Abdul Samad Rabiu, chairman of BUA Group, is under fire for unduly publicising the donation of a Rolls Royce Phantom car worth N200 million and alleged N100 million cash donation to Aminu Ado Bayero, the Emir of Kano, following the security crisis in the country.
Defenders of Arewa Heritage (DAH), a civil society organization, has therefore berated the publicity and controversy over the car gift to the monarch, stressing that the moves were needless and uncalled for as it has only exposed the Emir to bandits and terrorists’ attack.
A statement signed by the groups’ executive director, Idris Mala and communications officer, Hakeem Raji on Tuesday, said that though nothing was wrong with the car gift by the billionaire businessman, “the only problem was the media hype the donor allegedly triggered by publicsing the gift.”
The CSO said traditional rulers all over the country receive luxury car gifts from friends, well-wishers, public officials, among others. The only difference with the recent BUA’s gift is the publicity the donors allegedly accorded the gift.”
The statement said it is not only in Kano that billionaires donate luxury cars to monarchs.
“In Borno State for instance, billionaire business moguls such as Muhammed Indimi, the late Ahmed Mai Deribe, and the late Bukar Mandara, among others, had at one time or the other, gifted the Shehu of Borno luxury cars. But they never publicized it,” the civil society said.
The group said the immediate-past Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II was given two Rolls Royce Phantom while he was on the throne.
“The donors didn’t announce the donation of the luxury cars in the media. Nigerians never knew that the Rolls Royces were bought by the two friends of Emir Sanusi: Mr Kola Kareem and Hajiya Bola Shagaya.
“Emir Sanusi had to publicise the names of the two donors when he was accused of using Kano Emirate funds to acquire the two luxury cars,” the statement said.
The former emir defended the gift as normal saying, “The late Emir (Ado Bayero)’s limousines were bought by Aminu Dantata, Fernandez, Isiaka Rabiu, Sani Abacha and Ahmed Mu’azu. Everyone has friends and well-wishers.”
The CSO said, “We found the publicity accorded the car gift by the donor uncalled for, unnecessary.”
It said to even go ahead and “publicise the car and the N100 million donated to the Kano emir is outrageous. We couldn’t fathom what this publicity was meant to achieve if not exposing the monarch to bandits.”
The civil society said publicizing the gift “is not part of cultural heritage as northerners and religious morals as Muslims.”
Frequent acts of kidnappings have grown to form a major threat to Nigeria’s national security, especially in the northern parts of the country.
According to data analyzed by SB Morgan, a Nigerian consulting firm, at least $18.34 million was paid to kidnappers in ransom between June 2011 and the end of March 2020; almost $11 million of this figure was paid out between January 2016 and March 2020, indicating a seriously sharp rise in kidnapping incidents in recent years.
“This points to the democratisation of insecurity in the north, specifically with respect to kidnapping,” the report states. According to SB Morgan, kidnapping has increased in almost every state, with Nigeria becoming less and less safe every year.