Dangiwa was born with a golden spoon in his mouth being from the famous aristocratic family of the Wazirin Gwandu of the legendary Sokoto caliphate. He and his family have been living a life of privilege from birth and most likely till death which cannot be said for most of the people he criticize like President Buhari.
His family name has inadvertently opened doors for him throughout his career unlike many of his colleagues. He may have worked hard and utilized the opportunities he came across along the line, he had inherent advantage over his colleagues of modest background nonetheless.
He was privileged to attend the elite military school NDA Kaduna among others abroad. Upon his commissioning in to the Nigerian Army and by some strange coincidence (may be family arrangement), he became ADC to the late General Hassan Katsina-himself a prince from Katsina Emirate. His military carrier continued to flourish from one choice appointment to another. In 1984, as a young Major, he was appointed the MD/CEO of the Federal Housing Corporation by the government of General Buhari-then military head of state.
When General Babangida overthrew General Buhari in 1985, Dangiwas as co actively participated as conspirators. He was appointed(may be choose to be) by IBB as the Governor of Kaduna State then still as a Major in the Nigerian Army which is unprecedented because of the military and strategic importance of Kaduna. Besides, at that time there were five Generals in Kaduna, namely-1 Div, Airforce Base, Dicon, Jaji and Nasi. It was an awkward situation for those Generals at that time especially protocol and seniority wise but the IBB golden boy had to have his way despite the negative consequences to the military institution as a whole. Seniority, discipline and professionalism suffered.
Even the outgoing Governor of Kaduna State then, late AVM Usman Muazu found it abnormal to handover personally to a Major who a was junior in rank to even his ADC who was already a Wing Commander in the Airforce an equivalent of a Lt Col in the Army.
These are the privileges Dangiwa enjoyed which were based on favoritism and nepotism but not merit and which he sees as his birth rights. He didn’t see anything wrong with being favored over and above his colleagues or bending the rules to favor him sometimes against his seniors all because of his aristocratic background and high wired connections. Yet, this is a man who will gladly run down others for lesser infractions. These are the very actions that contributed to the erosion of military discipline, traditions and professionalism in the military that we see today.
He continued enjoying these undue privileges and advantages which contributed in setting bad precedents and grumblings in the armed forces which results in killing espiri de corp etc. It was the arrival of the no nonsense General Abacha as Head of State that the excesses of the Dangiwas in the military began to wane. Dangiwa suddenly became a radical pro democracy activist and joined the predominantly Yoruba(Afenifere/Nadeco groups) for the actualization of June 12 Presidential election(MKO Abiola’s so called mandate) while still in uniform. That was indiscipline, unprofessional conduct and grass opportunism. Why didn’t he challenge his friend IBB for the annulment of the 1992 Presidential election before General Abacha’s ascension? His inglorious and quick exit from the military was actually his saving grace otherwise General Abacha would have dealt with him. That marked the beginning of his so called radical political activism till date.
The height of the hypocrisy of his so called radical activism can be seen in his deliberate silence in the face of marginalization in his native Kebbi State where his people from Gwandu Emirate have dominated every aspect of people’s life especially in government appointments both at the state and federal level to the detriment of the other three Emirates, plus the fact that since 1999, all the Governors of Kebbi State and the Ministers appointed are all from Gwandu Emirate. He has never for once criticized or did anything to change this anomaly. Without doubt therefore, he is personally culpable in perpetuating and sustaining this injustice to date as a social crusader. The people of Kebbi have since been deeply divided along Emirate basis on almost everything especially politics.
During the course of his privileged military carrier, he was believed to have directly or indirectly influenced the following:
1. Making his late elder sister a Commissioner in former Sokoto State during the military regime and also later as a Minister during the late Yar’adua’s tenure as President.
2. He influenced his late brother in-law’s appointment as a Commissioner during the military regime in the former Sokoto State and subsequently got him appointed as an Executive Director in the defunct Bank of the North.
3.He single handedly and arbitrarily influenced the appointment of a civilian (from his Gwandu Emirate) as the CG of Nigeria Custom Service NCS during the IBB regime thereby imposing an outsider against the tradition of succession from among the highly trained and qualified officers. That contributed in no small measure in the erosion of morale and professionalism in the service and has engendered a bad precedent till date.
4. As the grand patron of the infamous Gwandu mafia, he influenced the creation of Kebbi State with its capital in Birnin Kebbi his home town against a more deserving and viable Zamfara State from the then Sokoto State. Ditto for the creation LGA’S in Kebbi State. Out of the 21 LGA’S in Kebbi State, Gwandu Emirate has 10 leaving the 3 other Emirates of equal status with only 11 LGA’S between them.
5. He secured for his younger brother(may be for himself) sweetheart deals in the oil and gas industry during the IBB regime and helped made him one of the gurus in the industry today.
6. He continued placing his cronies strategically in various governments he considers friendly (may be for his personal benefit) and businesses too.
It seems that his outbursts and criticisms are always directed at individuals and governments he judges on subjective basis which makes it difficult for him to see any good in others.
In retrospect, Dangiwa in the height of his sycophancy once said that he will follow IBB to the battle front blindfolded. He has also never criticized President Jonathan throughout his tenure despite his government’s brazen nepotism and misgovernance. He also said that he will stand with and support Jonathan any day because he is his friend. This is despite the fact that insecurity and specifically Boko Haram thrived under the Jonathan Presidency because his government was reluctant or at best lackluster in arresting the situation. The irony is that the mayhem perpetrated was mainly affecting the northern part of the country where Dangiwa comes from.
So,what is purpose of the blind support for his friends in power and the incessant attack on those he considers as his enemies even in the face of obvious facts? It is not far fetched therefore to decipher from the above that the only logical conclusion is that Dangiwa is not the radical social crusader out to ensure social justice in the society as he portrays himself but rather an opportunistic noise maker like all the others. As a matter of fact the double standards that his life characterizes is in direct contrast to the radical activism. He is just a typical Nigerian elite with vested interests and one that chooses to tell the convenient truth to those in power at any given time.
