𝗭𝗮𝗺𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗮: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗱𝗶 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝘆𝘂, 𝗕𝘆 𝗔𝗹𝗶 𝗔𝗯𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗵𝗶.

 

The Zamfara State House of Assembly has impeached Mahdi Aliyu, the deputy governor of the state. The legislature found him guilty of crimes bordering on constitutional breaches, financial mismanagement, official misconduct, among others, all strong grounds for impeachment. However, the impeachment was confirmed by the report of the Investigative panel duly setup by the Chief Judge and Attorney General of the state. Any talk of foul play would have been put to rest because the committee comprised people of impeccable character and societal standing all in a bid to give the erstwhile deputy governor a fair hearing. But not only did Mahdi shun the entire sitting of the committee, he launched a sickening media tirade against the state legislature, calling them unprintable names. In the end, the panel did its due diligence and Mr. Mahdi has joined the lineup of Nigeria’s impeached executives. In truth, Mahdi Aliyu ought to have been impeached a long time ago mainly because of his foolhardy media shenanigans and certainly not because he refused to decamp to the APC alongside the governor, as he and his PDP apologists are trying to make people believe. In the end, he was done in for dereliction of duty; how fitting! Everyone in Zamfara knows that Mahdi Aliyu, son of a PDP stalwart, General Aliyu Gusau (rtd), has abandoned his official duties since his principal, Governor Matawalle decamped to the APC. Most annoying is that Aliyu did not make any secret of shirking his official responsibilities as the deputy governor of the state. In place of the requirements of his office, he assumed the role of traducer general of the same government he’s supposed to be a part of. It was so sickening that Mardi Aliyu became more loyal to dangerous godfathers than to his boss at a time Zamfara state needed her leaders to close ranks and work together for the good and security of the state. History tells us that Mahdi Aliyu is not the first deputy governor to fall out, politically, with his boss. But, whereas those of the past were smart enough to know that the only way for them to remain relevant was to double their efforts in service of the people who elected them, Aliyu abdicated his official role and left for Abuja from where he appears occasionally to muddy the fragile waters of Zamfara state’s security. Perhaps, Aliyu’s greatest undoing was his political immaturity. This came to the fore when he stopped communicating with his principal. This pettiness degenerated to the point that he even refused to condole with his boss when the latter lost his mother-in-law. This unfortunate incident made it clear that people like Aliyu have no business in politics because he lacks the basic knowledge of its sacred canons, which is that every inch of the political game is about appearances and perception. Only recently, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano state paid a condolence visit to Senator Musa Kwankwaso when the latter lost his father. Now, everyone in Nigeria knows that Ganduje has been at daggers drawn with Kwankwaso since he succeeded him as governor of Kano state. Yet, he put aside his political difference to show loyalists of his rival that humanity is always first. Undoubtedly, that singular visit rescued for Ganduje some political reverence even as speculations began to emerge that the duo have mended fences. Unfortunately, this lesson was lost on Aliyu, perhaps, because like a horse marked for death, he had become deaf and dumb. Governor Matawalle must be commended for trying to avoid any confrontation with his protege that will give oxygen to the kind of empty media banter that Aliyu and the PDP were hoping to create. Things, however, got to a head when the now ousted deputy governor decided to show his insensitivity by coming into Gusau from Abuja to organise a political rally at the very time the state was mourning the killings of several people by the infamous bandits. Talk about wrong timing. Sadly, Aliyu showed no remorse even after several citizens of Zamfara state lambasted him for his dearth of empathy. I am sure it was after these repeated gaffes that the Zamfara State House of Assembly deployed the constitutional instrument, as true representatives of the people, many of whom were practically calling on them to axe the errant Aliyu, to summon him to answer questions relating to his misconduct. But he refused to show up. To add salt to injury, he unleashed a campaign of calumny against the Assembly, referring to them as a bunch of ignorant people, after which he filed a suit against them in court. This was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Mahdi Aliyu practically forced the hands of the Assembly, leaving them no choice than to commence impeachment proceedings against him. One would have thought that as a lawyer, the erstwhile deputy governor would have taken advantage of the investigative panel to clear his name and reclaim whatever is left of his integrity. But not only did he shun the panel, he raine.