By Muhammad Suleiman Yobe
Yobe has been called a one-party state since the return of the fourth republic. Firstly, in 1999, after the return of democracy, the All People’s Party, APP, won the governorship election, where former Governor Bukar Abba Ibrahim won the election and was re-elected in 2003.
After ruling the state for eight years, the late Mamman B. Ali won the state governorship election held in 2007 also in the same party APP, after the party’s name was changed to All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP).
After spending two years in power, God took over the life of Mamman B Ali and later, his deputy Ibrahim Geidam at that time, became the governor of Yobe state.
Ibrahim Geidam continued to lead the state for ten years in power. The ANNP continued ruling the state until 2014, when the coalition of opposition parties united and created a new party, the All Progressive Party (APC).
This means that since the return of democracy in 1999, only one party has been ruling the state up to 2019 when Mai Mala Buni emerged as the governor of the state under the banner of the APC party.
The most surprising thing in Yobe state is that there has never been a victory over the ruling party in the presidential election until this year’s elections. Even in 2011, when the ANPP nominated Malam Ibrahim Shekarau as a presidential candidate, the ANPP party won the state in the presidential election by a wide margin.
The question here is, what caused the ruling party’s failure in this year’s presidential election?
How will the presidential election affect the success of Governor Mai Mala Buni?
Of course, the election held on February 25 scared the leaders of the APC in Yobe state, especially the way the opposition party PDP won by a considerable margin.
In the election held, Professor Umaru Pate, the returning officer of the state in the just concluded presidential and national assembly elections, declared the PDP party as the winner of the election as follows; APC 151,459, LP 2,406, NNPP 18,270 and PDP with 198,567.
This means that the PDP won by a margin of 47,108 votes, even though elections were cancelled in some polling units with large crowds in Fika, Bade, Fune and Jakusko local governments, which are expected to be won by the PDP.
What is more surprising and interesting is how the ruling party failed to win in the major local governments with the most registered voters as follows:
(1) Potiskum 181,091 registration voters
(2)Damatura 122,197 registered voters
(3) Fune 121,900 registered voters
(4) Bade. 113,716 registered voters
(5) Nguru. 101,044 registered voters
Total = 639,948 registered voters.
Surely! If the people of the towns mentioned above will vote massively for the PDP again, there is no doubt that governor Mai Mala Buni will fail because the total number of registered voters in the state is 1,485,146. As we saw in the presidential election, only less than 400,000 cast their votes.
The presidential election may not signify Mai Mala’s future, but there is a threat to the ruling party. Because many years ago in Yobe state, it was not possible to oppose the state government because of the threat of firing a person from a job or confiscating a person’s farm if he did not support the ruling party, but now because of the emergence of social media, there has been a change in society’s awareness and opposition.
Further, the change in the presidential election happened because Mai Mala Buni failed to meet the situation of the top politicians helping the state’s poor people.
Similarly, the emergence of Bola Tinubu in the APC presidential elections contributed to the downfall of the APC because the people of the state did not accept him. And the governor failed to help the rural residents, so the government lost the presidential election in his local government of origin (Gujba).
With this, I think if the state residents will be allowed to vote for their prepared candidates without buying votes, without compulsion on the people, both APC and PDP will all be able to win the gubernatorial election on March 18, 2023.
Muhammad Suleiman Yobe wrote via muhammadsuleiman190@gmail.com.
