While trying to shed more lights on the on-going power tussle between the Kano Pillars Football Club chairman, Babangida Little and the secretary of the Kano Pillars FC Management Board, Dr. Sani Ibrahim Fagge aka Coach, I came across a copy of a letter titled: Report on the vote of no confidence against Dr. Sani Ibrahim, the secretary to the board of Kano Pillars which was signed by eleven out of 13 members of the board.
I was dazed by the content of the letter and also surprised at how the people who I respected so much because of their experience in sports in the state that made the Kano Pillars board membership allowed themselves to be used and be dragged into something they ought not to be in.
And it is sad that the trend has reached some level of confusion as so many interests have waded in and are fighting so hard to bring Dr. Sani Ibrahim down or out of the club.
But what surprised us most is the connivance of Babangida Little and Kano State Sports Commission and now the board members themselves who Babangida Little have no regard in the first instance to join forces and fight Dr. Sani over the position the governor Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf gave him the same way he gave it to Little and other board members.
I remembered that it was the governor, who appointed both Babangida Little as chairman, Dr. Sani Ibrahim as the club’s management board secretary and other management board members to run the club.
But Babangida Little and the leadership of Kano State Sports Commission and now with the Pillars board are going up and down to remove Dr. Sani as the club secretary for their selfish reasons and interest.
And honestly, I see what they are doing as a disrespect for the constituted authority by the club’s chairman, sports commission or board members to challenge the appointment of Dr. Sani Ibrahim as the secretary of Kano Pillars because he was appointed by the governor.
The content of their vote of no confidence does not carry any weight or point because the same hand that signed the chairman’s letter of appointment was the hand that signed that of Dr. Sani and other board members.
Therefore, for the board and other forces to ask Dr. Sani to hand over secretaryship to another person is a disrespect to the governor who gave them the tasks.
Moreover, it is a pity that the chairman has successfully cowed the board members into his pocket by making them to see Dr. Sani as a threat to them whereas it is the chairman that is their number one enemy because he does not recognize and respect them and that is why he is doing his things his own ways.
Looking at another paper titled “Past and Present Secretaries of Kano Pillars” which was compiled by one Isyaku Mahmud, a staff officer of the Kano State Sports Commission, one will see a clear ploy against Dr.Sani just to edge him out and have a field day.
The paper itemized all the past and present secretaries of the club with their periods of service together with their status.
All those that have their names on the list have their status (Civil Servant) at the Remarks column of the paper. Except Dr. Sani who has (Not a Civil Servant) instead of a retired civil servant against his name. I wonder what they want to achieve by doing that.
Are they trying to tell us that the government that appointed Dr. Sani Ibrahim as the secretary of Kano Pillars is not aware of his status or what?
We all know that the governor, being the state’s chief executive, has powers to run the state the way he wants but in accordance with the law. He has the powers to appoint anybody of his choice to oversee any agency.
A good example was the appointment of Alhaji Abdullahi Musa, a retired civil servant who retired as a Permanent Secretary and is now returned by the governor as the Head of the Service of Kano state.
Another example was the appointment of a retired Permanent Secretary, Umar Muhammad Jalo as Permanent Secretary Establishment.
Alhaji Lamin, a retired Permanent Secretary, is presently serving as the Executive Secretary of the State Pilgrims Board.
Alhaji Ahmadu Haruna Zago, a businessman who has never worked in the civil service is now the head of REMASAB.
It is a fact that both Kano State Sports Commission and the board members that were recruited to send Dr Sani out to ease things for themselves.
They should know that what they are doing is a disrespect of the governor’s order because the governor has already decreed that Dr. Sani as the secretary of the board.
They should know that Kano Pillars is a government owned team and the governor has the right to appoint anybody to serve in the team. If Little or any other person is not satisfied he can go and form his own team and run it the way he likes.
The sports commission should be educated to know this and they can only appoint somebody when the government has no interest or candidate.
They should know that Dr. Sani Ibrahim, a retired Kano Polytechnic sports officer and a freedom fighter is also a staunch Kwankwasiyya diehard follower.
They should know that if the government asked Dr. Sani to explain his own side of the story, they are finished because he will not waste time in saying all he knows which is going to be disastrous for all of them.
They should know that the governor has the powers to appoint any person of his choice into his administration. It is his business and not that of the sports commission or board members.
For me, I don’t see any fault in appointing Dr Sani to head the secretariat of Kano Pillars Football Club, because he has the ability, capacity, knowledge and experience to offer better than anybody the commission or board members will assign for the job.
I see Dr. Sani as more qualified than all of them because he is a trained sports manager. Sports management is his field of specialization.
As I said before this write up, there is no basis for comparison between Dr. Sani Ibrahim, the secretary who the governor himself appointed and Abbati Sabo the Kano State Sports Commission appointed secretary.
While Abbati Sabo Fagge is only a graduate of Mass Communication and only served as the PRO of the state sports commission since his entry into the service some years, Dr. Sani Ibrahim has NCE Physical Education, Bsc Physical Education, Msc Sports Management and now a PhD candidate of the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.
Moreover, Dr. Sani has over three decades of participation and experience in sports management and organization in the country.
From the above summation I don’t see any basis of comparison between the two individuals; one will clearly see who the secretary position fits among the two.
It is for sure that the current trend against Dr. Sani is a trend to cover up their unholy deeds and also actualized their selfish interest by Babangida Little and Kano State Sports Commission and now with the board members.
Honestly, I see it as a ploy to cover up something and the government should investigate it to see what they are hiding and don’t want Dr. Sani to see.
I wonder why the commission is assisting Little to plant somebody that will not question the chairman’s orders, directives and demands which will be impossible to achieve with Dr. Sani as secretary.
Dr. Sani Ibrahim is highly educated and highly respected who has his prestige at stake and cannot allow the chairman or any other person to smear his hard earned reputation and that explains the hatred against him.
I am very surprised that the board that was sidelined by the chairman from day one has now joined forces to fight Dr. Sani. This is the board members that are not aware about the club’s earning and talk less of its spending.
The board members should be disturbed about the club’s earnings and spendings but not to fight Dr. Sani.
I remembered that there was a fracas during the club’s last meeting when a member ran out of patience and traded words with the chairman.
It was on record that no board member knows when and how the N25 million the government released to the club for the three President Federation Cup was spent. This is what I expect them to worry about and write a vote of no confidence on.
I called on the government to institute a powerful committee that will investigate and reveal all what is happening in the club and deal with anybody found wanting.
