By Ibrahim Siraj Adhama, PhD
I’ve come to realize that one of our former students, Haruna Mohammed Babale, is the force behind WikkiTimes and its recent journalistic and “investigative” successes. Working alongside him on the team is another proud student of ours, Aminu Naganye. Forget about Dan Bello—social media hype notwithstanding, he is nothing more than a tool in this story and, I suppose, in most of his other muckraking exploits dubbed investigative journalism. While it appears Haruna Babale is currently abroad pursuing higher education, Naganye is still with us, doing his MSc in Mass Communication here at BUK. As the immediate past coordinator of the programme, I can confirm facilitating his admission and subsequent progress in the course.
It gladdens the heart to see minds you helped to develop and talents you nurtured doing great things to change our society for the better. You’re always tempted to feel proud. Yet, it gives you mixed feelings to see those young professionals stepping on some big, revered toes or venturing into what you once considered a “no-go area.”
Had they proposed to me working on the topic of Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau, my questions to them before approving it would have been:
1. What is the motivation behind the story? I mean, besides “public interest”—which is the cornerstone of every investigative work—aren’t there other interests the story is meant to serve? In other words, is the story absolutely free from any malicious intent? Is it not a hatchet job sponsored by some detractors?
2. Why Sheikh Bala Lau? Considering the humongous corruption taking place in Nigeria, why focus on one individual who is neither an elected nor appointed public official? Why the concern over a “paltry” few hundred million when billions are stolen outright elsewhere—by governors, ministers, members of the National Assembly, those in the presidency, etc.? Or is it a case of starting with the proverbial low-hanging fruit? What’s so special here?
3. Given Sheikh Bala Lau’s status as a respected religious figure, what message are we trying to convey about the character of Islamic religious leaders in Nigeria? By casting our spiritual leaders in such a negative light, are we not inviting people from other faiths to ridicule them—and by extension, subjecting our religion to contempt and disrespect? As Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir might retort: what about other religious leaders who are non-Muslims but enjoy similar government “privileges” as their Muslim counterparts? Why aren’t they being exposed or scandalized?
4. In whose interest is it to discredit highly respected religious figures by insinuating dishonesty, breach of trust or sleaze against them? Wouldn’t it do more harm than good now, given people’s penchant to attack and denigrate them at the slightest opportunity?
The damage might have been done; yet, I still hope that my posers will be dignified with a response—if not by Haruna himself, then by Aminu, who, for obvious reasons, is my own low-hanging fruit on this.
WikkiTimes, why Sheikh Bala Lau?
Siraj Adhama, PhD, is an academic staff member of the Faculty of Communication, Bayero University, Kano.
