The Emir of Gwandu, Al-Mustapha Haruna Jokolo’s interview with the BBC Hausa Service aired on the morning of Monday 17^th February 2004 made me real sick. His diabolical diatribe against the very innocent efforts of Dr. Haruna Kaita to get to the root of what appears to be a grand international polio vaccine conspiracy is pitiful, to say the least.

 The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), which Jokolo is a very prominent member of, it was that dispatched Dr. Kaita and paid for his passage eastwards to ascertain the truth behind the integrity of the polio vaccine. That is to say, Jokolo was part of the group of our royal fathers that initiated and gave blessing to the mission, nay even funded it. For him to turn around now and attack the integrity of his very own emissary beats my imagination. Why, with all the experience at the disposal of the JNI leadership on state craftsmanship, which Jokolo (most unfortunately) appears to be the de facto leader of, was it not found expedient to arrange an escort for Dr. Kaita if there was any iota of doubt about his competence or sincerity of purpose to dig out the truth behind the polio vaccine mystery? Jokolo ought to have volunteered himself. To portray Kaita as a “Lone Ranger” who therefore, by Jokolo’s inference, had no official mandate for his mission and thus might have cooked up the test results is, indeed, nauseating. Even though Jokolo did not say so in black and white, his statements amounted to the same thing. Dr. Kaita spent about a month subjecting vaccine samples to rigorous scientific tests in different countries. He is a pharmacologist of international repute, whose expertise Jokolo would want to now rubbish as a way to get we Nigerians to accept yet another rerun of the tests, now to be supervised and attested by traditional rulers and other paid agents of government, simply because the earlier test results (including that by Kano State government) are unpalatable to the government and its international masters. How can we accept such tests when they are to be conducted in virtually three days in each of the countries to be visited, and after the Federal Government has been seen to be suppressing the results of its own tests conducted in a South African laboratory a couple of months back?

 To effectively sell the dubious government position that the polio vaccine is safe, and to remove the damage that the JNI initiative has caused to the vested interests of the vaccine advocates both here and abroad, the only recourse for Jokolo was to make a u-turn, disown and attack the integrity of his obedient servant. How un-royal! Unfortunately, this latest attempt to whitewash the un-washable has further done incalculable damage to his reputation, or what remains of it. But for most of us that have followed a few of his escapades, this comes to us as no surprise at all. His pendulum swings and acrobatics in the pursuit of self-interests, and not the people’s, know no bounds.

 The character and antics of Sarkin Gwandu Jokolo first attracted my interest during the heydays of the Abacha regime. As the occupant of the exalted stool of Gwandu and a direct descendant of Shiekh Abdullahi bin Fodio, he ranks as no. 3 in the Order of Precedence of the northern traditional leadership, deferring only to the Sultan of Sokoto and Shehu of Borno- in theory, that is. There is every indication that he played a leading role, at least in the aftermath of the deposition of Sultan Dasuki, for he was the one and only traditional authority in this country to have come out publicly to make a statement in support of the government, for what has turned to be the singular act that has completely demystified the institution and rendered the northern leadership into disarray to date. Even if other emirs supported the action, they had the sense of decorum and intelligence to keep mute, especially knowing the grave future implications of the deposition to the stability and integrity of the institution and the north in general, for which we are today paying a heavy price.

But not Jokolo who, I firmly believe even if I cannot legally prove, was privy to Abacha’s plans to send Dasuki into exile in far away Taraba State. He was also quick to clean the government’s mess of the death of Shehu Yar Adua in prison at a rather ill timed moment when the nation was still grieving his loss. I thought that was grossly insensitive.

 Come 1999, Jokolo in the same character as those who Brigadier- General Sabo of the famed Oputa Panel hearings would describe as AGIP- ‘any government in power’, meandered his way to attract the listening ears of the powers that be (apologies to his namesake- Major Al-Mustapha). And in the last four years or so, we have witnessed those summersaults and acrobatics I referred to above, whereby he says one thing today and reverses himself tomorrow. For instance, during the last Ramadan Jokolo was among the few elite emirs that quietly received and responded to the invitation of the arch-dictator Aremu Obasanjo for Iftar at the Aso Villa. When this became public knowledge he quickly put out a statement condemning the rogue government as anti-north, which won front-page coverage in the Daily Trust. We were not fooled!

 Prior to this, I recall his unsuccessful and pedestrian efforts to sell the candidacy of Babangida to the northern elite, a failed contract that brought him to hot exchange, albeit in proxy, with then Weekly Trust columnist Aliyu Tilde. His only recourse was to attack the integrity of his former boss, General Buhari, whose presidential campaign Tilde was then working for, rather than address the substance of Tilde’s revelations. It came to me as a very big surprise when Jokolo subsequently at his palace made a u-turn and poured encomiums on Buhari, who he described as the most honest Nigerian leader today!

 I happened to be in Birnin Kebbi the day in March last year when Buhari took his campaign train to Kebbi State. Out of curiosity, I hitched a ride and accompanied the entourage to Jokolo’s palace where Buhari paid him a courtesy call. Jokolo spoke in glowing tributes to Buhari, ranging from their harmonious working relationship to his public attestation that Buhari was a God-fearing and honest gentleman, who did not even care to know the combination numbers of the safe at Dodan Barracks where security funds were being kept. But the speech suddenly became an anticlimax when he then, with all seriousness, lamented that his only regret in serving under Buhari was that he and others that had the privilege to work with the then C-in-C never benefited materially from their service to the nation. Regret? I thought that should give one a sense of pride! Of course Buhari gave him a piece of his mind that hot afternoon, thanking him for revealing what only he Jokolo, Buhari and God knew about, but emphatically remind him of the need to take pride in the teachings of his forefathers, whose words and deeds were about selfless service and abhorrence of all forms of material benefits to safeguard their faith and integrity. As the crowd thundered in approval I buried my face in my hands feeling so ashamed for Jokolo and repeatedly muttering ‘he (Jokolo) didn’t need to say this!’ Jokolo could only try to keep a straight face.       

 Even within the JNI his tantrums and weirdness are legendary. The current polio vaccine attempted whitewash is the most recent example. His temper and lack of finesse among a gathering of noble people who have been born in and are custodians of the art of diplomacy, dignity and composure stands out. It is little wonder that some very senior emirs have in recent times stopped coming to JNI meetings, to avoid and in protest at his demeanour.

 My recent dossier on his persona was on his contributions at the recent meeting between Atiku Abubakar and the northern traditional leadership, a day after their monologue with Obasanjo wherein the President successfully sold to them his dubious reform agenda. The meeting was an excellent opportunity for Jokolo to exploit the woes of the embattled Atiku, who is desperately seeking to make amends with his primary constituency, now that his honeymoon with Obasanjo is virtually over. I was reliably informed that Jokolo, without mincing words, unashamedly told Atiku’s team that they (the emirs) are ready to lend their support only to the politician who will take care of their needs! In other words….!!!! There was a pin-drop silence after this, for some surely out of disgust and for the gullible, concurrence.

 For a man of such disposition, who appears more interested in his material well being than the welfare of his subjects, the position he has now taken on the polio vaccine controversy smacks nothing short of acting as the agent provocateur of government.  The government has the interest of doing the bidding of its western masters and in Jokolo they have a ready tool that is eager to compromise his ancestral integrity for a few crumbs. How cheap! Unfortunately for them, the people this side of the divide, despite their low disposition to western education remain the most politically active and are quick to see through any deceit. Thus, Jokolo and his ilk may continue to try to undermine the survival of the people through their advocacy of the polio vaccination programme, but the people are already poised to reject it. It is one thing to force a horse to the river, but forcing it to take a drink is a different wahala.

 Some years ago at the time Abacha’s tazarce programme was gathering steam, a well respected northern emir attended one of the decoy gatherings of traditional rulers, then being coordinated by Sardaunan Plateau, Nassarawa and environs (whatever that means!), Lieutenant General Jerry Useni. After a deep reflection of the contributions of Sarkin Gwandu Jokolo, during a two-day marathon meeting, he retired to his suite at Nicon Hilton feeling so sad and dejected. He remained in this mood throughout the day, and could not suppress his anguish any longer when a couple of us later in the evening went to pay our respect. He told us that he had reached the conclusion that Jokolo was a disaster to the traditional institution and further prophecised that if the institution should crumble, Jokolo would be the chief architect of its destruction. Seven years on, this prophecy is looming on the horizon.

  Al-Mustapha Haruna Jokolo must make the simple choice, either to discharge his royal duties with all sincerity and the fear of Allah, or permanently adorn the toga of a mercenary, willing to do anybody’s bidding at a price. In which case, he has no business residing within the four walls of the palace of Gwandu Emirate. His royal colleagues also have the clear choice either to make resolve now to check Jokolo’s excesses, or allow him to run them over along with all that their ancestors have toiled to preserve over the centuries, and eventually end up as footnotes of history. That’s if at all history itself will extend to them any iota of kindness.

 Babayola M. Toungo

61, Dogondawa Close

U/Sarki, Kaduna