Chapter 3: Chapter Three
LAND OF THE DEAD
Danlami Goje opened his eyes slowly. It took a little while before he recalled what had happened. The mission was successful. He could still remember the noise and fire ball the explosion threw up. The infidels had been blown off the surface of the earth along with him and his two colleagues. Now, this was the resurrection. It was time for the three of them to be rewarded by Allah. A tiny smile crossed his lips. It was time to get their virgins and live forever in the bliss of Al Janna. A dusty wind began to blow rousing the two other bombers— Isah Magaji and Samaila Dutse. They slowly opened their eyes and realized shortly afterwards that they were in a desert. The heat soon began to make them uncomfortable and sweat began to pour off them.
Suddenly, they appeared. Female dwarfs, each measuring barely three feet, in their number all dressed in rags and smelt like rotten eggs approached from the opposite direction. They were totally bald, wrinkled from head to toe and were as ugly as death. The dwarfs, with the same suddenness with which they appeared, opened their toothless mouths in what looked like they were laughing. The sound produced can be compared to that of crickets screeching. Within seconds, the dwarfs had surrounded the bombers still in their seated position more out of shock and fear than anything else.
“We are your virgins!” one of them screamed still with the cricket-like screech.
“Ha! Ha!” they all laughed with that same sound. The three men jumped to their feet. It was time to run. Each took only two steps before he was brought down again by the dwarfs swarming around them like bees. “We are your virgins!” screamed another dwarf. “Welcome to your Al Janna!” another shouted. “Ha! Ha!” the others laughed.
The three bombers screamed in terror.
* * * * *
JIGAWA STATE, 2001
Governor Shehu Ankali of Jigawa State was not prepared to allow free and fair elections in his state. He knew he would be badly beaten by the candidate of the major opposition party—Alhaji Ibrahim Buzukura. His policies left only debts. He also knew, but for the immunity he enjoyed as a governor, he would have been arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, long ago. He had, therefore, made contact with the Boko Haram leader to help him deal with the situation through one of his trusted aides. The options that Shekau had given him were two—either that Alhaji Buzukura be assassinated or for ballot boxes to be snatched on Election Day and the results rigged in his favour.
Governor Ankali had settled for the second option after consulting with key members of his cabinet and political party. They knew Alhaji Buzukura’s assassination will not be swept under the carpet due to his extensive international connections.
Half of the agreed amount Shekau had demanded, were packaged in several Ghana-must-go bags in dollar denomination and sent to him with the gentleman’s understanding that the other half will be sent to him as soon as the election was won by Alhaji Ankali through the most loyal aide the governor had along with few inner caucus members of the State Security Service, SSS. No sooner had the operatives reported to the state than the governor bought over their loyalty. A bungalow each in a choice part of Abuja did the magic.
The arrangement had gone according to plan as hundreds of operatives of the Boko Haram sect rode on motorcycles to the polling booths within the state and forcefully carted away voting materials at gun point. They had gone on to thumbprint the ballot papers in favour of Governor Ankali and members of his party vying for the state house of assembly positions. Those who resisted were instantly shot. Officials of the electoral body were given money well wrapped in envelopes to overlook the anomaly and go ahead and declare the results.
Two days after the election, the final results were announced as the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, was properly settled with a mouth-watering sum.
The ruling party had retained its position at the gubernatorial level as well as at the state house of assembly level by a landslide victory. Governor Ankali was overjoyed. He organized a lavish party at the Jigawa State Government House which lasted till the early hours of the following day. Exotic wine and dishes from all over the world were served the numerous guests that attended the party.
* * * * *
After waiting a reasonable time for the other part of his money to be paid, Shekau sent a message across to the governor. The only response he got was that he should be patient as “arrangements are in the pipeline to address your issue.”
That patience was to extend for another two years yet nothing came out of the pipeline. Shekau struck shortly afterwards.
* * * * *
Not willing to take any chances, Governor Ankali decided his successor must be 'loyal' to him to a stupid level. He knew all he needed to do for him to go to jail for a long time, was to handover to a 'disloyal' aide.
After looking around for a while, he unilaterally, decided to settle for his younger brother—Alhaji Yunusa Ankali.
Alhaji Yunusa was a green horn in politics but he knew enough to cover his elder brother’s tracks. The highest position he had attained was Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs at the state level and he climbed through the ranks as a civil servant to achieve this. His elder brother saw to it that he got to this level without much hassles. He had served briefly as a special adviser to the governor on Hajj Affairs but had been told by the elder Ankali to resign and take care of his massive loot scattered all over the world. The governor could not bring himself to trust anyone else to do it. Now he was rounding up his constitutionally-allowed second tenure, he needed all the cover he could get so he could enjoy the rest of his life in peace until Allah called him home.
This was not to be, however, as Shekau was still smarting from a gentleman’s agreement he failed to honour three years back.
* * * * *
One day, Alhaji Yunusa, who had contested and won the ruling party’s primaries to fly its flag at the gubernatorial level in elections less than a year away, had just finished from the Dutse Central Mosque where he usually prayed on Fridays.
The mosque sat majestically in the hot afternoon sun with its unique features which include six minarets measuring about sixty metres, with several beautiful domes that were twenty metres in diameter and fifteen metres high. It occupied about twelve thousand square metres and it is eighteen metres high. It has a capacity to accommodate over ten thousand worshippers. The press from the crowd towards the ten entrances of the mosque, as usual, was enormous and it was all the security agents could do to control it. The attempts by the several al majiri to get a little money from dignitaries did not help matters.
Alhaji Yunusa, after spreading a few crisp currency notes around, was heading for the comfort of his personal Jeep metres away, after successfully meandering through the crowd with the assistance of his security details when sounds of gunshot suddenly rented the air. Alhaji Yunusa fell headlong along with four others— three of his personal aides and an innocent young boy of not more than ten years. They were all rushed to the hospital while the assailants made good their escape on motorcycles. None of them made it alive from the hospital.
Governor Shehu Ankali got the message instantly. His brother’s blood was the atonement for the agreement he failed to honour three years back due to forgetfulness, delay or treachery in dealing with Shekau.
The opposition political party won the election as there was no time to prepare another candidate with clout for the election.
Less than six months afterwards, Alhaji Ankali got a long jail term after the courts found him guilty of corruptly enriching himself to the tune of billions of naira. No one who had dealings with Shekau, after this incident, ever reneged on the initial agreement again.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone