Hir Joseph
23 July 2008
Makurdi — Alhaji Usman Dan Abubakar Maishanu a.k.a Young Alhaji has dismissed insinuations from "some mischievous Nigerians" that he was financially settled during his legal tussle with Senate President David Mark. He also said that "as long as I live, I shall not and cannot betray my supporters and Nigerians by abandoning them or using them for my personal interest and megalomania".
According to him, the allegation is an attempt to disparage his character by his detractors, adding that the battle to represent his people is an on going one.
In a telephone interview with Daily Trust, the Idoma political leader said that he will address a press conference on his next line of action when he gets a copy of the Jos appeal court judgment. He said that he and his lawyers "will study it and proceed to the next line of action".
"Pursuant to my dissatisfaction with the judgment, and after studying the judgment, I will not relent in the pursuit of justice in so far as electoral battle is concerned. Not when it has been clearly shown that I won the election between me and David Mark,"he said
Young Alhaji who described the judgement which was delivered by Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa as "justice denied", disclosed that he is ready to take the matter to the presidency, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) as well as religious organizations, including law enforcement agencies and other relevant bodies.
He also said that "it might seem to most Nigerians that the battle is lost and won, but I am assuring my teeming supporters and Nigerians generally that the battle is far from being over. A battle is all about a will; and I have not yet lost the will and as such my quest and voyage to pursue true justice will ever remain steadfast".
Youg Alhaji also said that "I want to again reinstate further that as a Muslim, fighting for justice is all about sacrifice, which entails offering oneself to be disgraced, experiencing occasional losses, insults, and rejection by the profaned in the society."
He reminded that "If the Holy Prophet Muhammed (SAW) could sacrifice himself, face disgrace, rejection at the beginning of his prophet hood and fight against injustice, who am I not to follow his footsteps?"
The ANPP candidate recalled that "the Holy Prophet after a year, against all odds, defeated all his adviseries and became victorious. As such, all that matters is that the end shall justify the means. In Christendom, even Christ himself suffered the same fate at the beginning but at last, victory was his.
"I have this philosophical message to tell the Nigerian youths and elders that have youthful minds, that it is far better to dare mighty things and to win a glorious triumph even though checkered sometimes with failures, rather than ranking yourself with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the greatest twilight that knows no victory nor surrender," he added
According to him, the great philosopher Karl Max had said that "there are risks and costs to every programme of action but they are far less than the risks and costs of comfortable inaction."
He further said that "I agree completely with a Christian submission that thou shalt not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds fro the mouth of God. I shall always tell them that it is written: 'thou shall not worship any other God except the one God.' And I shall always stand and tell them depart from me, you Satan because it is written 'thou shall not tempt the Lord your God".
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