Katsina Bye-Election: A gift for Buhari

The Katsina Central Federal Constituency bye-election was held last Saturday August 8, 2015. The election was necessitated by the death of the member representing Katsina Central in the House of Representatives, Sheikh Umar. He won the election while sick. Primaries were held for the contending parties. The PDP presented its candidate without any contention despite […]

The Katsina Central Federal Constituency bye-election was held last Saturday August 8, 2015. The election was necessitated by the death of the member representing Katsina Central in the House of Representatives, Sheikh Umar. He won the election while sick.
Primaries were held for the contending parties. The PDP presented its candidate without any contention despite the fact that it called on all candidates to freely contest, but due to the situation the party found itself in the state, and indeed across the country the response was poor.
Mukhtar Kabir Usman was the only one who contested. Due to his kind of lifestyle, people did not know that he is a brother to the Emir of Katsina, Abdulmumin Kabir Usman, until the time he decided to contest. He was a university lecturer at a Malaysian university; the same university Mukhtar once invited President Muhammadu Buhari to deliver a lecture.
Similarly, CPN presented a sole candidate while APC paraded four candidates during the primaries namely: Alhaji AbdulAziz Musa Yar’adua (Audu Soja), Yusuf Sule Mai Yawo, Khalil Ibrahim Aminu and Alhaji Sani Aliyu Danlami.
Failure to arrive at a consensus resulted in Sani Danlami’s overwhelming victory. Some political analysts alleged that it was done deliberately to divide the votes of Audu Soja’s Camp.
There are 12 wards in Katsina Central, out of which Sani Danlami was said to have a firm grip of 4. The question is: who was the brain and force behind the decision of Sani Danlami to contest? On whose platform and goodwill was his victory hinged?
Investigation revealed that there were other aspirants to the seat, but who were told to step down. Among them were Alhaji Abu Kari, former Katsina local government chairman and an influential politician in Katsina. Why was Sani Danlami not advised to step down? This question was so persistent as a result of many issues surrounding his status to contest in the politics of a great city such as Katsina.
This might have been informed by the campaign of calumny before the election, where some people were demanding the election of a representative from the poor class. The campaign seemed targeted at Mukhtar Kabir who is from the royal family.
Anyone who is very familiar with the historical development of Katsina and the calibre of personalities it has produced in the fields of knowledge, politics and governance would hope and expect a well-bred and rightly-chiselled representative that will make the state and its people proud, and as well take it to a higher status.
All the parties fielded qualified candidates.  PDP candidate Mukhtar Kabir Usman is a university lecturer in Malaysia, associate professor, an academician of high repute. His political writing and academic endeavours have proved him a great personality.
The candidate of the APC, who eventually won, Sani Aliyu Danlami, has a diploma that he recently acquired. He had spent years in the opposition party and had been the administrative secretary of the APC in Katsina State. But there are issues about his political conducts over the years. The case is still being investigated by relevant security agencies.
For the fact that the president hails from the state, the party could not afford to lose the seat and disgrace him in his own base. For this reason all efforts were geared towards ensuring that the APC candidate wins, to please President Buhari and his party. However, the people had sent an implied message through abstaining from the election.
The percentage of those who voted and those who abstained was very glaring, which made it the most abstained bye-election in Nigeria’s history.
Statistics by the Independent National Electoral Commission in Katsina revealed that 208,000 registered at Katsina Central federal constituency, while those who voted last week were only a little above 27,000. The APC candidate had about 21,000 votes; the PDP had about 5,000 votes and CPN the rest votes.
This has sent a great message to the ruling party in the state. It is just like saying, ‘this is a gift to you Muhammadu Buhari, not that we are contended with the candidate Mr. President, we will not just disgrace you’. 
Danjuma Katsina, a writer and journalist sent in this piece from Katsina. email: [email protected]