Though he is a very sneaky fellow and Buhari may never know; I pray God would let him know and afterwards the choice is his. The next day Mamman came to my house; he had never been to my house before then.
Your house where?
In Kaduna; I don’t have a house in Abuja. He never visited me on his own except with Buhari. Whenever Buhari was coming to visit, either to see me, my mother or step mother to greet them, they would come together. But this time he came alone and I welcomed him. We had a discussion; he said Mahmud told him of my project and I told him it was true. He said why don’t you go and tell uncle (Buhari) and that is why I named him (Mamman Daura) Dan Uncle (uncle’s son) even though he is senior to Buhari. I said I could not tell him because if I told him and he said no, then I would cut my relationship with him because I knew he would be the best for this country then. People wanted him because they know he would not be there to make money out of it, but because he wants all Nigerians to be happy, that is Muhammadu Buhari.
So I told Mamman that when we started, we did not bring any politician into the project; we started with people that had jobs, very independent people that can look up to anybody and tell them their story, not what they wanted to hear, because they were economically strong. They were ready, like I was to be killed or to be the poorest on this project because only Allah knows the best. I said we didn’t want anything from the project; all we needed was good governance, no more, no less.
When we came out and Mamman entered his vehicle, he came out again and said “Alhaji Lawal, even the prayers you are doing and so on, you expect something from God?” I said yes, but on this issue, I do not expect anything. And the other people did not expect anything because I knew it would be very difficult with Mamman around Buhari to get anything. Among those who worked for Buhari, I have not seen anybody that got anything. No one at all unless those chosen by Mamman.
Why?
Firstly, Mamman is a sadist and has no respect for anybody, not even Buhari. I worked with Abacha for Buhari to take the PTF (defunct Petroleum Trust Fund) and wanted nothing and got nothing. Abacha told me he wanted to work with Buhari and I said you should talk to him. Abacha said he never worked with Buhari as a military officer. He said I should speak with him (Buhari) as my friend and I said fine. Abacha didn’t know the job he wanted to give Buhari at that time; he only wanted to work with Buhari.
I drove to Buhari’s house in Kaduna from Abuja without even going to my own house. I told him, sir, I am coming from Abacha and this is my discussion with him. I said first, how do you rate Abacha’s government? Typical of Buhari, he said, “Well it is a thieving government, Abacha steals and the family steals, they are just for themselves.” I said no, sir, this is not the way to go about it. I said people say Nigeria lacks good leaders and that includes you. He said “me?” And I said yes, including you. We can say you were there but Nigeria was failing, unless you people as leaders join hands together and work for the betterment of this country and stop the blame game. He said “what should I do? Should I go to Abacha?” I said no, you are a former head of state he has to invite you.
So, he brought out a piece of paper and wrote his phone number and said I should give it to Abacha. From there, I went to Malam Yahaya Gusau’s house and when he saw me, he said “Alhaji Lawal, I was looking for you; they said you are close to Abacha,” and I said no sir. Abacha is not my friend but his younger brother Abdulkadir is my friend. He said, “I heard you are close to Abacha, tell him to hold Nigeria’s monies; he should not be squandering the monies.”
The next day I went to Abacha and said sir, I went to Malam Yahaya Gusau and he is extending his greetings to you. He interrupted me saying “Dattijo” (gentleman). And I said I also visited Buhari and this is his number, so you can call him. Abacha said he really wanted Buhari to come into his government so that it could be stabilised. I said fine, you can talk to him and I can also talk to him, but it is better you talk to him yourself.
After sometime, I went to Buhari again. There was going to be the PTF but he said he was not going to work for Abacha. I told him, you are not working for Abacha. If I were you, I will not work for him but for Nigeria and you can demand to be given free hand. And he got free hand. So, up till today, there are people blaming Buhari for many things, but I have never heard anyone accusing Buhari of corruption.
Nobody has said Buhari is corrupt. The problem started after the election victory in 2015 when it appeared that he was no longer in control…
Very well; the problem is that the godfather never sleeps, which is Mamman Daura.
Why Mamman Daura?
Number one, when Buhari was sworn-in, he swore by the Qur’an that he would be fair and we believed him. He said he belonged to no one but I knew he belong to Mamman Daura, Abba Kyari and Mamman are failed bankers and failed industrialists. As at 29 November, 2016, Abba was still a Director of Exxon Mobil; Abba is Buhari’s Chief of Staff, he is a member of the Board of Directors of NNPC what a super brainy, workaholic?
And Abba is Mamman’s poodle; whatever Abba is doing, it is Mamman that controls it. I know it and they know that I know it and they know me very well.
President Buhari has ministers; he has other staff, so why blame these two people only?
I am even blaming only one; that is why I am calling Abba Kyari a poodle of Mamman. How did he (Buhari) get some of the ministers? Many were through Mamman Daura. How did he get some of the staff around him, it was through Mamman Daura.
How sure are you sir?
I am more than sure, Buhari knows I know and Mamman knows I know. I am an insider, not an outsider. I started this project because of the faith I had in Buhari. And I will tell you something; Mamman never wanted Buhari’s presidency.
