Who is after Danjuma Goje?

By Wole Arisekola

The campaign of calumny by opponents and detractors of Governor Danjuma Goje of Gombe is rearing its ugly head nowadays. While many people credit the man for doing a very good job, among which are: establishment of Gombe State University, Gombe water project, Gombe massive road construction and the peaceful atmosphere of the state, these detractors never see anything good in the man. The last of these many false and political attempts to drag the name of the man through the mud is the unfortunate case of the murder of Mrs. Oluwatoyin Olusesan by some pupils of Government Day School, Gandu, Gombe. The case, which is being investigated, is now a subject for discussion on pages of newspapers. One of such was published on Monday.

The truth of the matter is, writing anything about the case is trying to prejudice the findings of the panel which is doing its job very well. These offenders are minors and the case has to be treated with utmost caution to prevent it from escalating into a religious crisis. Gombe, in all honesty, does not have the history of religious crises, but one cannot rule out the fanatical approach of some over-zealous youths. Thank God it did not go beyond expectation.

Now, after the unfortunate incident, the governor personally visited the family of the victim, gave a sum of N10.5m, talked to the Christian Association (CAN) in the state, helped in transporting the deceased’s corpse to her home state, Ogun, while some of the miscreants were arrested and a 14-man investigation team is working on the case. There have been other things done to ameliorate the situation.

To those who are not familiar with the story, Mrs Oluwatoyin Olusesan was a teacher. She was at the exam hall on the fateful day to ensure order and prevent cheating and malpractice. According to a source, what allegedly led to her death was her attempt to prevent some pupils from copying from the main textbook of the subject being examined. These SS 1 pupils were writing their Islamic Religious Knowledge exam.

The teacher, oblivious of what she was doing, stopped some students who wanted to bring in some books including the Holy Quran. She took the books from the pupils and put them outside. For Mrs Olusesan, the Quran which was the textbook for the subject should not be in the hall. It was no big deal. But to the teenagers, Quran is supreme and must not be touched by Kaferi or infidels.

Students act on impulse most times and could do anything to defend the Quran and their religion. For a kaferi Christian from the South to handle, touch and put Quran outside is an abomination punishable by instant death. It was an unfortunate thing to happen but it should not be politicised.

Mrs Olusesan is dead, but her spirit lives on. She was a dedicated teacher, and was discharging her duties. Many people, workers, and what have you, live, work and play in the North. So this should not be a subject for political debate. The case of Kaduna is still fresh in our memory. We do not want to be reminded of the Kano episode. We shall let the sleeping dog lie, and manage to evolve a one Nigeria where there is unity in our diversity.

Come to think of it, If Governor Goje was not compassionate to think that protection of lives and property in his state is paramount, he would not have taken the giant steps he has taken in nipping the situation in the bud. He quickly set up a panel to look into the disturbance with a view to punishing the culprits. Going to court without knowing the remote and immediate causes of the matter is not a good management of the crisis. No one is trying to justify the action of these students; cheating in examination is not peculiar to Gombe students alone, it is global, but would these students put up a fight because Mrs. Olusesean was Yoruba? No

Anything that has to do with religion is very sensitive. We must always respect our views concerning this. Over zealousness on the part of the duo could be established but that is not to say that such a thing should be a subject for political debate on the pages of newspapers.

Whatever the case may be, Governor Goje has done well by taking the bold step. The Gombe government has set up a committee to probe the incident. The case is an on-going one, and evidences provided will either nail or set these suspects free. Let us keep our fingers crossed and watch as events unfold. No one can nail, Governor Goje for an action that is not directly his.

It is very unfortunate to say ethnic hatred is the reason for most killings in the North. To respect one’s culture, religion and custom is to say there is diversity in our unity. With more than 360 ethnic groups, with 36 states of the federation, 6 geo political zones, two major zones, north and south, no one needs a visa to live in any part of the North, especially Gombe.

There have been a lot of people living, in Gombe right now and they are not thinking the way these detractors are. Governor Danjuma Goje has tried, he has achieved and he needs commendation not condemnation. The case of Mrs Olusesan is a sad one, but should not be ethnicized or politicised.
•Arisekola sent this piece from Ibadan.