2011 Elections: A time for reflection in Katsina State

The upset caused by this new political party was enough to send jitters in the spine of any sitting governor. All political pundits gave the victory to the CPC and that his days as a governor was numbered. Prior to the 2011 general elections and two years after the 2007 elections, several politically manipulated decisions, […]

The upset caused by this new political party was enough to send jitters in the spine of any sitting governor. All political pundits gave the victory to the CPC and that his days as a governor was numbered. Prior to the 2011 general elections and two years after the 2007 elections, several politically manipulated decisions, were taken by a cabal that had forced itself as Alpha and Omega in the decision making process of the state.

These powerful politicians who were before the 2011 elections controlling the ears and eyes of Governor Shema clinically and dangerously created a vacuum through macabre ways and manipulative advises to prevent the governor from expanding his political influence in many parts of the state.

At the state House of Assembly, where one of them control the helms of affairs, Shema became inaccessible to even lawmakers themselves and was forced to become a shadow of himself who could only be reached through these power brokers. Soon, he began to lose the confidence of some of the most reliable and trusted politicians in their various communities, a deliberate vacuum was, therefore, created.

This lacuna continued towards the elections period when the same forces collaborated to, not only again manipulate the processes in both party primaries and congresses, but they worked so hard to divide the governor from the constituents.

Soon, there began to be an increased widening gap between the electorate whose representative (formally and informally) were blocked from having access to the governor by this cabal and the governor himself, was, therefore, seen by the people to be digressing from people’s servant to a dictator, who cold not be accessed.

This unfortunate and deliberate creation by this cabal made it difficult, and many times, impossible for genuine relationship that can be beneficial to the state and the government to materialize, thereby, further creating a gulf of discontent among the electorate in the state.

These manipulative tendencies soon widened to affect several facets of governance in the state where this same cabal succeeded in preverding the governor from having access to the public domain, as well as to genuine advises that could propel the state forward.

The public soon began developing cold feet about the government despite having tremendous hope and trust on its ability to deliver, as seen in the countless developmental projects it had been able to achieve within the first tenure of the administration.

This same cabal on the other hand, had developed a hidden agenda that relegated the development of the state and its people to the background. Their mischievous acts became so imminent that when the party congresses approached, they used their closeness to the governor to further create crises that further divided the party and depleted it of some of its great assets.

This was the beginning of the political crises that enveloped the PDP before the general elections and everyone, including the governor, later became aware of the seeming burden, rather than assets, that this cabal had become in his administration.

When the elections started, the people dealt a deadly blow on all members of this cabal as a message to the government that their presence is an enormous burden that could bring the government down, if not for their belief in the capacity of the governor himself.

The results of the National Assembly elections sent a clear message that the cabal was really a burden and not an asset, hence the total defeat of some of these cabals in their various constituencies.

The loss of traditional constituencies such as Mashi/Dutse, Sandamu/Daura, Funtua/Dandume and several others and the defeat of some of these cabals, sent serious jitter down the spine of every PDP member and a clear message, too, that the cabal can be dealt with by the same people they denied the dividends of democracy through their manipulative tendencies.

Fortunately, however, the political sagacity and maturity of the Katsina people came to the fore when, against all political pundits, they elected for the second term, Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema while voting out almost all members of these cabal who had generated bad blood, blocked genuine development, and took the governor himself to ransom throughout the last four years.

Their overwhelming land slide votes  for the governor and total rejection of the members of the cabal is another message to the governor that a burden that could not add any value but rather, nearly caused disaster, must give way to people of impeccable integrity in the next government.

Already after losing elections, members of this cabal are working tirelessly to get back to a government they nearly crushed with their incompetence, as commissioners, advisers or for membership of boards and parastatals.

The call to the governor, therefore, became imminent to every citizen of the state who wishes him and the state well in the next four years.

For any avoidance of doubt, for the governor to continue to succeed, he must close the door on members of this cabal and prove to all that his commitment to the greatness of the state is paramount to any personal consideration to friends or relatives.

This cabal are not friends to the governor, neither do they have the state at heart. Their defeat at the elections by the people is enough to place them in the right place they deserve in the scheme of things in the state.

The next government must be of people with vision, people who have worked and proven their worth since the beginning of this government in 2007, those who sacrificed to see to the emergence of the government from the beginning. It cannot be business as usual for this cabal for their end has since arrived when the people said no to them, and as we all know, the governor is a listening person and will surely listen to the April message.

Ahmed Sani Kagara writes from Katsina and can be reached @ [email protected]