After due reflection over the dimensions the whole issue seems to be taking and saddened by the persistent misrepresentation and misinformation in some quarters, particularly the recent castigation by the APC, it has become imperative upon me to set the records straight as they relate my person.
Let me place it on record that since the inception of the current dispensation from 1999, I have been in the opposition party to the PDP. I have at every election caused the defeat of the PDP in my state. It will sound infantile for anybody to believe the accusation as being a mole of the same party that I have been causing its defeat in every election. And if I have been a problem to the APC, even as one of its founding fathers, what stops the party from exposing me or sanctioning me all the while. or are they accessories? Then how do we justify such an “accusation when some members of the same APC are being prosecuted for alleged offences related to Boko Haram activities?
It may not be necessary to bother you with the long history of the metamorphosis of Boko Haram as a sect, as several reports have published their genesis, spanning over twenty five years. The incident preceding the 2009 was in Kanama of Yobe State in 2002, long before I became the Governor of Borno state. It is on record that my Administration in 2009 took exceptional bold steps in handling the Boko Haram insurgency.
Given the seriousness of the issue, I feel it is highly uncharitable to try and trivialize the issue of terrorism on the alter of political rivalry. I believe very strongly that some of those linking me with the sect are doing so either because of absolute ignorance of the group, its history and development or are clearly being mischievous. Hence my decision to speak on the issue and make certain clarifications for the benefit of the unsuspecting general public becomes necessary.
It may interest you to know that it was the Government of my predecessor in office, the late Alhaji Mala Kachallah (May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace) that introduced Sharia Law in the State in the year 2000 through the ‘Borno State Sharia Administration of Justice Law 2000′. As a matter of fact, late Mala Kachallah signed the Bill into Law at an elaborate ceremony at the Ramat Square in Maiduguri and appointed the Borno State Sharia Law Implementation Committee in February, 2001 under the Chairmanship of Professor Abubakar Mustapha, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri. Interestingly, the late Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the Boko Haram sect was a member of the Committee among other Islamic scholars.’
If indeed there was an agreement between the sect and my predecessor on the issue of Sharia Implementation, I am not aware of it, as I was neither in Government then. nor was I a party to it. And since the law precedes my Administration I may not be in a position to speak on how it was conceived, promulgated and implemented. I present to you a copy of the ‘Borno State Sharia administration of justice Law 2000′ and the letter of appointment of the Chairman and members of the Borno State Sharia Law Implementation Committee for your peru al.
Let me state categorically at this point that I do not share the ideology of the Boko Haram sect, which is against western education, western culture and modern science or any other sect with similar ideology. From my background, it could be easily seen that we are completely opposed to one another in terms of our viewpoints and convictions. By my nature and upbringing, I have neither associated myself with nor shared the beliefs of religious fundamentalists such as the Boko Haram sect or any other sect for that matter.
With all sense of modesty, I wish to state that I have been a successful international businessman before joining politics. In 1992, I was elected a Senator of Federal Republic of Nigeria under the National Republican Convention (NRC) to represent Borno Central Senatorial District. I was a member of the defunct Constitutional Conference between 1994 to 1995, Chairman of the African-American Summit in Dakar, Senegal in 1995. I was appointed by the Federal Govemment as a member of the Commonwealth delegation that undertook a diplomatic reconciliation mission to the United States and United Kingdom when the country “was at its most trying times in its international relations. I was again elected a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the platform of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) 1998 representing Borno Central Senatorial District of Borno State. With Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, I was elected for the third time as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the platform of All Peoples Party (APP). I become the Minority Leader and Deputy Chairman of the Senate Committee on Defence among others. Again, in 2003, I was elected the fourth Executive Governor of Borno State and re-elected for the second time in 2007. I served my people until 29th May, 2011 when I handed over to a successor. As a committed and consistent politician, I was at various times elected the national treasurer of the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) and has served as the National Chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). ‘I was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the two Political Parties. [eap_ad_1] I remained the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of our great party the ANPP before the current merr.er into the APC. Let me seize this opportunity to once again thank the good people of the State for giving me these rare privileges to serve them. I remain grateful and indebted to the people of Borno. It is instructive to point out that I had been one of the greatest victims of the atrocities of the Boko Haram sect. As the Executive Governor of the State at that time, I had not abdicated my responsibilities of protecting the- lives and property of the people and did not give them any breathing space to operate outside the law of the land. Because of this, they were driven by a desire for vengeance against me, my family and my political associates. From the number of casualties amongst my relations and political associates it is evident that I suffered considerable personal loss from the crisis. Amongst those killed in cold blood were my younger brother, late Alhaji Goni Mustapha Sheriff, the defunct ANPP State Chairman and my brother in-law, late Alhaji Awana Ngala, the gubernatorial Candidate of our party in the 2011 elections, late Engr, Modu Fannami Gubio, my bossom friends Alhaji Mustapha Fulawama.: Bukar Goni Kols, and a host of other close political associates.