- Hamza Al-Mustapha and Green Party of Nigeria: So far so Good
Haruna Isa (Abuja)
Major Hamza Almustapha was the Chief Security Officer to the late military head of state, General Sani Abatcha. He served as Chief Security Officer from November, 1993 to June, 1998. After Abatcha’s death, he was arrested and tried for murder and attempted murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola. On the 30th January, 2012, a Lagos high court sitting at Igbosere convicted him over the murder of Kudirat Abiola, the wife of Chief Moshood Abiola.
Almustapha was sentenced to death by hanging but was discharged and acquitted of the crime by the Appeal court, Lagos Division. The verdict overturned that of the Lagos High court which sentenced him to death by hanging.
The presiding judge, Justice Rita Pemu, accused the lower court Judge, Justice Mojisola Dada, of being stroked to secure a conviction by all means. Consequently, setting Almustapha free.
There is a school thought that rightly or wrongly believe that the lifetime ambition of Almustapha is to be the president of Nigeria under the Green Party of Nigeria (GPN) but Major Almustapha, had in 2013, said that he had no ambition to venture into politics or to seek for political position in the country. Of course that doesn’t mean that he will not heed the call of Nigerians to vie for the presidency if such a call is made especially by the youths.
But in the meantime, Almustapha has floated a new political party, known as Green Party of Nigeria (GPN).
Perhaps one reason why some people thought Almustapha is truly interested in the presidency was because barely one week after controversial Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Peter Fayose declared his interest to run for the office of the president in 2019, campaign posters of Almustapha were seen decking walls and major streets in Abuja as well as the online media platforms.
One of the campaign posters spotted by newsmen bored the image of the ex-soldier garbed in white apparel with a multi-coloured cap and a screaming inscription that says, “The way out in Nigeria! Hamza Almustapha we trust.”
Almustapha had also said in a terse statement that, “Finally, the real people’s party has landed. Please give praise to our Creator for rare beautiful gift to the people. The future is GPN and GPN is the future.”
Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state with a population of about 180 million people cutting across the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).The country is divided into Six (6) geo-political zones, the north central, north west, north east, south south, south west and southeast.
The northern central zone consists of seven states, thus; Benue, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Plateau, and the FCT. Almustapha’s newly registered political party (GPN) is expected to gain massive support from the people of north central states, irrespective of religious, cultural and ethnic differences.
In a related development, Hamza Almustapha is from the northern part of the country. Because of this factor, his political party and his ambition for the president of this country might yield a positive result. Many people have so far joined the party because many people still reckon General Abacha and his associates as heroes. In fact there are those who yearn for the Abacha days and this might be because of the security of lives and property in Nigeria during the Abacha days.
Democracy is said to be the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Meaning it is the government whereby people elect their representatives. It is expected that, the political ambition of Almustapha will be welcomed by all and sundry in the northern states.
However, the north western zone comprises seven (7) states of Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara. The political atmospheres at these seven states are impressive with low or no violence. Almustapha who hails from this zone is expected to get the highest support as he is the son of the soil. So far, many people have joined his party. It is important to make it clear here that many northerners consider the 15 years’ incarceration of Almustapha to be unjust and inhumane. Because Nigerians have a tendency to always side with the underdog, a lot of people now see Almustapha to very appealing as the incarceration had given him a saintly status.
Although, people have different perspectives about the meaning ascribed to politics, some have taken it as something that leads to misunderstanding, violence and conflict. But the fact is that politics is the process of making decisions that apply to members of a group about how to elect their representatives through a legal and constitutional means.
Also to the north eastern zone, the zone has Six (6) states of Yobe, Borno, Gombe, Adamawa, Bauchi and Taraba. Almustapha has the hope of getting acceptance of the people of north eastern zone of the country. This is because, he has filial ties with the region as many of them still believe that he is a Yobe state indigene and his manifestoes are in tuned with progress and change. Checks by this medium revealed that some loyalists from the zone have registered as members with the party. It is assumed that Almustapha’s campaigns in the north eastern States will yield impressive results.
Another issue that Almustapha has to contend with is the issue of his status as a serving officer of the Nigerian Army.Sources in the Ministry of Defense said that Almustapha is no longer a serving officer thus the reason why he has no unit and doesn’t take salary from the Army. Almustapa still believes that he is a serving officer and his challenging the Army in the Supreme Court on this matter.
Likewise, in the South south zone, which comprises, six (6) States of Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta and Edo, the GPN’s acceptance is also expected to be high among these states as they are after change and progress devoid of religious or cultural affiliation. Furthermore the south-south zone except for the death of Ken Saro Wiwa, may give their support to Almustpaha’s GNP.
But the Southeast zone, which consists of Five (5) States of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo is unpredictable at the moment and Almustapha is making serious efforts to reach out to them. His presence at a Christian retreat organized by the Lord Chosen Charismatic Church founded by an igbo known as Pastor Lazarus Moka is very instructive as the church is dominated by the igbos. In view of what is contained in the party’s manifestos, it is expected that, the support of this region will be gained.
Nevertheless, in the South west zone which has Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, and Oyo, the story might be unpalatable. This part of the country is termed as the Yorubaland. Lagos state had been in and out of court with Almustapha and there is no love lost between the name Almustapha and the Yorubas. This is because many of them wrongly believe that Almustapha was single handedly responsible for the assassination of late Kudirat Abiola and others. This is far from the truth according to Almustapha. A close associate of Almustapha known as Idriss Galadima said that this is the mischievous handiwork of some few bad elements in the Yoruba who want to blackmail Almustapha. “I can assure you that many Yorubas like Almustapha,” he said.
Another issue that Almustapha has to contend with is the issue of his status as a serving officer of the Nigerian Army.Sources in the Ministry of Defense said that Almustapha is no longer a serving officer thus the reason why he has no unit and doesn’t take salary from the Army. Almustapa still believes that he is a serving officer and his challenging the Army in the Supreme Court on this matter. A reliable source in the Army headquarters said that it was wrong for the Defense ministry to charge Almustapha in a civil court when they know that he was a serving officer. “The man should have been brought before a military tribunal and not to be taken to a civil court,” said the source.
