Last week, a coalition of gender advocates, Voices for Inclusion and Equity (VIEW), like a mild hurricane, made a sudden landfall in Sokoto State cashing in on a well rehearesed script of the 18-year-old Hamdiyya Sidi, the alleged victim, who is the central character cast.
In Nigeria it’s easy to be hoodwinked by some so called activists who in reality are political operatives that need publicity of alleged persecution for their activities.
VIEW is a North-central, North-east and North-west Nigeria coalition claiming commitment to fostering equitable, inclusive, and just societies for women across the NorthernRegion. The gender-specific arrowheads of VIEW comprise – Asma’u Joda, Saudatu Mahdi, Maryam Uwais, Aisha Oyebode, Amina Salihu, Mairo Mandara, Kadaria Ahmed, Fatima Akilu, Rabi Jimeta and Aisha Ibrahim.
They are renowned activists and they like “action” which Hamdiyya Sidi has provided them.
This clique of fire-eating dames incidentally co-signed what is seen as an inciting and uninformed press statement that triggered media feeding frenzy last week over alleged maltreatment of women in Northern Nigeria and particularly in Sokoto State due to the Hamdiyya Sidi case. This development which has mischaracterized the core issues has alerted law enforcement agencies to a possible disruption of law and order in the already security challenged environment because the VIEW group has further misinformed Nigerians rather than informing them.
Three options in the curious drama were presented to their target audience by VIEW to chew on. A checklist: the alleged exclusion/maltreatment of women as a North-centric, Sokoto-centric or Nigeria-centric malaise. Choose your pick! What is the narrative which is increasingly being suspected to target disruption of Sokoto society by the apparently well funded interlopers?
According to reports by a section of the online media, Hamdiyya Sidi was recently arrested by police in Sokoto for allegedly inciting unrest and arraigned for demanding accountability from the state governor over the degenerating security situation in the state.
The teenager had allegedly made a video on social media lamenting the insecurity and gender-based violence faced by women and girls in the state. She reportedly asked the governor if he and his family faced the horrific violence that has befallen several countless women across the region. She was subsequently arrested by the police in the state based on a report by the Village Head who feared break down of law and order.
According to Saadatu Madaki, an activist who spoke to SaharaReporters, “Hamdiya Sidi was arrested, arraigned, then released on bail. She returned home and some hoodlums abducted and beat her, leading to injuries. She was taken to the hospital where she received treatment. She was later moved by her family to a secure location. She doesn’t live in a village. She stays in the city; she was in her grandmother’s house when the attack happened.” But another source said Hamdiya is a national of the neighboring Niger Republic with part of her parental links from Sokoto.
VIEW on their path insists that at no point did the teenager criticise the governor or incite unrest. According to VIEW, “She was merely calling attention to a humanitarian crisis, of which there are countless victims, including members of her family and community.”
The truth is that Hamdiyya Sidi can’t be calling Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto’s attention because he is aware of the situation and is doing everything far above his constitutional responsibility to address the issue.
The Sokoto State Government under the watch of the amiable Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto has constructed military bases, astronomicallyincreased allowances of security agencies, established the Sokoto State Community Corps and provided them with vehicles, including the sophisticated buffalo vehicles and constructed roads to help security agencies easy reach to the terrorists.
It must be stated that building military bases is not a state government responsibility. It’s important that VIEW takes note of this fact.
Significantly, the advocacy group widened the net of their accusation to Northern Nigeria as a whole. According to them, women live in constant threat of violence, rape, kidnapping and terror at the hands of assailants “in the conflict-ridden spaces of Northern Nigeria.” It urged Northern governors to protect and support their “suffering citizens” and address the issues raised.
The other Northern state governments can speak for themselves,because Sokoto State under Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto is working hard to empower women.
Fortunately, the Nigeria Police Force, Sokoto Command, has brought some clarity to the Hamdiyya Sidi incident and frowned at media reports which suggested it secretly arrested and arraigned the teenager who reportedly lamented the recent rise in killings in Sokoto and also for embarrassing Governor Aliyu Ahmed Sokoto.
“This is false and misleading. We wish to make the record straight that she was arrested for inciting the people against the government ” the police had stated.
In words of the police: “On the 3rd of November 2024 at 1700hrs one Marafa Yakubu ‘m’ the Village Head of Sabon Birnin Daji Village in Wurno Local Government Area reported to the police that a woman later identified as one Hamdiyya Sidi ‘f’ of Munki Village in Wurno LGA came to the village and deceived him that she is a member of that community representing a charitable organization meant to assist women and youth and that she wanted to address woman and distribute relief items to the less privileged in the society.
“To his greatest dismay while she was addressing the women he noticed that rather than distributing relief items as she claimed, she was inciting the women against the government by telling them to forcefully take over government properties in Wammako LGA of Sokoto State, stating that it belongs to them.
“Noticing the tension in the community as a result of her incitement he quickly alerted the community guards who arrested her and handed her over to the police. During interrogation, the suspect confessed to the offence and was charged to court within 24hrs for the offence of inciting disturbance.
“Sokoto State Police Command remains resolute in upholding the fundamental human rights while discharging our duty.”
If there is subsisting mystery in the Wammako LGA incident, the police report has put it in context and defogged it. The report suggests a link between Hamdiyya Sidi and VIEW with the later rushing in to extricate her when the quirky plot went awry. The police must expand its investigation to find out what the VIEW women know.
Given its self-set mission, VIEW is within her rights to defend women’s right to freedom of expression and political inclusion. But this must be done within the law. Incitement to civil unrest is unacceptable, especially in a period of multiple socio-economic and security challenges.
If the VIEW group is truly worried about the security situation in the North they should as a matter of urgency talk to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently do something, instead of crucifying the innocent governor of Sokoto State.
VIEW must drop needless sophistry and engage the region’s political actors and leadership with proper decorum and intellectual nous which they don’t lack. They should opt for robust debate and deal with diverse perspectives. They must not wield their often, understated gender power like a cudgel to whip perceived opponents or hurdles into place.
Such wrong-headed approach will unquestionably hobble women’s political participation, and perpetuate a male-dominated landscape. Worse, this scenario would be particularly detrimental for conservative regions like Northern Nigeria, where women face even more significant barriers to public office.
The good news for VIEW is that significant progress is being made in women participation and inclusion in Sokoto State. They should make efforts to find out more about developments before rushing to conclusion.
It was 100 years after American women got the right to vote that Karmala Harris became her first female vice president – and almost the first president. Peaceful progress is evolutionary – certainly not a revolution.
For the benefit of VIEW group, Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto is a firm believer in the Rule of Law and would never encourage violence against anyone. His records speak for him.
The governor understands that the opposition would do everything to distract from his achievements and this has made him more determined to focus on his assignment and ignore them.
Governor Ahmad Aliyu’s administration is definitely one that values equity, inclusion, and diversity across all dimensions. His administration’s 9-point governance agenda addresses critical fundamentals to change the Sokoto story. It must not be unduly confronted or needlessly distracted.
Gatekeepers News is not liable for opinions expressed in this article; they’re strictly the writer’s
