By Mohammed Bello Doka
I write this in response to the overwhelming messages, calls, and quiet knocks that have come in recent days—not because those who betrayed trust deserve a reply, but because it is imperative that our people are encouraged, informed, and rededicated. Silence in moments like this breeds fear; clarity restores courage. This intervention, therefore, is for those who still believe, those who still stand, and those who refuse to surrender hope to intimidation, threats, or the noise of manufactured despair.
The present moment surrounding Abubakar Malami is not merely about legal headwinds or political rumours. It is about the familiar cruelty of power’s aftertaste—the season when yesterday’s loyalists suddenly find new homes, when beneficiaries of mentorship discover selective amnesia, and when proximity to authority becomes a passport to betrayal. Those who once swore by God never to abandon him—some even positioning themselves as gatekeepers, deciding who could see him and who could not—have chosen convenience over conviction. Their retreat is noted. Their mockery of loyalty is recorded. History is patient.
This is not new. It is Nigerian politics in its most naked form. When a man steps outside the ruling comfort zone, when ambition becomes independent and conscience refuses captivity, the system tests resolve. Investigations intensify, rumours multiply, and whispers are amplified to sound like verdicts. The narrative is spun: that trials are punishment for defiance, that detention is destiny, that ambition must be aborted. Yet power has always underestimated destiny.
We have seen this story before—most vividly in the life of Muhammadu Buhari. Betrayed by insiders, overthrown by those who shared his uniform, imprisoned and isolated while many concluded his chapter was closed—Buhari’s journey became a lesson in endurance. Even as a civilian, he was betrayed repeatedly by close associates and partners who pledged loyalty but fled when the road turned steep. Still, the arc of history bent. Against odds, against predictions, against the cynicism of power brokers, destiny prevailed. When his earthly journey ended, he did so at a ripe age, with global respect, and with tributes flowing from both friends and former adversaries. The same mouths that once doubted found words of praise. Time, as always, judged better than contemporaries.
Across the world, this pattern repeats. Nelson Mandela endured betrayal within movements and decades of incarceration before becoming a symbol of reconciliation. Abraham Lincoln faced sabotage from within his cabinet even as he steered a divided nation through war. Mahatma Gandhi confronted betrayal and violence from those closest to the struggle before his message transformed empires. Destiny, it seems, is often preceded by trial; greatness, by loneliness.
Today, the whispers say Malami’s ordeal is tied to ambition, to a refusal to submit to political suffocation, to a decision to chart a path beyond enforced conformity. Let the whispers talk. Institutions may investigate; narratives may be weaponised; friends may reposition. But faith is not cancelled by pressure, and courage is not invalidated by detention. The truest test of leadership is not applause in power, but composure in trial.
To friends, family, and all who love Abubakar Malami: have faith. Be strong. Be courageous. Trials do not define destiny; they reveal it. Stand firm against despair. Do not allow the temporary to eclipse the eternal. Your solidarity—quiet or loud—matters.
To political associates and supporters: do not give up. Keep the fire burning against all odds. Refuse intimidation. Resist threats. Let resolve outlive rumours. Movements do not survive because everyone stays; they survive because a committed few refuse to leave.
As for those who found new tables to sit at when the wind shifted—your choice is yours. But remember: history keeps receipts.
And so we conclude with a reminder that has steadied us through darker nights than this:
> “We might be burnt to the ground, but beneath the ashes we shall rise to the pinnacle.....”
— Mohammed Bello Doka, Special Assistant on Media to Abubakar Malami, SAN
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Opinion