If I didn’t know the Katsinawa as great Nigerians who have twice given us their very best, I would have lost sleep over the fake videos circulating on social media purporting that Katsina is on protest fire.
You won’t find such clips on NTA and 30 million Nigerians can’t be wrong even while waiting to beat the CNN for news coverage and analysis.
In one such a video, some youths were seen burning the campaign billboard of beloved General Muhammadu Buhari and his deputy, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
Enemies of the president would have had us believing that the event was recorded last week.
I don’t tear my garment of faith in Katsina humanity that easily.
Katsinawa would not protest the great strides of an illustrious son.
For all you care, the clip could be from 2015 mastered by deep fake from the President Jones’ PDP era trying to prevent ‘Change’ from happening.
Even in 2015, to burn a Sai Baba billboard could not have happened in broad daylight.
Maybe deep in the night when the Katsinawa enjoys a peaceful rest unlike other sinful cities that open theirs for use by Shaitan.
Another video claimed that residents of Yankara, in Faskari local government area of Katsina were protesting against the rape, killing and kidnapping of citizens by bandits or terrorists.
Another clip in which Katsina people were rejoicing over the introduction of ‘go-slow’ to hitherto empty roads was being presented as protests.
Traffic has increased on Katsina roads after the president commissioned the University of Transportation in Daura, his hometown.
There is also a polytechnic in the pipeline as well as hospitals.
If you believe the rumour mill and enemies of state, the jubilation on the streets of major towns in Katsina state is protest against alleged insecurity.
From official sources, the military established the 17th Brigade two years ago in Katsina. What more could a state want?
One shouldn’t imagine Katsina protesting when, in line with the principles by which Charity begins at home, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC has turned the sod for the first of the twelve hospitals it hopes to build in different parts of Nigeria in Katsina.
Abuja may be the geographical center of Nigeria, the GPS of development rotates from Katsina and Katsinawa have never had it so good.
I never take what I read about the enemies of Nigeria seriously.
One news medium with headquarters outside Nigeria ridiculed the NNPC for starting in Katsina.
It wondered how a conglomerate that could not fix Nigeria’s four refineries is dabbling into a health project.
Next, this medium would claim that NNPC turned its good ears away from the campaign promise by candidate Muhammadu Buhari to build one additional refinery for each of the four years of Change as if promises are not meant to be broken.
At any rate, Change got pregnant and gave birth to the Next Level.
Anything promised in courtship is known as beloved lies.
The enemies of all things good starting from Katsina forget that a corporation that sometimes forget to audit itself could still be committed to what public relations gurus call – corporate social responsibility.
Any institution could choose to respond to a need or lack within its area of operation as its contribution to the expansion of corporate entente.
I have looked at the NNPC enabling statute and nothing precludes it from helping Osagie Ehanire in his time of need.
In this era of Covid-19, states need hospitals as it has to cope with malaria, lassa fever, typhoid, endemic poverty and sometimes terror wounds. Such altruistic acts are not unlawful. Building hospitals is better than embezzling public funds.
Katsina is lucky to have an illustrious son as president and another as governor.
Governor Bello Masari is conscious that Katsina has no Amotekun, so he borrowed himself some sense.
He left the luxurious government house, Katsina and travelled to the depth of the jungle (yes Katsina has jungle) in search of the terrorists who share the control of his state with him by force of AK47 instead of votes.
When he found them, there was free tea and barbecue as a father finding his prodigal sons.
They also took a few selfies.
Like good prodigals, the bandits were thrilled to get a slash of Katsina State budget and official recognition.
Since then, Katsina has enjoyed the peace of the graveyard.
So perhaps a few hundreds of people have died in Katsina in the last couple of weeks.
This is not such a big price to pay when your son is the president of Africa’s most populous nation and the commander in chief of its armed forces.
President Jones once told us to embrace terrorism as a global badge of disruption.
Those were the days; I heard a military top brass promise to punish the bandits in Katsina and elsewhere.
According to Amnesty International report on Nigeria, security forces use different types of punishment tactics.
“The army carry out all sorts of torture, using whatever means are available to them.
They hang people, at times until they die. They use rifle butts and sticks to beat people. They also shoot people in the legs and leave them to bleed. They tie people’s hands behind their backs with rope; so many people are unable to use their hands after they are released. Some people die even after they have been released.”
Message to Katsina bandits – be very afraid!
