2015 and the succession question in Jigawa

There is no denying that Jigawa has been transformed for good since lamido took office.There is no sector that has not been turned around: road, health, education, small and medium enterprises, human capital development, you name it. Dutse, the state capital, which was more of a glorified local government headquarters, is now in the league […]

There is no denying that Jigawa has been transformed for good since lamido took office.
There is no sector that has not been turned around: road, health, education, small and medium enterprises, human capital development, you name it. Dutse, the state capital, which was more of a glorified local government headquarters, is now in the league of most modernized cities in the country.
However, I want to say that the time has come for the governor to make a “life’s time” decision that could make or mar both him and Jigawa vis-à-vis the future of millions of our children and generations yet unborn.
Having built a solid foundation for the socio-economic and political development of the New Jigawa, he has inadvertently set a New Order and standard in the state for future leaders.  A new paradigm which must both be protected and preserved for the greater good for the greatest number of our people who now live in hope for a more prosperous life in the future. This is necessary because the last six years has brought in a new life into our people.  
The decision Lamido must make is about who might succeed him as the number one citizen of Jigawa State come May 29th, 2015. It’s less than two years hence, but such a decision must be taken now, with utmost caution because if the wrong person is picked or endorsed, the consequences of the state will be far-reaching.
The multitude of sycophants who would say they are 101 per cent loyal to him should be avoided like the plague; they will not add a single thing of value to the legacy he has struggled so hard to establish. We are all witnesses to the fact that from 1999 to date, several examples abound in Nigeria of governors who installed their so-called loyalists as governors but ended up being betrayed just few months or even days after assuming office.
It will indeed be disastrous, calamitous and politically suicidal for Lamido to be succeeded by one who would make him lose his political grip after leaving power due to incompetence.
Sule Lamido was once a Minister of Foreign Affairs, from 1999 to 2003. During that time he, along with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, toured the world in efforts at redeeming Nigeria’s battered image as a result of prolonged military dictatorship culminating in the debt relief gain.
He has thus met and mingled with many world leaders and acquired the much-needed experience and exposure; as a result of which he cannot afford to fail to make the right decisions by choosing a worthy successor to be governor of Jigawa State in 2015.
Therefore in choosing that successor, I would advise that he considers someone who has no political baggage and is also acceptable to all sides and segments of the Jigawa society.
Someone who is matured minded politically and otherwise, who would listen to our people and also to his immediate predecessor so that the predecessor doesn’t lose grip after leaving office, someone who would consolidate on his (Lamido’s) numerous achievements.
Lamido should search wide and dig deep for someone who would sustain his good legacies but not one who would destroy it. He should instead look beyond those people who are desperate for power with hidden motive.
Lamido has raised the leadership bar so high that anyone who will succeed him should as a matter of necessity do as, or much more than, Lamido has done.  
Now that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is in serious crisis, it is very pertinent that a worthy successor emerges, someone who will unite the people because coming as it did, and the crisis has the tendency of leaving a very dusty past even after 2015, which will not augur well for us all.
Again, as we can see from what has been going on, Lamido seems to be disposed to reconciliation and returning to the mainstream PDP rather than leaving for other, potentially better alternative platforms, but feelers from and within the state indicate that our people are not in tune with such moves following the dismal performance of the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. Lamdio has started a fight which we all believe was not informed by selfish ambitions but a fight for our people, which we are all in support of; to retreat now would mean the Jigawa governor risking losing his reputation which he has built over a long time.
This is a battle and in which you don’t point a gun at your enemy and take it back because no matter how long it takes, the enemy would shoot you since the battle line has been drawn.

Abdullahi wrote in from Tudun Wada, Kaduna