The last time Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, the now late governor of Taraba State, made news headline was sometime in 2015 when Governor Darius Ishaku was accused by citizens of the state of abandoning his predecessor, who had been recuperating from the multiple injuries he sustained in an October 25, 2012 plane crash in Yola airport, Adamawa State.
The social media in particular was awash at the time with news that Ishaku had abandoned Suntai to his fate, leaving him to rot away in a desolate place. The report suggested that Suntai’s condition deteriorated after the present administration said it would no longer be footing his medical bills due to paucity of funds.
The political drama then took a new twist when Governor Ishaku issued a counter-statement where he insisted that Suntai was in Jalingo and had not skipped town for months at the time, and that “he doesn’t have to, because his health is not bad. In fact, Suntai is stronger now”.
But, contrary to the governor’s position, one of the commissioners who served in Suntai’s cabinet had insisted in a telephone chat with BDSUNDAY that his boss was somewhere abroad where he was receiving medical attention. He did not, however, name the country but promised to reach the family for official position and then get back. He never fulfilled that promise until the death of his boss last week.
Following the crash, Suntai was first treated for a few hours at the Adamawa Standard German Hospital in Yola, then the National Hospital in Abuja, before being airlifted to Germany for another round of treatment. After some months in Germany, he was transferred to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
As happened in the case of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, while in the US, some political jobbers who wanted to remain in power at all cost allegedly flew Suntai back into Taraba in August 2013, in what observers termed a ‘desperate bid’ to lay hold to Taraba’s political structure by presenting Suntai as ‘capable’ to get back to work. He was again flown to London’s Wellington Hospital for additional treatment of brain injuries.
As the drama continued, Rimande Bitrus, a former governorship candidate of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD), who hails fromsouthern Taraba, added salt to Taraba’s political injury when he hit at the alleged cabal for using and dumping Suntai.
“Suntai’s case has become history. Nobody can tell his whereabouts now. Those who could say his whereabouts now are probably his immediate family members. Today, none of the cabal members is even mentioning him; immediately after the election everyone went their separate ways. They all got what they wanted and everybody disappeared,” said Bitrus, who contested against the current governor.
The medical report
Zakari Aliyu, who was at that time Chief Medical Director (CMD), Taraba Specialist Hospital, granted a controversial interview where he upheld that Suntai’s brain injury sustained in the plane crash had made him lose some cognitive abilities.
Three days after Aliyu’s medical verdict, the then state executive, in a move that political pundits described as an ‘own goal’, wrote a letter to the Taraba State Assembly in Jalingo asking the legislators to set up a medical panel to ascertain Suntai’s state of physical and mental fitness to lead the state.
Before his death penultimate Wednesday in Orlando, Florida, United States of America, two days to his 56th birthday, Suntai had been in and out of hospitals in Europe and the US in the last five years, after he narrowly escaped with his life, but managed to complete his tenure in 2015 after being treated for the injuries he sustained. Suntai flew the crashed plane himself. Dasat Iliya, his Aide-de-Camp; Timo Dangana, his Chief Security Officer, and Joel Dangana, his Chief Detail, were also aboard the private Cessna plane that crashed. He was on specialised wheelchair because of a spinal cord injury he sustained.
Tributes
The tributes have been pouring in, as is the custom in these parts.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described Suntai as an outstanding and professional man. Cairo Ojougboh, deputy national chairman in Ali Modu Sheriff’s faction of the party, said, “We are proud of late Suntai. He left his profession and became a politician in order to bring quality to governance. This he exhibited while in office until the unfortunate plane crash incident. Suntai represented PDP well and we are very proud of him. Until his death, Suntai never gave up as he was involved in the struggle for the progress of PDP and Nigeria.”
Ojougboh added that the PDP commiserated with his family, the people and government of Taraba State on the great loss.
The family of Ahmadu Bello, the late Premier of the Northern Region, described the death of Suntai as a big loss to the country.
“Former Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai was a great believer in the legacies of the late Premier of Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardaunan Sokoto, throughout his career as a public administrator and politician. He believed in good governance, fair play and mutual coexistence among people irrespective of their differences,” said a statement signed by Hasan Ahmed Danbaba on behalf of the family.
“We express our heartfelt condolences to the family of the Mr Suntai, the good people of Taraba State and all lovers of peace and mutual coexistence in the country,” it said.
Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra State, described Suntai’s death as painful and prayed God to grant him eternal rest and grant his family and the people of Taraba State the fortitude to accept His will.
“Governor Suntai was the very soul and spirit of governance. He was the emblem and the signature of power. He was the sceptre and the throne in all its radiance and splendour. He was indeed the purple robe and the crown of the king. His gait, language and thought process were symbolic of royal leadership. He was the main issue in Taraba history and the heart of its narrative for decades,” wrote Emmanuel Bello, Commissioner for Information during Suntai’s administration and currently Senior Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to Governor Ishaku.
Brief profile
Suntai was born on June 30, 1961, at Suntai Town, Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State. He attended Federal Government College,Kano (1975–1980) and the School of Basic Studies at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1980–1981). He was admitted to ABU, where he read Pharmacy and graduated in 1984.
Suntai was elected chairman of Bali Local Government Area (1989–1993), and was director-general, Taraba State Ministry of Agriculture and National Resources (1994–1996).
In the 1999 elections, he was state chairman of the All People’s Party (APP). In 2000, he became chairman of Taraba State Investment and Properties Limited. He was appointed Commissioner in the Ministry of Education (2000–2003), and worked at the Ministry of Health (2003–2005) before becoming Secretary to the Taraba State Government (2005–2007).
In the run-up to the 2007 elections, Danladi Baido won the PDP gubernatorial primaries but was later disqualified. Two months before the election, the PDP national secretariat replaced Baido with Suntai, who had not stood in the primaries. Baido and his followers lent their support to Suntai, and in April 2007 Suntai won election as governor of Taraba State. He ran successfully for re-election on 26 April, 2011.
He was married to Hauwa and the marriage is blessed with children.
NATHANIEL AKHIGBE
