Disgusting, disturbing display of medieval-devilish, to say the least barbarity, cocooned in politics – Literary critic
The Periscope Literati
* Go and write whatever you want – Maduwa
* Rumour peddlers against Maduwa must apologise or face the wrath of the law – Media Aides
A viral news relates how a supposed power drunk, considered as being faithful to Fintiri but far from being fine-tune to fine-tree-fresh air as a Fintirinated political philosophy of achievement without bitterness, ordered the Shilla-a-za-tion of Councillors in Michika Local Council, Northern Senatorial Zone -hitherto occupied but liberated from the Boko Haram savagery and anti religious barbarity – Adamawa state, Northeast Nigeria, for declining to change their leadership.
Steven Maduwa, crudely considered as “Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri’s faithful man-Friday and political factotum”, was like a hot-blooded lord, alleged to have ordered the barbarian hordes and the Hyena foremen, described in John Keat’s “the Eve of St. Agnes” – a dark poetic fairy tale – to flex their muscle, use their fists to feast on the loins of the considered non compromising Councillors of Michika local government authority for declining to the dictatorial demand, for coercive change of Council leadership.
The viral news articulated that Maduwa has in recent times, earned notoriety in using crude means to deal with real and imaginary antagonists of the governor; explaining that about a year ago, the accused, either wrongly or rightly, had threatened to assassinate a Yola based journalist in an audio clip that went viral sparking serious disquiet in the state.
Sources on condition of anonymity, revealed that in Maduwa’s mad desperation to deal with the “recalcitrant” and “uncooperative” councillors, he tactfully invited them to a meeting in Yola, dropping the governor’s name as a decoy.
It was gathered that the outcome of the meeting was treating with stick the Maduwa perceived antagonists of Fintiri, which necessitated the beating to stupor of about 10 out of the 16 councillors.
It was learnt that the accused was ab-initio opposed to the leadership of the incumbent speaker, Bitrus Pagwe but the ten councillors that came under attack used their numerical strength like broom to sweep the Maduwa for Pagwe as their leader.
Maduwa, according to the source, avoided the councilors at a popular hotel in Yola, the state capital where the meeting of the invited stakeholders took place on Sunday September 5, 2021.
The meeting according to the source was attended by some senior stakeholders, including the former House of Representatives member, Adamu Kamale and member of the State Assembly from Michika, Ayuba Kwada, among others.
The senior stakeholders, it was gathered, having persevered that Maduwa might madly resort to the use of violence, surreptitiously made their way out of the venue to absolve themselves from any untoward development.
At the meeting, Maduwa was alleged to have pushed for a change of leadership by directing the house leader to resign immediately.
Shocked by the bizarre directive, a demand credited to governor Fintiri, the leader of the councilors, Bitrus Pagwe, protested thus, “Sir, this matter is a democratic affair.
“Because we were duly elected, how would the governor, who was a legislator himself, give such an order?”
Peeved by Pagwe’s effrontery, temerity and audacity to critically question the alleged governor’s directive, Maduwa deployed the Napoleon dogs of war, described in George Orwell’s satirical allegorical novella, “Animal Farm” to hound, pounce and pound on the councilors,
According to the source, the onslaught against the councillors was led by the driver of Maduwa, Abdurrahman Bodes a.k.a slanty.
The source said, a number of the councillors including the leader Pagwe sustained serious bodily harm.
Confirming the incident in a phone chat, the house leader, Bitrus Pagwe said they were deceived into attending the meeting because they were told it was convened by governor Fintiri.
He noted that unknown to them, they were actually being lured to a booby trap where they were physically assaulted.
“We were deceived into attending the meeting because we were told that it was the governor that called for it.
” Unfortunately, when we attended the meeting, we were actually told that it was convened at the instance of the governor to make me to relinquish my position as the house leader.
“Because I enjoyed the support of majority, my people stood their grounds and insisted that what my antagonists wanted to do was against the spirit and letters of the constitution.
“Right from the onset, six of the members were against my candidature while 10 of them were for me. Despite the fact that Maduwa never liked me, I still emerged the leader because democracy is a game of numbers.
“Because of our insistence on doing the right thing, Maduwa’s driver and others attacked us in the process inflicting serious bodily harm on three of us.
“I spent a lot of money to treat the injuries I sustained and if not for God’s intervention, I wouldn’t have known what would have happened to my eye.
” And to my surprise, no one among the stakeholders called to sympathise with me over the sad incident, ” he said.
Also confirming the incident, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman in Michika, Ezekiel Kwaji, admitted that “there was a move to force a change in the leadership of the councilors, which led to a scuffle, but I cannot confirm that anyone ordered the fight.”
When contacted however, Maduwa angrily told the Fact Check news to “go and write whatever you want.”
Responding to the viral media, not Maduwa but his “media aides” regretted the situation where youths resorted to the use social media to run their leaders down, asking the persons peddling the rumour to apologise or face the wrath of the law, the Finder News can report.
According to the media aides, “we find as unacceptable and unfortunate the story that Hon. Stephen Maduwa uses the Governor’s influence to cause a succession crisis in Michika council legislative assembly and engage kamale over who controls the legislative council.
“What do they hope to achieve with the baseless allegation, if not for political purposes?
“There is no such thing. It is false, mischievous and malicious. For those who are spreading the rumour, the RIFAN boss has no hand in the crisis rocking the council assembly as he is not the chairman of the council nor a councillor in Michika.
“He does not have any godfather’s interest in who controls the assembly council, nor does he use the Governor’s name in conveying the reconciliatory meeting as they are alleging.
“What we understand is that the media attack on the RIFAN boss is due to his soaring political popularity as he has never engaged kamale in any ego fight over the control of the council assembly,” Maduwa’s media aides stated.