In his office at the Osun State House of Assembly, Osogbo, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam, spoke with Assistant Editor, Investigations, JOKE KUJENYA, on the recent abduction and eventual rescue of his wife, Mrs. Muibat Salaam, from her abductors. He also used the period to portray the dangers that families of prominent politicians could be subjected to as well as what the Federal Government could do to curtail the dastardly act.
With your wife’s recent experience in the hands of her abductors, would you say that kidnapping is gaining inroad into the South-West?
Yes, it is. Or how else are we to explain what happened to her and the mother of another honourable of the federal republic? Unfortunately, kidnapping is gaining in-road into our terrain. But I know that they cannot last or withstand our forces in this part of Nigeria. And I repeat that they cannot stand the South-West because most of the people that have been involved in this evil act are not from our end of the country. We all know that they are from elsewhere.
There is no other way to describe it than to say it is a very bad development. And we can quickly curb it by being more security conscious. What happened to me and unfortunately, to the mother of a politician in Ijebu-Ode, from which people feel they can siphon money from us, but God, who is the only One that could really assist us, helped us to thwart their plans. And for this reason, I will use the opportunity to stress that ‘state or communal policing’ is a must for us in this country. It is an idea that must be given a chance and allow to stand.
It is the community people, using the vigilance group who were able to rescue my wife as an instance, who would be able to know when there are strange faces among us. Because they know every nook and cranny of their immediate environments, they would be able to easily note when there are people who have not been part of us. They will be able to take appropriate action, ask the right questions. It is these people that will be able to fully complement the effort of the Nigeria Police, the Nigerian Army and other security agencies like the SSS and others.
In some sections, the scenario was also blamed on the security lapse in the State of Osun…
Well, I don’t agree with that because the security in our state has greatly improved in recent times. The state government has done all within its capacity to beef up the security system. In fact, very recently, this House passed into law a security trust bill which has also received the assent of the executive. What is intended with the bill is to complement the effort of the Federal Government in assisting the Nigeria Police and the rest of the security services in their efforts to ensure that the lives and property of every Nigerian is duly protected from any form of harm. It is intended to ensure that our security personnel are given the necessary equipment to aid their work.
As we speak, we have nothing less than 30 vehicles given out to the state security personnel ad they’ve been plying major routes within the state to ensure the safety of lives and property. It is just that these evil people too understudy any area in which they plan to strike, and when they see that the security personnel have either gone to other places or are yet to get there, they quickly carry out their evil acts. In just a couple of months, what we are fully working on in terms of solid security operations in this state will come into public glare. It will be so tight that no evil planner will be able to escape the hands of our law enforcement agents.
Where were you when the news of your wife’s abduction first got to you?
In fact, on that day, I was on a state assignment. I was about to leave the governor’s office when I first received the call informing me that my wife had just been kidnapped by some men in a car. It was like I was in a trance and I knew I just quietly cut off the phone because it just didn’t hit me as real. In the first five to ten minutes, such a piece of news was unbelievable. I was still in that state when a second call came and the same piece of news was repeated. Quietly, I walked back to the governor who was still on his seat and said: ‘Mr. Governor, I just got calls telling me that some people had kidnapped my wife.’ For few minutes, the governor and I stood speechless.
Even as I stood there in his office, it just did not appear real to me that my wife could have been kidnapped. I know there was no way I could convince you about this; but silence fell on the whole governor’s office. We all just looked with surprise. I believe it took me up to about 30 minutes before I could find my voice to ask: ‘Are they saying kidnap, as in taking her away or what?’ And in asking that question, it was like I woke up from the slumber and then began to ask for details. So, briskly, I walked towards the door and into my car to go and take the necessary steps. As I got into my car, torrents of call began to come in and it was all about the sad news. So, I rushed down straight to Ejigbo, the scene of the incident where she has her shop, to see things for myself. I got there and the pandemonium I met on ground was enough to confirm that it was true.
And even when I got there and heard the conflicting accounts of people, I was trying to tell myself that maybe the people were armed robbers and they wanted to rob her of her money. But as minutes turned into hours and her whereabouts became shoddy, I knew we were in for some big shock. And another shocking impact was that my daughter who was with her in the car had been rushed to the hospital…
Is that the one that was reportedly shot by the hoodlums?
Yes. But she wasn’t shot. What happened was that when her mother left the car and tried to run out of fear, she forgot to turn off the engine of the car. She sustained some injuries in the process. As her mother ran out, she remained in the car, obviously confused. And because the engine was still running and the car had started descending a slope backwards without anyone to control it, the 17-year-old girl decided to jump out of the fast-moving-backward vehicle. They were on a hilly side and if she stayed, you can now imagine the devastation we might be in at this time. But thank God.
So, in order to jump out of the vehicle, she held on to one of the doors. As she jumped still holding the door, the vehicle tilted in the same direction she jumped towards and rolled on her. In fact, it was the quick intervention of the people around who all came together to lift the vehicle off her, if not, I doubt if I would be here talking with you about the whole thing. But the girl was not shot at all because the kidnappers did not even know who she was to my wife at that time. But after spending some days in the hospital, she’s okay now and at home with the mother.
In fact, the residents of Ejigbo, whom I remain grateful to, had moved her to a nearby hospital before I got there. But the Honda Accord car still got spoiled as it rolled off the slope before people could get back to it.
What’s your reaction to allegations that it had a political inclination?
In truth, I don’t agree with that. I don’t even see it from that point of view at all. We have read it in the papers, from the police and all areas that these boys are just after money. And I thank God that they did not get a dime before they were apprehended. And I know we have practised some sort of dirty politics in our country in time past. But as for this, it is just one unfortunate incident that we must all put behind us. My own joy is that my wife and child are safe and at home, and I still disagree with any allegation that it could be politically motivated.
Judging by the location where she was rescued, where do you think she was being taken to?
I doubt if they were to taking her to any other place. I even doubt their story of someone sending them as they told my wife. I believe that they must have used that location for many unfortunate victims like that for long until God decides to deal with them in his own way. To me, it was where they feel comfortable because how could a sane human being drink and eat inside a thick bush like that even for the five days that they were there? It could also be that they chose that place so that in case of sudden need for escape, they might be able to cross to other routes they might know. But to think that they have any backer or taking her to any other place, those hungry thugs with the police have no such luxury near their lives.
With the cases of the Representative’s mother and your wife, would you advocate security cover for families of politicians?
The scenario is becoming dicey. As it is now, I doubt if our families are safe. Or how do you explain if someone says because he needs money, it is by abducting the family member of a politician they could score their point? So, our families are not safe if it could happen to me, my wife, and the aged mother of a representative and even as we read in recent times, the abduction of VCs of some higher institutions. They did not even have respect for the age of the old woman. Can you imagine that?
It thus means that some people feel it is only through politicians that they can make quick money without feeling remorse that they could waste the lives of their victims in the process. But people should not forget that this is the South-West and we are not like the Niger-Delta and that we don’t have money to flaunt around as they think. So, if they come to us believing that they will get money, they will definitely not get anything. However, political office holders have to be more careful and alert.
Would you advocate special security for wives of politicians in particular?
Well, it would be good if this can be done. Just as security is provided for we male politicians, it could also be provided for husbands of female politicians. It is just unfortunate the kind of situation we now find ourselves. If not, we should all be able to walk freely within our country. Since things are beginning to look as if the political office holders are not the targets of these crime-minded people, it will truly be better to have a special security outfit to monitor the safety of our families across the country. And please allow me to use this medium to thank God for the commitment of the Vigilante Service of Ogun State to offer this life-saving service voluntarily. This is something they chose to do without being forced to do it. And they are doing it so well without really expecting to gain anything from anybody. I heartily thank and commend them. My wife too is very grateful to them.
