Day: January 28, 2023

Naja’atu Muhammad, self-acclaimed human rights activist and politician is in the news again. As is usual with the fiery perpetual government and individuals’ critic, she is trending in dramatic circumstances. With a penchant for extreme views and indignant social criticism, she was described and rightly so, as a “professional character assassin” by a certain Muhammad Abubakar, sometime in 2019 in a rejoinder to her opinion piece “The Elephant in the Room: A Dent on its Trunk” where she gave a scathing account of the Nigeria Police Force and the leadership of the Police Service Commission (PSC). To puncture her self-righteous presentation of herself, to date she remains a member of the PSC she so vehemently excoriated!

A few days ago, she “resigned” from the ruling APC and from her high ranking position as a director in its Presidential Campaign Council. Since her resignation, she has visited the opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar with photo ops and gone on a flurry of media interviews denigrating the APC, its presidential candidate and most recently its vice presidential candidate – Senator Kashim Shettima.

In a TV interview she gave Arise News she said and I quote: “Especially as it concerns security…..you cannot take someone that is virtually senile (in reference to Asiwaju) and another person that has been associated on several occasions with funding terrorism. That is Kashim Shettima.”

She further went on to say; “Kashim Shettima, we should not forget, Kabiru Sokoto was one of the most wanted terrorists and he was found and arrested in his house.”

Naja’atu was being dishonourable in twisting the circumstances of Kabiru Sokoto’s arrest by her mischievous rendition indicating that he was arrested in Kashim Shettima’s personal house.

Kabiru Sokoto was arrested in the Borno State Governor’s Lodge plotting the kidnap of Shettima’s children. Naja’atu very well knows the truth but chose the path of deceit. Hajia Naja an ji kunya Wallahi!

Naja’atu went on to further buttress her point on how terrorism and banditry is financed with the preposterous insinuation that Mr. Shettima is a terrorism financier.

Not to be taken lightly, Naja’atu Mohammed’s grievous accusation must be addressed and rejected in the strongest terms not only because she is lying but also because of the perpetuation of the stereotyping of northern Muslims as Boko Haram/terrorism sympathisers and the attendant hate crimes including mass murders that could follow.

These are some of the issues she herself has spoken against previously but has now turned around 360 degrees to propagate all in the name of politics. So much for a self touted defender of northern interests!

I advise Senator Shettima to seek legal redress against this grave character assassination. It may surprise the reader to know that Hajia Naja’atu was prior to this explosive interview a close friend of the Shettimas. According to sources close to the family, she had open access to the Shettima household, was a regular visitor and would often hawk her wares and the Shettimas; would continuously patronise her. Mrs Shettima treated Naja’atu with reverence just as she would treat her own maternal aunts. When in Maiduguri, Naja’atu was known to be accommodated in Kashim Shettima’s personal house and treated as a special guest. The pressing question is: what led to the sudden realisation by Naja’atu that her erstwhile friends and accommodators were terrorism supporters? As widely insinuated, was there a revelation aided by Atiku dollars?

As Naja’atu is so fond of making reference to Islam in her critical presentations in writing and on TV and radio, I rebuke her with the Mighty words of Almighty Allah when he spoke about the repercussions of character assassination thus: “Those who desire that indecencies should spread among the believers, will have a painful chastisement in this world and the hereafter. God knows and you do not know.” – Qur’an Chapter 24 verse 19. Respected American Islamic cleric, Shiekh Nouman Khan narrates a Hadith of Ibn Abbas where Abu Aljauza’a asked: “who are those people in whom Allah condemns with Wayl? (humiliation, punishment, doom) Ibn Abbas answered: “Those are the people who uncover secrets and disclose that which is not appropriate to be disclosed, those that cause divisions between those who love each other, and those who constantly describe people with flaws.” (Emphasis mine). Hajia Naja’atu may wish to learn that according to Islamic teachings, character assassination is a heinous crime.

Naja’atu’s penchant for quarrelsomeness and caustic criticism is rife – from President Buhari to Governors Kwankwaso, Shekarau and Ganduje (and many more; just ask Google!) and now Asiwaju and Shettima. As the saying goes “criticism is the power of the impotent.” At 67 years, the cantankerous Naja’atu Muhammad is nearing the twilight of her life – and it would serve her and her descendants better if she lives the rest of it with honour. She has every right to support Atiku Abubakar or whomsoever she wishes to support but she has no right to make such grievous and mischievous accusations against Senator Kashim Shettima.

Hajia Naja’atu, I leave you with the parable of the two wolves and I hope you take note of the lessons and free yourself of resentment, lies, anger and ego. An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life:

“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
“One is evil — he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.
“The other is good — he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
“This same fight is going on inside you — and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,
“Which wolf will win?”
The old chief simply replied,
“The one you feed.”