor Owasanoye argued: "Available research evidence shows that a country's development is directly linked with respect for rule of law and the absence of impunity. There is direct correlation between the rule of law and a country's ranking in poverty index, corruption perception index, justice administration, health and education rankings, attraction of foreign direct investments, citizen welfare and social security."

 

Presenting the documentary, which was also simultaneously launched online on social media platforms, the Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), Mr. Edetaen Ojo, told journalists that it was part of the Campaign's efforts aimed at explaining the concept of impunity and demonstrating its negative effects on the country to the larger society in order to rouse citizens to action.

 

He said the documentary included insightful interviews on the issue of impunity in Nigeria with several senior government officials, eminent lawyers, academics, representatives of religious bodies, civil society and human rights activists, among others.

 

Mr. Ferdinard Agu, a Senior Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary to the Federal Government in the Presidency, said in the documentary that although he believes in the power of the Government to bring about change, it is more compelling for ordinary people to organize themselves to enforce their rights and demand that the right thing be done at all times.

 

Mr. Agu said:  "I am a believer in the power of government to do things but I think the strongest power is the power of the people. If you study social change, and see how it has evolved, great ideas can come from the elite but it often catches a catalytic force when the people below join it, then the government must respond."

 

Also speaking in the documentary, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr.Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), emphasized the role of the Judiciary in ending impunity.

 

According to him, "When people come to realize that courts perform without fear or favour, they fall in line. But the culture of impunity grows when you know you can buy a judge, for instance, then you go ahead and misbehave because at the end of the day you will get a lawyer to go to court, and the lawyer will buy justice."

 

Mr. Agbakoba argued that an important programme in curbing impunity would be for the country to have a strong and independent Judiciary.

 

Human rights lawyer and former President of the West African Bar Association (WABA), Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), noted in the documentary that "Impunity is traceable to the lack of confidence in the rule of law by the ruling class," adding that:  "When the government itself lavishly grants amnesty to all manners of criminal offenders, the government loses the moral integrity to bring those who commit lesser offences to justice."

 

The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Mike Omeri, also spoke in the documentary, highlighting the role of the media in curbing impunity in the country.

 

He said: "The press should be on the side of truth and justice, when the press reports with impunity, that is, issues they have no idea of at all, or issues they have not taken steps to verify, they are also guilty of the offence of impunity, so the press should as a matter of urgency purge itself and represent the values of journalism, of the profession, by taking steps to confirm facts on individuals or issues before they publish and also by redefining their context to reflect the needs of the society."

 

Mr. Oluwamuyiwa Adejobi, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, who was also interviewed in the documentary stressed that impunity is inimical to the enforcement of law and order, noting that: "injustice done anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

 

He called for everyone to "kick against impunity on time" warning that if this was not done, "it is going to be disastrous at the end of the day."

 

Human Rights Lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, noted that the responsibility for addressing the growing culture of impunity rests with the Nigerian people.

 

According to him, "the government is created by the people. The government did not make the people, so if the government is misbehaving, it is the people that can dissolve the government.  Government can never dissolve the people.  So we have a duty to continue to insist that the right things are done and that whenever people are in public offices and are doing the wrong things that we don't like or are going against the laws that have being made or are set, we must challenge them, we must confront them, and must resist them by all means possible and by all means necessary."

 

Civil society leader and Executive Director of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (LSD), Dr. Otive Igbuzor, decried the high level of impunity in the country, saying "the level of impunity as we have it today is not beneficial to citizens, is not beneficial to the government, is not beneficial to the country and all hands must be on deck to ensure that impunity is reduced."

 

He also insisted that "Government must ensure that there is accountability among security agencies so that citizens will have trust not only in these security agencies but in the government."