Politics

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari.

Human rights activist and former senator, Shehu Sani, has failed to secure the Kaduna governorship ticket of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

Sani only got two votes from delegates in the primary election conducted by the PDP on Wednesday, May 25, 2022.

Sani accepted the election’s outcome as fate and has taken to his verified Twitter handle to congratulate the winner, Isah Ashiru.

“The Kaduna PDP Governorship primaries has [sic] been concluded. I lost, and Honourable Isah Ashiru won.

I wish to congratulate him. Two Delegates voted for me without giving them a dime; unfortunately, I don’t know who they are, so that I can appreciate these clean votes. We look forward,” he tweeted. 

Many believed Sani’s refusal to pay delegates amounts to his failure in the primary election. He has repeatedly vowed not to pay delegates to vote for him, a decision that many consider laudable but has caused him a significant setback in his political career.

By Umar Yahaya

Yobe North has been blessed with the representation of an experienced lawmaker, Distinguished Dr Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, a fourth times senator and President of the Senate, who is now seeking support and collaboration to replace Buhari as the President in the forthcoming election. I wish him the best this journey has to offer; he possesses all the requirements to be President.

However, in the epoch-making election (2023), the Yobe North requires an experienced person to represent it in the tenth (10) Senate. So we are in the stage of opening a new chapter. Of all the contenders, only Abba Sarki possessed the qualifications, wisdom, brilliance, prudence and knowledge to represent it. I’m not embroidering anything here; it’s based on records, facts and figures. In a democratic setting, when someone presents himself for an elective office, the expectations are simple; what are your public or private sectors records and experiences? What have you done to people and your community before? What makes you a credible and right candidate for the position? These can allow us to put you on a scale and measure your weight and whether you deserve our vote and support.

Going by these, I would say Abba deserved to fly the APC flag. He has knowledge and expertise, rising to Director of Human Resources, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development and recently retired. A graduate of Political Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He knows and understands what it entails to be an administrator and manage resources. As the saying goes, “Good laws do not make themselves”. It requires inputs of time, lots of information, selection of what is based for the people, and articulating them into laws for the country’s benefit and its progress and development. I am confident he can perform well and do a great thing as he did before he retired from civil service. 

His public service understanding and knowledge give him more advantage over other contenders. He would sustain what was started by the current senator and consolidate the gains achieved. He inspired hope for a better tomorrow and representation. He would do a great job when given the mandate. In an ideal environment, a merit leadership position is your capacity and foresight, the vision and goals you have for the people. He has these attributes. 

In records, Abba Sarki facilitated projects as a Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture to our communities; it is visible. No one would dispute or deny this, from the construction of roads in Nguru, Machina and Karasuwa Local Governments, rehabilitation of infrastructure, specifically, Nguru Abattoir to an ultra-modern facility, drilling boreholes and provision of solar energy to both rural and urban communities. Facilitated training of youth and women in various skills such as fisheries and animal rearing.

In his desire to bring change and development to our communities, he helps in employment our people in different government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. These are what make him stand out as the best for the job. Anyone who can’t show what he has done before seeking an elective office doesn’t deserve to present himself for any office or our vote. Politics is all about getting what is best for your people.

What is needed for the APC, His Excellency, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan and Zonal APC stakeholders to allow for free, fair, and credible primary elections. Our people deserved the best. A zone that produced the President of the Senate requires a man with better qualifications, experiences and connections. His representation would give an equal opportunity, do a great job and wanders for his people, state and country.    

My prayers and hopes are that Abba Sarki is given a chance to represent us. He would command respect from his peers. He is charismatic, calm, kind, a beacon of hope, bold, hardworking, and committed to seeing our societies’ progress and development.

Let’s do it together.

Let’s change the narratives.

We deserve better.

We inspired hope.

New Vision.

Umar Yahaya wrote from Hausari Ward, Nguru, Yobe via umarnguru2015@gmail.com.

By Umar Sani Yakubu

It has been over a week since the arrest and eventual detention of a students’ leader and critic, Comrade Aminu Harsanu Guyaba, after being presented before the court of law. He was charged at the court for criticising the Executive Governor of Bauchi State, His Excellency Sen. Bala Muhammad Abdulkadir.

However, since then, several appeals and, in some instances, protests were conducted virtually (on media platforms) and physically calling on the state government and authorities for his release. This was done by students and his comrades claiming that there were many government critics all over the media doing more than what Guyaba did, and no one cared to stop or question their activities.

To some, the arrest of Guyana is nothing but a show of lack of resistance to criticism on the part of His Excellency as against his being an experienced and standstill politician that has been going around the country presenting himself to be. Thus, whatever people may have or want to conclude in the future, yesterday, 24 May 2022, Aminu Harsanu Guyaba celebrated one of his best days in detention. This is a day that brought his family the joy of their lives. We would have celebrated his birthday in front of a designated cake round with flowers and balloons among his family members, friends and other compatriots of a feather.

Unfortunately, only God knows what a situation he is passing through wherever he is. Who knows if he can even remember what this day is to him as against the usual remainder by Media platforms, banks and loved ones? What a pity?

Emphatically, as we did days ago, we want to remind His Excellency that Aminu Harsanu Guyaba is his child who was there through thick and thin to see that his government was brought to power. Furthermore, he has played a vital role in campaigning and securing votes for him. Therefore, we believe that Guyaba deserves better treatment from His Excellency no matter the grievance. Hence, Aminu is not more than a child that Kauran Bauchi could order to kneel and discipline.

We believe our outcry will not be like that of a fowl because many people from afar have started laughing at our government and us.

Sani writes from Bauchi and can be reached at saniumaryakubu@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahya Bello, has given an automatic ticket to an aspirant living with a disability to contest on the ruling party’s platform.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, CPS, Onogwu Muhammad, disclosed this in a press statement on Wednesday, May 25, 2022.

The aspirant, Adukwu Emmanuel, is to contest unopposed on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the position of Member in the Kogi State House of Assembly, sequel to the governor’s decision.

“Kogi State Governor, Yahya Bello has granted an automatic nod for House of Assembly aspirant, Mr Adukwu Emmanuel to contest unopposed on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, after putting to vote his decision,” the statement partly reads.

The CPS stressed that the governor has always openly shown support for persons living with disabilities.

“Governor Bello has always openly shown support for the persons with disabilities in his government, which has often reflected in his policies, plans, programmes, bills and appointments of such individual into his cabinet,” part of the statement reads.

According to the CPS, the aspirant is overwhelmed and lauded the governor for being a truly compassionate leader befitting to lead Nigeria.

By Kabir Musa Ringim

Since the return of democracy in Nigeria in 1999, Jigawa state has been governed by three governors: Sule Lamido, Ibrahim Saminu Turaki and the incumbent, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar. They all did their best to change the face of a once castigated state that used to come last in all human capital developmental indices. But Sule Lamido stands tall among them and marks his name as ‘the Father of Modern Jigawa’.

Lamido’s eight-year reign oversaw what many described as aggressive transformation in human, economic and infrastructural development. He changes the face of Jigawa from the poorest, least attractive and least-known state to one of the prettiest states where humans live a decent life. To use his own words, Lamido described Jigawa, under his leadership, as a state with new human species where things are done differently.

Lamido’s administration from 2007 to 2015 transforms every sector, ranging from education, agriculture, infrastructure, economy, etc. Hence, the administration was ranked as one of the best, if not the best, ever seen in any state in Nigeria since 1999.

In 2015, when the All Progressives Congress (APC) overtook power from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the federal level down to every elective position in Jigawa, Lamido and his men were left in ruins, crying over their downfall. The worst of it was the defeat of Aminu Ibrahim Ringim, the PDP’s and Lamido’s gubernatorial candidate in the election, and the victory of Muhammad Badaru Abubakar of the APC as the governor.

In 2019, as the incumbent, Badaru Abubakar, sought re-election, Aminu Ringim reemerged as PDP and Lamido’s gubernatorial candidate to wrestle power from the APC led administration. Aminu Ringim lost again, and things started to get rough between him and Lamido. Blames were traded between the two camps, and allegations became severe. The once amicable relationship got frosty. But, there was no love lost between the two in the end.

As the 2023 elections draw nearer, Aminu Ringim and his supporters have decamped to the new and fast-growing party, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). This has left the main opposition party, the PDP, under Lamido incapacitated as several supporters have followed Aminu Ringim to NNPP.

One of the allegations made by Aminu Ringim’s camp before their defection was that Lamido planned to impose his son, Mustapha Sule Lamido, as the gubernatorial candidate. They claimed that Lamido never really wanted Aminu Ringim to govern Jigawa. According to them, Lamido deliberately scuttled Aminu Ringim’s ambitions to prepare for his son’s candidature at the end of Badaru Abubakar’s tenure in 2023.

As the saying goes, whatever is covered up will be brought to light. Aminu Ringim left PDP for NNPP, and Mustapha Sule Lamido bought nomination and expression of interest forms to contest for 2023 gubernatorial elections under PDP. PDP’s prospects in Jigawa have dwindled with the departure of Aminu Ringim and the strength of the ruling APC. Lamido’s ambition heats the atmosphere of Jigawa politics. People felt insulted, maligned and downgraded by the Lamido family.

Moreover, Mustapha Lamido is an inexperienced man with no single record of public service or political experience. He knows close to nothing about the state he aspires to lead, and people accuse him of having no human relations and lacking respect for the elders, especially the poor. It is well-known that he is just a spoilt kid who got extremely rich when his father was the governor. He has never held an administrative position in local, state or federal governments. Neither has he ever held any position in any political party. His only political experience is that he contested for Senate in 2019 and lost.

In another twist, recently, former Jigawa state governor Ibrahim Saminu Turaki joined forces with Lamidos to revive his diminishing political enterprises. The trio were spotted recently at a political gathering, and it was gathered that Turaki is eyeing a return to the Red Chamber. Whatever the calculation, Mustapha Lamido’s gubernatorial candidacy will not be sold to the Jigawa populace. Turaki is already past his glorious days, as Jigawa people see him as a drowning man trying to get his relevance back. Therefore, his addition to Lamido’s camp will never convince the average person in Jigawa to rally behind, support or vote for Mustapha Lamido as the next governor.

The worst of it all for Lamidos is that the Jigawa people consider their (Lamido’s) dynasty as another face of modern-day slavery. They are condemning Sule Lamido’s moral decadence, from being the champion for the emancipation of the poor and downtrodden under the tutelage of late Mallam Aminu Kano to a dictator trying to impose monarchy in democracy by making his son a governor. Perhaps, after Mustapha’s reign, Lamido will choose another son to succeed him, and the cycle will continue with the Jigawa people under the permanent leadership of Lamido’s family.

But the burden is on the shoulder of all the Jigawa people. The state is not under monarchy or dictatorship; we’re under democracy, and leaders will emerge through our votes. So we should fight for our rights and the freedom of our children, remain true to ourselves and take better actions that will bring about a better tomorrow for the next generation.

We will fight this imposition and keep Jigawa under true democracy where a son of nobody can be somebody. We will neither relent nor surrender because no one else can mislead us and trump upon our liberation. Our choice is clear: we can’t allow monarchy in our democracy. We have several competent people with good character and track record of public service coupled with experience and exposure, capable of leading our state to greater heights.

Kabir Musa Ringim wrote from Hadejia via ringimkabir@gmail.com.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Bashir Bakari, a final year student of the Faculty of Law, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has picked the ruling All Progressives Congress’s (APC) expression of interest and nomination form.

Bakari picked the form on Friday, May 6 2022, to vie for the position of a member in the Taraba’s State House of Assembly.

In an interview with The Daily Reality, Bakari disclosed that his decision to contest is not unconnected with the ASUU strike. He explained that the strike had given him enough free time to campaign and participate actively in partisan politics. 

“We are at home, and there is time for campaign and active participation. If not for the strike, I would have been thinking about exams, projects and the Law School. But the strike avails an opportunity,” he said.

When asked about his chances of getting the APC’s ticket, he said any victory was from Allah.  

Bakari wishes to defeat three other aspirants in a primary election on May 27 to clinch the APC’s ticket.

By Uzair Adam Imam

President Muhammadu Buhari met with the family members of Kano explosion victims for commiseration.

President Buhari who was reportedly in Kano for the Nogerian Air Force Week event, met with the victims family at the Kano State Emir Palace.

The president also commiserated with the Emir and the Kano state governor on the unfortunate incident that claimed the lives of innocent people.

The explosion which the police said was caused by a gas/chemical explosion, had also seriously injured dozens of people.

Speaking earlier, the governor of Kano said the government already gave N9million as compensation to the family of the deceased persons.

Ganduje added that N2million was also given to 10 persons seriously injured and N1million was given to those with minor injuries.

He stated: “A business centre, African Centre, affected by the explosion was given N2million while Winners Academy, which students suffered injuries from the explosion and the its glasses shattered got N1million.”

On his part, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, expressed gratitude over the president’s kind gesture.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Governor of Borno State, Babagana Umara Zulum, said he was not desperate to be the running mate of anyone who emerges as the ruling party’s presidential flag bearer. 

Zulum disclosed this on Saturday, May 21, while playing host to former Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, who was in Borno to meet party delegates and canvass for their votes ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary election. 

This is sequel to permutations that Zulum will be a likely running mate if the APC’s presidential flag bearer emerges from the Southern region of  Nigeria. However, in refuting the rumour, Zulum said his primary concern at the moment was to see Borno regain her lost glory. 

“I want everyone here and the people of Borno State to know that I have only one ambition which is to see that Borno state regains its lost glory. I am not begging anybody for the position of the Vice President of the federation. God gives power to whom he wants, and when it comes, nobody can say no,” he said.

Zulum applauded the impressive credentials of Amaechi but stated it is against his principle to endorse anyone, as God is the ultimate decider of who will emerge as the president and who will not.

“Many aspirants have come to us, and many more would come, but my prayers and wish are that Nigeria should always get a new president. I can’t mention the name of any particular or preferred person.” He added. 

On the other hand, Amaechi made mouthwatering promises to delegates and the people of Borno State. He said he would secure lives and properties and improve and grow and grow agriculture, amongst other things, if they elect him.

By Muhammad Sabiu

Professor Wole Soyinka, a Nobel laureate, has demanded that the Imam of the National Mosque, Professor Ibrahim Maqari, be fired for his remarks on Deborah Samuel, a 200-level student at Sokoto’s Shehu Shagari College of Education, who was lynched for blaspheming Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

Soyinka made this appeal in Abuja, Saturday, during the one-year commemoration of the late former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, and the launch of Niran Adedokun’s biography of the late general.

Prof Soyinka claimed that the Islamic preacher directed his followers to take the law into their own hands.

Recall that the Imam of the National mosque Professor Maqari spoke strongly against the insulting comment made by the late college student, stressing that making such a comment was taboo.

The Nobel Laureate condemned religious lynching and demanded that the Imam be removed from office as an apostate of humanity’s credo

He was quoted as saying, “It is no longer sufficient for all to declaim that Islam is this and that, that the Sharia is thus and thus, that Prophet Mohammed set this or that example and made this or that humanistic pronouncement.

“We have gone beyond theocratic rhetoric that merely pays lip service to civilized norms. Let all pietistic denunciations be backed by affirmative action.”Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is the most beloved person to the

Sokoto blasphemy: Soyinka demands sack of Abuja National Mosque imam

Prof. Wole Soyinka, a Nobel laureate, has demanded that the Imam of the National Mosque, Professor Ibrahim Maqari, be fired for his remarks on Deborah Samuel, a 200-level student at Sokoto’s Shehu Shagari College of Education, who was lynched for blaspheming Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

Recall that the imam spoke strongly against the insulting comment made by the Shehu Shagari student, stressing that making such a comment was taboo.

Mr. Soyinka claimed that the Islamic preacher directed his followers to take the law into their own hands.

On Saturday, he spoke in Abuja during the one-year commemoration of the late former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, and the launch of Niran Adedokun’s biography of Attahiru.

The Nobel Laureate condemned religious lynching and demanded that Professor Maqari be removed from office as an apostate of humanity’s credo.

He was quoted as saying, “It is no longer sufficient for all to declaim that Islam is this and that, that the Sharia is thus and thus, that Prophet Mohammed set this or that example and made this or that humanistic pronouncement.

“We have gone beyond theocratic rhetoric that merely pays lip service to civilized norms. Let all pietistic denunciations be backed by affirmative action.”

Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is the most beloved person to the Muslim faithful, who have the view that on no account should anybody make a derogatory or disrespectful remark against him.

By Salisu Yusuf

When President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida created Katsina State in 1987, we were full of hopes and euphoria that this fledgeling state would fastly grow and prosper from the grips of a complex Kaduna State. The late singer Mamman Shata aptly captured this mood in his popular song “Allah raya Jihar Katsina.” Fortunately, successive military administrations of Governors Abdullahi Sarki Mukhtar (1987/88), Lawrence Onoja (1988/89), and John Madaki (1989/92) gave us the belief as Katsina became the envy of its neighbouring states. But then the curse of anointment sets in.

During the 1991 general elections, Alhaji Sa’idu Barda of NRC (who controversially became the governor) contested against Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’adua of SDP. The latter was so popular that no candidate could beat him in a free and fair poll, thanks to the social leverage his older brother, Alhaji Shehu Musa Yar’adua, wielded. 

Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’adua was about to win the contest when President Babangida intervened and asked the electoral commission to declare Sa’idu Barda the winner. 

President Babangida had a grudge against Shehu Musa ‘Ya’adua. Hence the annulment of the first presidential election in which the late ‘Yar’dua of SDP was leading. The rest, they say, is history. Even though Governor Sa’idu Barda was anointed, he was a gentleman though he lacked ideas and focus. 

From November 1993 to May 1999, during the rules of General Sani Abacha and General Abdulsalam Abubakar, there were three military governors: Emmanuel Acholono (1993/1996), Sama’ila Chama (1996/1998) and Joseph Akaagerger (1998/1999). They ruled but performed less than the first three crops of the military.

Governor Umaru Musa Yar’adua (1999/2007) was the only unanointed governor Katsina has had yet. Although he had his weak links, he was the people’s darling. Public service was politicised as PDP membership guaranteed the executives, political appointees and thugs to go beyond the ethical and the conventional.

Governor ‘Yar’adua (un)knowingly nurtured those politicians who introduced political brigandage in Katsina political space; late Abba Sayyadi Rumah, the immediate past secretary to the Katsina State Government, Alhaji Mustapha Inuwa, etc., were his political disciples. 

However, Governor Yar’adua spearheaded the transformation of the modern Katsina State. He built the famous Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, the new Katsina master plan, College of Legal, Daura, State Secretariat, Katsina Eye Center, Turai Hospital, etc. His legacies are numerous to mention.

Around 2014 when President Obasanjo singlehandedly anointed Late Governor ‘Yar’dua to contest the presidential seat during the 2015 General Election, he further asked ‘Yar’adua to field an unknown figure in the person of Alhaji Ibrahim Shema to contest the governorship seat. ‘Yar’adua had rooted for Alhaji Aminu Masari, the then speaker of the House of Representatives. Umaru had no choice but to oblige because he was also a product of anointment. Obasanjo was also settling a political score because, in 1999, Speaker Masari had vehemently opposed Obasanjo’s tenure elongation. 

Though Governor Shema too performed miracles, it was during his term that corruption was institutionalised. His subsequent trials under the EFCC concerning the Local Government Joint Account fund are a testimony. Shema was so arrogant and daring that he called those outside the PDP cockroaches who deserved to be killed if they interfered with election matters. 

Governor Masari was also a product of anointment though he was also a victim of anointment. During the 2014 APC primaries, the late Senator Kanti Bello was about to win the governorship ticket when the exercise was hijacked in favour of Masari by the so-called Abuja politicians. These people pressurised then General (retd.) Muhammadu Buhari to intervene. Subsequently, the election was skewed in favour of Masari. Late Senator Kanti could not forgive Masari until his sudden death in 2017. 

Legacies are hard to point out in the seven years of the current APC government. So many people taunt the government that its only legacies are the refurbished traffic circles (roundabouts) in Katsina and the painting of schools in APC colours. Katsina State is today indebted to the World Bank and the IMF.

However, one salient advantage of Masari’s government is political tolerance. The government has given the people the right to political affiliation, which was lacking during the PDP.

For Katsina, the anointment curse continues as Governor Masari points to Alhaji Abba Masanawa, the immediate past Managing Director of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, Abuja as his anointed successor. 

Only time will tell when Katsina will be free from the grips of anointment.

Salisu Yusuf wrote from Katsina via salisuyusuf111@gmail.com.