By Our Correspondent
The Secretary General, Kogi East Elders Forum Alphonsus Alhassan says, the crude intimidation of the elders will not deter them from challenging the unmitigated mis-governance of Kogi State.
Reacting to the recent assassination attempt on the Deputy Chairman of the Forum and former Minister, Gabriel Yakubu Aduku, the Secretary General said the elders could easily unmask those behind the shameless and cowardly act.
The General Secretary gives account of what transpired between the hoodlums and the victim in a statement below which he made available to AFRICA PRIME NEWS.
The Statement Reads
In the evening of December 18, 2017, Chief Arc. Gabriel Aduku, who is the Deputy Chairman of the Kogi East Elders’ Council (KEEC) was accosted and man-handled at his residence in Anyigba, Kogi State.
The hoodlums in their twenties were six in number and were uniformed. Three stayed outside while three (two of them masked) entered his sitting room through his kitchen. One of them carried a pump action rifle while the other two had pistols which they pointed at his head and informed him they were sent from Abuja to pick him for questioning.
He refused to accompanied them despite their physically trying to bundle him out as he insisted he would rather die within his compound if need be. They broke down two-bedroom doors, seized his telephone sets, those of his aide and other valuables to make it appear like a robbery attack. We know it was not.
We want to state that the signature of the perpetrators of this crime is not unambiguous. We have a very good idea of those behind the shameless and cowardly act. That the attack came a few weeks after the Kogi East Elders’ Council addressed a press conference in Abuja which was replied by a group who were so cowardly that they neither included their names and addresses in the rejoinder which they published in three national newspapers is a pointer.
It is obvious that since the hoodlums and their pay masters could not controvert the facts and kernel of our press conference which centred on the unmitigated mis-governance of Kogi State, rather than tow the path of moral rectitude, they have resorted to crude intimidation of elders old enough to be their fathers and grandfathers.
No member of the Kogi East Elders’ Council appointed himself or herself. They did not even come together on their own will to form the Council. Every single member was appointed in recognition of his or her antecedents and have been discharging this task sacrificially for the good of Kogi East Senatorial District. We will therefore not be intimidated or cowered by mannerless hoodlums whose stock-in-trade is gangsterism and terrorism.
As elders, our motto is: “Ogijo d’unyi” (there is an elder in the House). Elders are moderating influences and light bearers for the succeeding generations. That this Council did not exist before now does not mean it cannot come up. Societies evolve based on needs, experiences and expectations.
These informed the emergence of the Council and there is nothing anyone who feels threatened by our emergence can do about it. We are no threat to good conduct and governance in Kogi East in particular and Kogi State in general. Only the guilty, unruly, uncultured and criminally-minded need be restless by our activities.
For the avoidance of doubt, we have a very good idea of those behind the criminals sent to harass our member in Anyigba in the evening of December 18, 2017. Those behind the attack are advised in their own interest to stay clear of every member of the Council because, like our elders say, “while the elder’s hand may not be able to enter the calabash, the child’s hand cannot reach the rafter top.” Also, while the young may be physically strong, the old have portent strength in more ways than one the repercussions of which strength could be generational in duration.
Be warned.
Alphonsus K. Alhassan
Secretary-General
Kogi East Elders’ Council (KEEC)
