“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” ― George Washington
I
wish to have titled this piece ‘In Defence
of John Danfulani’, but I understand that the gentleman in question had
filed a lawsuit in the Industrial Court and I have no intention of tampering or
pre-empting a judicial proceeding. Therefore, my piece is more of an advice to anyone
or any organ of government that wish to be used to intimidate any citizen into
silence by fiddling with his or her basic right to free speech. The freedom of
speech is an absolute state to fully express thoughts and there is no such
thing as being half-free; it is either you are free or not free.
The
ability to come out openly and voice out the concerns of your people is not
only bravery, but it is also a right that everyone must enjoy. It is about
calmly speaking the truth when everyone else is silenced, when the truth cannot
be expressed. It is about speaking out with a different voice, risking the
wrath of the state and offending everyone, for the sake of the truth, and the
writer’s conscience. For many a time, when I listen to some political
sycophants speaking with the caution of trying to please a master, I wish for
an alternative voice. Danfulani has consistently provided that voice,
especially for the people of Southern Kaduna. He has fearlessly expressed
himself writing from the good, to the bad and everything in between. Whether
his style is likable is not what is important; the pivotal point is he says it
the way he sees it, and in most cases, that is the true reflection of the
feelings of his people. I wonder why we keep missing this point. Therefore,
before I proceed with my submission, permit me a space to turban on your
platform Dr. John Danfulani as the Sarkin
Yakin Samarin Kudanchin Zazzau.
I
read with great concern a news article, in some of the Nigerian media outlets, a story that says the poor lecturer had been served with a warning letter by the Council of his University i.e Kaduna State University (KASU) for allegedly
denigrating in the social media the Visitor of the University who doubles as
the Governor of the state, Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero. At this point, I wish
to state that I do not know Dr. John Danfulani beyond what I read of him on the
cyberspace and I have never seen him or met him anywhere. At the same time, I
do not know any of the Council members of KASU. I do not need to know any of
them. But I feel an urgent Zazzau intervention is required before the issue
takes the usual political turn between the two major political divides in the
state. This warning must not be allowed to stand for many reasons. In the first
place, was Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero been criticized in his capacity as a
Governor of the state or the Visitor of the University? If it was in his
capacity as a Governor, then there is no case and KASU should not even dabble
into it. The gentleman is a patriotic and concerned citizen of the state who
has all the rights to say all that are needed to be said to make sure the state
was being run properly. On the other hand, if the criticizing was directed to
his office as the Visitor of the University, as alleged, the gentleman still
has right to criticise the office as a dedicated staff of the University,
because no office is above criticism. Even if the criticism is directed at his
person, KASU Council still has no business in it, because it should be the responsibility
of Alhaji Ramalan Yero to take-up the matter himself. In any case, why are we
even afraid of criticism?
Yes,
I understand that speaking the truth to the powers that be sometimes requires
wisdom, but everyone is different and we all have different ways of expressing
ourselves. Therefore, what is important is the wisdom of the reader to separate
the grains from the sand; the wisdom of the reader to separate the message
from the messenger. The wisdom of the
reader to challenge the idea put forward by the writer intellectually wherever
opinions differ. But most importantly is the wisdom of whosoever is concerned
to act based on the positive criticisms until there are no more loopholes for
the critic to criticize. In other words, action speaks louder than the voice.
The
University don is a political scientist by profession and he has a Ph.D to show
for it. It is normal for a political scientist to comment on political issues
around him, not even when he sees it as a community service. By the way,
community service is one of the essential components for an academician to get
promoted into the Professorial cadre. In his quest to liberate his Southern
Kaduna people from political slavery, many power brokers have in the past come
under the hammer of his mighty pen. Some of which includes the Senator representing
his constituency at the national assembly, the Southern Kaduna political elites,
the first republic northern elders, some sycophantic Southern Kaduna youth
movements and also the state and federal government security apparatus for
their lackadaisical attitude towards the protection of lives and properties in the
state. He has never shied away from condemning any perceived injustice including
the ones done on adherents of other religions, like the recent killings of
Shi’at people in Zaria. In all these, we never heard the voice of KASU council restraining
him or any other person. Therefore, it is ironic how they suddenly found their
lost pen to prevent him from commenting on their almighty Visitor. In the words
of Neil Gaiman: “if you don't stand up for
the stuff you don't like, when they come for the stuff you do like, you've
already lost.”
KASU
is a new state-owned University, but the decision of Danfulani to take-up a
career as political scientist came even before KASU was established. Therefore,
any attempt to send him into political hibernation is ill-conceived and cannot
stand. It is a very bad precedence that KASU is trying to start, especially on
many of us that work in various institutions in Nigeria and wish to chip in one or
two pieces of advice to our leaders. This miscalculated warning is already
breeding more political enemies to your Visitor than friends. And believe me,
it is also projecting your institution in a very bad light. My advice to the
council of every newly founded state university is that they should try and
concentrate on the development of more Danfulanis by sponsoring many of their
staff to obtain higher degrees and clear the bottom-heavy staffing system they
always run. Dabbling into politics by an institution of higher learning is definitely
not the way to progress.
God bless Kaduna State,
God bless Nigeria, amin.
Shafi’i Hamidu wrote-in from the Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia.
Twitter: @shafiihamidu
FaceBook: Shafi'i
Hamidu
PUBLISHED IN:
1. Leadership Newspaper, "Half-free is Never Freedom", 18/08/2014
2. Blue Print, "My advice to Kaduna varsity", 25/08/2014
3. The Nation, "Kaduna varsity erred on Danfulani", 18/08/2014
4. CEDRA, "Half-free is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern", 26/08/2014
5. The Will, "HALF-FREE IS NEVER FREEDOM – TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN", 21/08/2014
6. Point Blank News, "Half-free is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern", 18/08/2014
7. Sky Trend News, "In Defence Of Free Speech - The Case Of Kaduna State University", 20/08/2014
8. Abusidiqu, "To Be Half-free is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern", 18/08/2014
9. Elombah, "Half-freedom is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern ", 18/08/2014
10. The Abuja Voice, "Half-free is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern", 18/08/2014
11. The Paradigm, "Half-free Is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern", 18/08/2014
12. The Niche, "Half-free is never freedom – To whom it may concern", 24/08/2017
13. Universal Reporters, "Half-free is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern", 18/08/2014
14. African Outlook, "Half-free is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern", 18/08/2014
15. Nigerian Daily Newspapers, "Half-free is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern ", 24/08/2014
PUBLISHED IN:
1. Leadership Newspaper, "Half-free is Never Freedom", 18/08/2014
2. Blue Print, "My advice to Kaduna varsity", 25/08/2014
3. The Nation, "Kaduna varsity erred on Danfulani", 18/08/2014
4. CEDRA, "Half-free is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern", 26/08/2014
5. The Will, "HALF-FREE IS NEVER FREEDOM – TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN", 21/08/2014
6. Point Blank News, "Half-free is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern", 18/08/2014
7. Sky Trend News, "In Defence Of Free Speech - The Case Of Kaduna State University", 20/08/2014
8. Abusidiqu, "To Be Half-free is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern", 18/08/2014
9. Elombah, "Half-freedom is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern ", 18/08/2014
10. The Abuja Voice, "Half-free is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern", 18/08/2014
11. The Paradigm, "Half-free Is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern", 18/08/2014
12. The Niche, "Half-free is never freedom – To whom it may concern", 24/08/2017
13. Universal Reporters, "Half-free is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern", 18/08/2014
14. African Outlook, "Half-free is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern", 18/08/2014
15. Nigerian Daily Newspapers, "Half-free is Never Freedom – To Whom It May Concern ", 24/08/2014
