Niger 2015: Between Nasko and Bello

As a concerned indigene from a senatorial district which has been zoned out, I find that competition not only amusing but also disturbing. Amusing because the aspirants are both members of the same circle and from the same district and resorting to malicious character assassination, as is the case with a particular camp, obviously with […]

As a concerned indigene from a senatorial district which has been zoned out, I find that competition not only amusing but also disturbing. Amusing because the aspirants are both members of the same circle and from the same district and resorting to malicious character assassination, as is the case with a particular camp, obviously with the approval of their principal, is a low point in any political engagement.
A friend of mine once joked that the only manifesto the opposition party in Niger State has succeeded in presenting is a document that declares their fear of the moving train that is Umar Nasko, and I believe him. Every day it has always been a graduation from one “scandal” to another “controversy” in their fabrications to embarrass him, all according to them to frustrate his ambition and turn the people against him. Strangely, he not only won the primary election, despite their witch-hunts, but every of their efforts and attempts to smear Nasko has only made him more popular.
The difference between Abu Lolo and Umar Nasko is something too obvious even for non-resident Nigerlites who are not keen about politics. Abu Lolo is incurably elitist and inaccessible to the people he’s aspiring to govern. The only place he’s easily seen is at Polo fields in Kaduna, which is more like his main base, and in the circle of some high-class friends landing in Minna Airport on private jets, while his people only see and “interact” with him on surfaces of his many billboards and posters across the State.
In terms of street credibility, Nasko has shamed the opposition. He’s devised effective grassroots mobilization strategies going from towns to towns and villages to villages, interacting with people to really understand their wants and needs and also assuring them of his government’s intention to carry them along.  But, thankfully, it stands right now in the state, the contest is between issue and non-issue, between reality and pretence, between popularity and envy, between humility and arrogance, between a people’s choice and a condescending aspirant.   
Aminu can be reached at [email protected]