Re - placing Adamu Adamu on moral scale

Written by Yusuf Gamawa

It was not my intention to reply Mr John Danfulani, and I am also not writing on behalf of Adamu Adamu or any other person or group, but I am rather writing to express my own opinion on all that Danfulani is talking about and to further re-affirm my earlier response to Danfulani’s article two days ago when his piece was posted to my mailbox via the Dandalin Siyasa Yahoo Group of which Danfulani, Chaji and I are members.

When I saw Danfulani’s article, I hadn’t the slightest idea that it was going to the press, I had thought it was just a contribution to our group’s normal exchange of views and ideas, to which I replied sending my comments and observations in which I specifically told Danfulani that I appreciated his bold opinion on the subject he was writing and that there was no problem people calling others to order which is necessary in guiding our general conduct within the society, but pointed out that he appeared too harsh on Adamu Adamu.

And for that I questioned the sincerity of Danfulani’s motive, because he seemed to have missed the point from the beginning. Adamu Adamu is only a journalist and not a minister, president or holding any office of influence. I noticed also many contradictions with regards to many claims made by him on Adamu, after portraying Adamu as incapable of swallowing the pills of criticism, he again quoted Adamu as saying” in the past my attitude even to reasonable rejoinders to my columns had been to accept but ignore” this clearly shows Adamu’s level of tolerance with regards to responses generated by his writings, without replying or quarrelling as many writers do, but even this Danfulani interpreted as arrogance.

Still, in my response to Danfulani, I pointed out to him that he had digressed completely from what Chaji himself had tried to bring out and further argued that Adamu was right to say that his duty as a journalist should be restricted to Bauchi, and it is nobody’s responsibility to tell him when or who to write about, and if he agrees to this, then he is not fit to be a journalist. Since there is possibility that his opinion may be influenced and as such he will not be objective in his writing. As a writer Adamu has the right to be completely independent and he is a citizen of Nigeria, as a journalist the entire country is his constituency and not just Bauchi State.


These were my comments on Danfulani’s article, but the fact that Danfulani has now gone to press with a new edited piece, means I would make further observation. From what I understand, both Chaji and Danfulani are not sincere at all about their accusation on Adamu, first, it appears to me as if they are among those myopic politician that have since been fighting amongst them selves, supporting either Yuguda or Mu’azu and are now trying to drag Adamu into their melodrama of who is better than who, which is a narrow minded thinking of our people failing to take cognizance of the fact that Adamu is not a politician.

Secondly, if this is true, then it means both Chaji and Danfulani are playing out someone else’s script, and which would have been unfortunate or they are just out to create mischief, otherwise if these people strongly feel that there are real questions Adamu Adamu should answer with regards to his relationship with Yuguda, they should be bold enough to go straight to the point rather than saying Mu’azu or Yuguda and things like that. I would have considered their views more serious if they had just called on Adamu Adamu to make his views open on Yuguda’s government without being sentimental about it.

And so, to me now the question lies now in the sincerity of Chaji and Danfulani, and I do not want to delve into the accusation of arrogance and other issues on Adamu, that is not my concern and not important and in any case unnecessary. If any thing Chaji and Danfulani’s petty mindedness and mischief to have singled out Bauchi in whole of Nigeria for Adamu’s attention and to have tried to force a Journalist into a war he is not part of is not only ridiculous but also mischievous, and amounts to total blackmail on Adamu. If my suspicion is confirmed and true about the Yuguda – Mu’azu political rift to which they seem to belong, then we have no option than to excuse our selves.
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