In a scathing rebuke, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has lambasted Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, for his abrupt betrayal of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Dogara contends that after narrowly securing his position through alleged electoral manipulation, Mohammed desperately turned to Tinubu for salvation, all while showering the President with extravagant praise.
Now, in a shocking reversal, just months later, the governor has branded Tinubu as “inept, incompetent, and incapable of running Nigeria.” This harsh critique coincided with the fallout from the #EndBadGovernance protest, during which Mohammed condemned the President’s policies for subjecting the populace to severe hardship.
As the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum, Nigeria’s main opposition party, Mohammed urged Tinubu to reconsider his policies, warning that their trajectory could jeopardize his re-election bid in 2027.
But reacting to the governor’s outburst in a press release titled “On Governor Bala Mohammed’s Latest Tirade and Truculent Buffoonery,” the former Speaker stated that the Governor’s recent utterances were uncalled for and unnecessary.
His words, “To buttress the point being made, when Gov. Bala Mohammed was in court after rigging himself into office and desperately needed PBAT to save him, he was busy singing his praises to the highest heavens and telling the world how amazing PBAT was, not even minding the fact that he is the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum,” he added.
Yakubu Dogara added, “Just months after PBAT saved him, he has turned around to describe the President as ‘now inept, incompetent, and incapable of running Nigeria.’ I will even invite him to chair our 2027 presidential campaigns if he continues this way.”
He stated further, “No doubt, these are trying moments in Nigeria, with lots of nerves in the air and lots of spitting into the political wind. The job of leaders, irrespective of the political tribe they belong to, is to ensure that we bring this crisis to a responsible end by appealing to governments at all levels to scramble to meet some of the legitimate demands of the protesters, most especially hunger and pervasive insecurity in the national interest.”
Yakubu Dogara stressed that “it is certainly not a time to engage in blowing all the dog whistles at once in the irresponsible manner Gov. Bala Mohammed did.”
The former Speaker said, “For me, it didn’t come as a surprise because I had long ago, both in writing and on live TV, denounced him as a thug who speaks in the manner of thugs and understands only the language of thuggery.”
“I am penning these lines to further disavow him and to tell those who don’t know that although Gov. Bala Mohammed is one of us, he is not all of us. Bauchi State is home to tested leaders who were not raised like mushrooms and who will not dare speak or operate in a manner that reveals contempt for rules, precedent, order, stability, and national cohesion. But Gov. Bala Mohammed does not only do so; he thrives in it,” he added.
According to him, “Not long ago, I said of him, ‘any time the Governor speaks either by himself or through his aides, it is always an outburst of profanity which debases and demeans all of us.’”
“A leader is supposed to nurture and inspire the people he leads into positive action as opposed to indulging in wanton self-adulation and praise.”
Speaking on the governor’s competency, Dogara claimed Bala Mohammed had governed Bauchi State for a little over six years with no functional social amenities.
He said Bauchi under the governor is one of the states with the highest number of out-of-school children in Nigeria, adding that he has built no functional schools.
“Just one example: my Alma Mater, the famous Bauchi Teachers College, located right under his nose, now lies in ruins. Let him tell the world which of the hospitals in the state is fully functional and how many doctors he has employed. The list is endless.”
“Yet, amid the destitution and squalor that Bauchi State found itself under his watch, he has built the biggest government house for himself and his family and the best family house in Northern Nigeria, if not in the whole country,” he added.
“As it is, we wait to see whether the ‘Kaura 2027’ his cult followers printed on their gowns will be a POLITICAL scandal or an execution DATE.”
