By Ubaidullah Yahaya
The recent allegations being crafted against Dr Bello Matawalle, the Minister of State for Defence, as being a person with connections to banditry is dirty and indecent politics taken too far.
It is vexatious and offensive. And it oversteps the boundaries allowed of political games.
Of course these sponsored attacks, attempting to force a link between Dr. Bello Matawallle and banditry are not unconnected to his 2027 ambition to take over the seat of power from Dauda Lawal, as Governor of Zamfara State.
The quarters that have sponsored these obnoxious campaign against Dr. Matawalle know for a fact that he is the one person who possesses the political clout to oust Dauda in an election, come 2027. They are jittery and have chosen to sponsor these malicious stories against him.
For the records: Dr. Bello Matawalle has never in his life supported, funded, promoted or advanced the cause of bandits or banditry. On the flip side, he has proven to be the archenemy of that enterprise. They detest him, as much as he does them, too.
It is for this reason that President Tinubu did not just consider him as a Minister in his government, but as a Minister of State for Defence.
The President knows the facts of Matawalle’s successes as Governor of Zamfara State, much more than his detractors. In fact, when the crisis of the Kebbi students kidnap arose, President Tinubu did not need to look to any one else other than Dr Matawalle to go to Kebbi State, deal with the issue and return the students unharmed!
Dr. Matawalle achieved that. He did not return to base, till the children, all were rescued.
Those attacking him today only do so out of jealousy. They fear his prominence. They detest that he delivers and they hate that so much.
They have sought to give the Minister a bad name, like the proverbial dog, then hang him—for falsehoods and untruths.
They have also gone to the far-reaching extent of procuring Matawalle’s former aide who was sacked, disgraced and imprisoned for criminal conducts and links with terrorists, to serve as their star witnesses in this game of indecent politics.
Unbeknownst to these fraudulent elements, the records show a different thing:
Dr. Matawalle as Zamfara State Governor made the most mark in terms of dealing with banditry in the state—far above his predecessors who he inherited the crisis from. He cooperated with the Federal Government, led by former President Muhammadu Buhari, and worked closely with the then Chief of Army Staff, General Buratai to deal decisively with banditry—whether it was by kinetic or non-kinetic approach.
He set up the Security Committee chaired by M. D Abubakar, a former Inspector General of Police, which dealt successfully with the criminal elements through cooperation with security agencies.
The records are there. Indeed, for a full year under Dr Matawalle, the state did not experience a single case of a bandit attack.
Those who are calling for his sack, using the fiction of ties to banditry must stop those desperate calls now. It is dirty politics taken too far. They are using a story that is untrue to soil the name of a good man. Zamfara indigenes and those who care for decent and responsible politics demand that they stop it now.
Ubaidullah Yahaya on behalf of the Zamfara Youth League
