TheCable

YAHAYA MOH’D USMAN

On a normal day, I don’t join issues with people, because I feel I have gone past talking about individuals. At this stage, I discuss ideas and innovation.

I must say this, that the action of the Niger state deputy governor Ahmed Ketso on Saturday, the fateful day Kingsley Moghalu, a presidential aspirant came to Minna for a town hall meeting was uncivilized, uncultured and very disgraceful.

After the coordinators booked the main hall of the Abdulsalami Youth Centre and invited us to the town hall meeting, on getting there we were told the deputy governor had ordered the hall reserved for his party program and a smaller hall was reluctantly given to them which wouldn’t contain more than 80-100 persons, we squeezed in there like sardine for more than 3 hours.

I sweated to my undies yet we were fasting. There were only two standing fans that could barely work, the small gen set came on and off at regular intervals, the main generator was also not on, but a little one was provided to power bulbs and the PR systems.

I was not there for politics but I was there to grab from Mr. Moghalu’s deep sea of knowledge. A professor, a lawyer, a former CBN deputy governor can’t but be knowledgeable, so, I was willing to wait all day and waited, I did.

Unfortunately, those who should show civility and portray our state in good light bungled it by showing intolerance and uncivility by denying a presidential candidate a mere hall. What would Mr. Moghalu and his entourage think of Niger? Doesn’t that bother you? Yet you want investors to come to Niger.

To make matters worse, until we left the small hall we were packed in, at about 2pm, there was no trace of the deputy governor at the larger hall. It became clear the whole idea was to deny Moghalu’s team the use of the hall. Yet no repayment was made from the initial money collected for the bigger hall.

Okay! Even after that record low, Moghalu pledged to train youth in skills and entrepreneurship through his foundation within this year. This will benefit Nigerlites, not foreigners.

The Niger state government should immediately send words of apology to Moghalu, his entourage and us for the ill-treatment “we” suffered that day, tell him it’s not our character and wish him well.

This is democracy and not dictatorship, remember however long one stays in office, there is a time you will be called former… that time is not too far my brother, excellency sir.

Usman is a public analyst. He can be reached via Facebook:Yahaya Moh’d Usman