Reading a brusquely scripted statement by one Oluwabusola Olawale, a supposed head of former Governor Ibrahim Shema's 'media team', I couldn't help but marvel at the folly of a fugitive having a media team. Probably suffering from power withdrawal syndrome, Shema is yet to accept the reality of the day and start adjusting to the demands of life on the other side.
Apparently dazed by the ease the mess he left behind is coming to surface, Shema, who left Nigeria hurriedly days before the swearing-in of Katsina State Governor, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, seem somehow, arrogantly comfortable with living a life of pretence and poorly scripted lies. In the "say-something-for-the-sake-of-saying-something" statement, Shema who was obviously disturbed with daily revelations being made by the 'cleaners' he left to clean the mess he left behind disingenuously took the usual and cheap option of "witch-hunt" to play octopus and escape the billions of Naira questions hanging on his neck. No gain saying that, for somebody who basked in a fake aura of professional accomplishment as a lawyer, Shema is a huge disappointment to members of the noble profession of which he's suppose to be reputable. A "charge and bail lawyer" could definitely do better. That's by the way.
Shema's grouse with Governor Masari was the revelation that his (Shema's) CSO, one Deputy Superintendent Shehu Koko had took N680m, a supposed "security support" to the home of the former Governor - money pinched from the traditionally abused State/LG joint account. Interestingly, rather than Shema concentrate his intellectual energy to explain the circumstances under which Koko brought close to a billion Naira to him in cash, he's howling "witch-hunt". Breaking this down in a kindergarten language, one could see it's simply a shameless effort to cover a conspiracy that fleeced Katsina State of a cool N680m which Masari is trying to locate to apply where appropriate. So, which Bakatsine will not join in this decent hunt for such a 'witch' with countless bank accounts rather than a flying broom?
From his hideout somewhere in Europe, Shema still find it convenient to insult the sensibility of a State he left virtually broke with nothing to show but bogus over inflated projects that have since failed preliminary regulatory or even moral tests. This is somebody that spent the last days of his banditry regime telling the world that Katsina State is dept free whereas, the State is indebted up to its neck without any corresponding value to show for it. But for his exceptional insensitivity, Shema will be somewhere ruing his 8 year stint as a leader of a promising State that he set back tens of years using a primitive proclivity for wealth accumulation that's unprecedented in this part of the globe.
Rather than crying "witch-hunt", I expect Shema to return home and defend such financial irregularities as the release of over N7bn to ALGON which ended up in much the same way as the ADC Koko-delivered N680m.
Serious as it was, one couldn't miss the tragicomedy that unfolded when a female Permanent Secretary, one of Shema's favourite, failed to explain to investigators the purpose of a multi-million Naira transfer from KTSG's account into her private account. Trust Shema's attraction to "dumbos", the petrified lady simply told the panel "Sai nayi shawara da Maigidana", (I will have to confer with my husband). One could only imagine how Katsina was practically butchered using sheepish people like the mentioned Permanent Secretary as conduit pipes to siphon as much as humanly possible by a proud (or is it 'fraud') member of the learned profession.
Rather than glib empty responses from across the Atlantic, shouldn't Shema use his "international lawyer" reputation and skills to wriggle himself out of the hole he took 8 years digging for himself? Almost all aspect of Katsina State's finances is in chaos. The State's treasury was handled by Shema in a lot less decent manner than the wealth of a captured territory. The whole Treasury stink with corruption and most of the proxy-perpetrators were left high and dry with nothing to show but angry faces of regret. Shema was simply a thief gone berserk!
To imagine a huge sum of N680m pinched for a bogus claim of "security support" probably, within the period when hundreds of people were slaughtered in Faskari LG without Shema raising a finger, it's easy to imagine what constitute 'security support' in Shema's perverted mind. In any case, which governance is Shema "advising" Governor Masari to concentrate on? Thought by now he is reasonably updated about the uncovered mess he left behind amounting to tens of billions which Masari is trying to retrieve from major players of the expired regime for proper utilisation in a fair and equitable manner that will benefit majority of the short-changed people of Katsina. If Masari's effort could not pass Shema's definition of 'concentration', then certainly his case is worse than general accepted.
In just few days however, Shema will come face to face with the stark nakedness of his misdeeds. He will be confronted by the ghosts of things he naively believe were well covered. In just few days, he will know that the same hot water that soften potato also harden the egg. Katsinawa ba wawaye bane!
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