By Daniel Bwala
“Always say less than necessary”. Rule 4, 48 Laws of Power (Robert Greene).
Robert Greene in his famous book, ‘48 Laws of Power’ states in Rule 4 that those in position of authority or power should, ‘Always say less than necessary’. This is because the more you speak, the more likely you are to say something foolish.
As leaders, we are expected to be reticent, self-effacing and taciturn because our words and actions carry weight in the eye of the public. It is often said that it is better to keep quiet than to speak and remove all doubts. It is doubtful if the man who represents my constituency had been an avid reader, he would read Greene’s book on laws of power and learned a thing or two.
Senator Ali Ndume had said in an interview he granted a Channels TV crew and published by the Vanguard Newspaper publication of Saturday, July 27, 2024 that, ‘Bwala can only be a political liability to Tinubu’. He stated further, “…I can describe Daniel Bwala as a failed lawyer and empty drum making noise in Abuja…” And to further show how painful he was with my recent revelation of his two-faced personality, he resorted to gutter politics by stating that, “The only advice I can give President Tinubu is that, politically Daniel Bwala is just a mad dog who barks and bites even the owner, and so, Tinubu should be careful with the likes of Bwala as a mad dog…”
So let me quickly address his two claims before I proceed to expose who he is in this part 1 of a ten-part series.
BWALA AS A ‘FAILED’ LAWYER
Can Senator Ndume in all honesty define who a successful lawyer and who a failed lawyer is? That will help the readers or listeners in comparing his definition with my record as a lawyer to arrive at a conclusion on his assertion. For me, I know who a failed politician is. A failed senator is a senator who claims to represent his district but has nothing to show for it. In his over 20 years as a representative of the people, Senator Ali Ndume does not have a single project in the entire Southern Borno. Over this period, he served for the most part as a principal officer of the Red Chamber and also headed ‘juicy committees’ (in the street parlance), but quite sardonically has nothing to show for 21 years of his wasted representation!
For the records, without sounding brash, I am a legal practitioner of good standing, a notary public with a well-established law firm and well remunerated staff. I have been admitted to practice in England and Wales by the honourable society of Lincoln’s Inn. As an adjunct lecturer, some of my students that I taught then have gone on to be notary public and High Court judges. As a practitioner, my professional services and clientele include, and not limited to public and private sector, national and cross border. Having never worked in the public sector and never served as a lawmaker, all I am and have today, thanks to God, came from my practice as a successful lawyer. Unlike Ndume who before he became a law maker, as a lecturer, he was living in multi dimensional poverty. He never owned a bicycle as a lecturer, yet he owns multimillion naira houses all over the place now as a lawmaker, including offshore (and I challenge the EFCC to investigate his times as a law maker, the monies he secured for constituency projects as against whether there are projects to that effect). He never owns a house before becoming a lawmaker, but he is a multi billionaire as a law maker. What is his source of wealth? We know for a fact that billions of naira for constituency projects over the years passed through his care but we cannot trace a single project in the Southern Borno that can be attributed to him. (I will save financial data for next edition of reply to Ali Ndume).
Ordinarily, I would not have dissipated my energy in responding to the jabberwocky and balderdash published in the Vanguard Newspaper where the Senator threw caution into the wind by attacking my personality; but it becomes germane considering his recent outburst across media platforms which may have gained traction. It is said that if you leave a mad man to bury his mother’s corpse, he may decide to roast her as delicacy. It is quite germane that this rejoinder is made so the public can know who truly Sen. Ndume is.
Senator Ndume describing me as a ‘failed’ Abuja lawyer smacks of either of two things – acute ignorance occasioned by lack of proper tutelage or jealousy, a corollary of envy of a man with more than three (3) addresses to his name. Whatever Senator Ndume has become today, he owes to the Nigeria political industry. Nigeria politics made him. How could such a man compare himself to somebody like my humble self who never holds a public office, yet has a successful professional career?
BWALA AS A POLITICAL LIABILITY
Nothing could be more demeaning than for a leader who has lost touch with reality than to condescend so low as to engage in dirty politics. For a man with more than 2 decades of benevolence from our country’s common patrimony to resort to mudslinging and virulent attacks and aspersions shows how myopic in thinking he is. It equally shows the apogee of his jejune and puerile exuberance as well as the nadir of his moral bankruptcy.
Let it be known to Senator Ndume that some of us have values that transcend beyond our locality. We are not local champions. Our values are ubiquitous and cut across the length and breadth of the country and beyond. The question I will like to ask Senator Ndume is that, where was he during the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries in 2022 while some of us stood against the ‘powers that be’ who were against the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu? When we risked it all to support then Asiwaju Bola Tinubu whilst the establishment asked me, in particular, to leave Bola Tinubu and support Ahmed Lawan. Oh, my bad! I recall Senator Ndume was seen bootlicking the then Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. If I were a political liability, Mr. President would not have accorded me the honour and privilege of meeting him more than 4 times since January – a very rare privilege (that many still seek till date but could not have) which I will forever treasure. It is that same privilege that Ali Ndume sought that he could not get and out of jealousy and hate that made him wonder why somebody like me from same senatorial district with him could enjoy such unrestricted access. He would therefore go gaga, going about like a rottweiler, jumping from one media house to the other, and describing President Tinubu with all sorts of denigrating adjectives while also crying like a toddler who is denied his feeding bottle. 66-year old man o!
Dear Distinguished Senator Ndume, President Tinubu as an established politician knows and recognizes value when he sees one and rewards loyalty even if the person fails him at some time. He can easily discern a value-driven politician from a spent politician. If President Tinubu were to be a Christian today, you would have perfectly played the religious card, same thing you do with mastery in Borno State.
Let me say at this juncture, that the greatest disservice anyone can do to themselves is the inability to discover ‘self’, needless to mention self-worth. In a normal political setting, there are people who by now should have been cast into the basket of political oblivion, but because of the poor political climate that we have, some people parade themselves as law makers but whose reputation is repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience. Sen. Ndume commissioned some people to do a rally and issue press statement against my person, it failed. He (Ndume) mobilized journalists in the media to write articles about me, they failed. His latest plot now is trying to mobilize media houses for image laundering. This too will fail.
John C. Maxwell in his book, ‘Ultimate Leadership’ wrote, “The ultimate test of leadership is creating positive change”. Like I opined in my recent opinion, Senator Ndume’s leadership has been more of a curse to the Southern Borno people than a blessing. In over 20 years of his stay at the country’s National Assembly, I challenge Senator Ndume to publish his accomplishments and let the public juxtapose same with the resources available to him over this period of years.
WHO REALLY IS SENATOR ALI NDUME?
I recall in my last piece about him, I had described Senator Ndume as an expert in grandstanding and gaslighting. He just proved me right by his description of me as having no electoral value. Let me ask Mr. Senator if ever he has won any primary election in all the parties he has ever represented? The public should know that Ndume as Southern Borno Senator has always been the spoilt brat of every governor that has come to Borno State (because of his strange identity polity) since the country’s return to democratic governance in 1999 till date. If Senator Ndume is indeed popular, I challenge him to a clean, transparent and fair primary in our Senatorial District. He will be beaten blue black. (Even during the last 2023 senatorial election, his result had to be read in Maiduguri as against Southern Borno because he failed woefully.) That is when he will know how lightweight he is without support from the State.
Senator Ali Ndume represents the human five (5) fingers in the below listed areas;
• A serial betrayal
• An ethnic jingoist
• An opportunist
• A contractor of crisis economy
• A liability to the Senate
NDUME AS A BETRAYAL
If anything, there are two words that should never be in the same sentence simultaneously – Ali Ndume and integrity. For a man who could ditch his own party – the All Progressives Congress (APC) – a party that provided a platform for him to return to the Red Chamber in 2015 and worked with the opposition, it is an insult on the sensibility of Nigerians for integrity to be classified with a no-character person like Senator Ndume. Having started on the platform of the All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP), it took no time before the then Governor Ali-Modu Sheriff popularly called SAS saw him for whom he is – a terrible character. Soon as he noticed he was going to be booted out, he sought refuge in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which gave him a platform to run in 2011. By 2015, having shown the kind of person he is, he stood no chance in the PDP, he ‘romanticised’ with the then Governor Kashim Shettima to curry favour with the All Progressives Congress (APC). Not long afterwards, he betrayed the now vice president Shettima only to pitch tent with His Excellency, the current Governor of the State, Prof. Umara Zulum and has since been the instigatorin-chief of the perceived ‘Cold War’ between the duo.
A look at the 8th Senate saw how Senator Ndume, a serial betrayer went against his party choice of Ahmed Lawan to go in cahoots with the then Senator Bukola Saraki and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). How about the public asking the incumbent Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio of his experience with Senator Ndume? A can of worms! A serial betrayal.
NDUME AS AN ETHNIC JINGOIST
The Southern Borno people are largely Christians but over the years, Senator Ndume has exploited ethnic proclivity to keep people subservient to his whims and caprices. An Ali Ndume would always go to the Kanuris and lie that the Southern Borno population plot to remove him because he is a Muslim. He would then return to the Southern Borno people and lie that the Kanuris were hatching his removal from the Red Chamber because he was fighting for the interest of the Christians. He is a perfectionist in using ethnic and religious card politics. Were President Tinubu not a Muslim, he would have accused him of religious chauvinism.
NDUME AS AN OPPORUNIST
Recently, Senator Ndume was out criticising the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to relocate some of its departments to Lagos State where their core responsibilities are domiciled. Not many Nigerians did know that the media noise from Senator Ndume on CBN’s planned relocation of these departments was never borne out of patriotism or the love for the unity of Nigeria. Rather, it was self-serving and laden with ulterior motive. In some quarters, it was alleged that Ndume’s crocodile tears in the media was not unconnected with the fact that his family was ‘largely’ affected by the CBN decision. Adamu Garba, a former presidential aspirant and one of the Northern voices on X handle wrote at some point, “Senator Ndume is angry because his daughter in Consumer Protection Department is moving to Lagos. Her husband another guy who is also married to his second daughter are all working in CBN. So much for fighting for the North!” Ostensibly, his gibberish in the media was all about his fears that the family members would be taken away from the life of ‘comfort’ they already were used to. He takes advantage of unfortunate situation and turn it for his benefit. His recent ranting about hunger in the land was a mere smokescreen of his dog whistling for a demography, planning to unseat President Tinubu. Otherwise, where was he when Buhari did naira design in 2023 very close to the election? Did he talk about suffering?
NDUME AS A CONTRACTOR ON CRISIS ECONOMY
Senator Ndume has shown capacity of a contractor in crisis economy. He allegedly not only does this, but also brags with it as having boys in the FCT who can carry out assignments. The alleged boys, who knows, might be these innocent youths he feeds with weed and empower them for violence to achieve his end. Little wonder he was charged with crime of terrorism in the recent past. After I called him out for grandstanding and gaslighting, his alleged boys sent me death threats via WhatsApp and voice notes. That, I have reported to the relevant law enforcement agencies. Aside his alleged questionable role in providing, coverage, allegedly for Boko Haram buzzards in recent past, his unstable character is enough reason to tell any discerning mind that Ali Ndume is the complete opposite of nationalism. Nigerians should henceforth stop taking seriously, a man whose over 2 decades sway at the National Assembly is all about self-service. Again, can we ask our Distinguished to list his milestones for his people in 20 years?
NDUME AS A LIABILITY TO THE SENATE
Sen. Ali Ndume is always known to be an opposite of what he purports to show to the public. His actions have always been about ‘self’. But he is always quick to hide under the incognito of nationalism to grandstand on national issues. When then in 2015 (the 8th Assembly), he connived with the opposition PDP to bring in then Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki through the back door against his own party – the APC, he hardly spent 2 years as a principal officer of the Red Chamber when same Saraki-led Senate suspended him for months. Again, in 2019, he aligned with the opposition PDP once more against his APC party to vie for the position of the Senate President, joining forces with the likes of PDP’s Sen. Ike Ekweremadu. Is that the same man that is worth the talk? Many Nigerians do not know that the media noise from Senator Ndume is never borne out of patriotism or the love for the unity of Nigeria. Rather, it is selfserving and laden with ulterior motive like I mentioned earlier.
I recall in both 2019 and 2023, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Senatorial candidate, Haske threw a challenge at Southern Borno people and media outfits to point to one signature project facilitated by Senator Ndume in all the nine (9) local government areas under the Senatorial District that was worth N100m. Haske had placed a N10million gift to anyone who could provide one. Nobody, not even one person could provide evidence till date. Or do we speak about many of his NASSlobbied projects and ZIPs that are non-existent? Ridiculously, the major roads leading to his constituency headquarters, i.e Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu road is still locked! Is it not shocking that even as a one-time Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, he could not lobby the military to clear his locality of terrorists? Till date, our people in that part of the country are still the most displaced. What has ‘Distinguished’ Senator done to ameliorate the condition of the people? What project has Senator Ndume ever facilitated? The Nigerian Army University in Biu was facilitated by the former Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), Lt. Col Tukur Buratai. The North East Development Commission (NEDC) was the brainchild of Hon. Yakubu Dogara, former Speaker, House of Representative and Distinguished Senator Murtala Nyako.
It is therefore an antithesis to describe Sen. Ali Ndume as a progressive. What is progressive in a man who is a serial betrayal of his own party? He betrayed his party in 2015. He did worse betrayal to same party that gave him platform again in 2019. So, I wonder how anyone wants to speak of Ndume and classify him among the Progressives? If na joke, make una stop am, biko!
I will implore Senator Ndume to halt this diarrhea of the mouth against my personality. If he is pained that I have had to meet President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for nearly 5 times in recent time, he should know that there is something inherent that Mr. President sees that he (Ndume) is blind to. As per his claim of me attacking my bosses, I challenge him to bring just one evidence to proof the veracity of his mendacious claim. His description of me as an attack dog is an unconscious bias of his personality as a Rottweiler dog whistling to the group conspiring against President Tinubu that I exposed their sinister agenda.
To Senator Ali Ndume, this is just a tip of the iceberg in the many salvos from my pouch. It is one part of a 10-series lined up to unveil him as a hypocrite. A stitch in time saves nine.
Dr. Daniel Bwala, a Legal Practitioner/Policy Analyst ([email protected]) writes from London