PDP and Kebbi 2015: Before it is too late

Prior to that, some political jobbers were commissioned to intimidate the then President Olusegun Obasanjo with a dummy of an unrivalled political credentials and prowess of Alhaji Aliero. Expectedly, Obasanjo and the Wadata House fell for the trap and mistook Adamu Aliero for an invincible political icon and grandmaster, not only in Kebbi but the […]

Prior to that, some political jobbers were commissioned to intimidate the then President Olusegun Obasanjo with a dummy of an unrivalled political credentials and prowess of Alhaji Aliero.
Expectedly, Obasanjo and the Wadata House fell for the trap and mistook Adamu Aliero for an invincible political icon and grandmaster, not only in Kebbi but the entire North-West. In receiving him, the PDP and power brokers in Abuja decided to sacrifice the entire family in Kebbi State. The then governor was favoured to take over virtually the entire PDP structure in the state, including the governorship ticket which had already been won by Alhaji Bello Ibrahim Gwandu at the party primaries. Aliero did not stop at that, he sent all the founders and those who toiled and nurtured the PDP to greatness parking and replaced them with his cronies.
Soon afterwards, unqualified members took over the leadership of the PDP, from wards to state levels. Major stakeholders and original party leaders watched in utter frustration and helplessness as undeserving members were given elective positions. Aliero also unilaterally anointed his protégé, Alhaji Saidu Usman Nasamu Dakingari as his successor. The PDP had to grant Dakingari waiver and automatic ticket to contest the governorship election on the platter of gold after barely two weeks in the party. The PDP family in Kebbi, however, accepted the verdict and rallied round Dakingari and massively voted him to office in the 2007 general elections.
It is noteworthy that prior to the 2007 elections, Saidu Dakingari was a dark horse, an untested and complete political novice, a situation that increased fears amongst the entire PDP family. Fortunately, however, within the first one year of his tenure, Governor Dakingari fell out with his master and started to reorganise the existing party structure, and in the process, accommodated some original party members.
That singular act endeared the governor to the original party members, wiping out their fears. In return, they gave him total support in his second term bid in 2011.
For the first time in the history of Nigeria’s politics, a governor was elected without opposition from either within his party or the opposition parties. It was anticipated that Governor Dakingari would reciprocate such magnanimity, but his administration is devoid of political vibrancy and glamour.
Among other anomalies, politicians became jobless and economically incapacitated, civil service and local government administrations were left to decay. Favouritism, nepotism and misplacement of priorities became the order of the day. Imposition and unilateral appointments to both public and elective positions took centre stage.
As everybody patiently awaits the expiration of the Dakingari administration, and as political gladiators and major actors are warming up for the 2015 general elections, rumours began to filter that he has decided to anoint a successor from outside the political circle. Initially, it was dismissed as wild rumour. Even when the said anointed candidate started parading himself and publicly proclaiming to be anointed by the governor, politicians did not take him seriously, rather he was dismissed as a seeker of cheap publicity or testing the grounds. It was not until the governor himself confirmed to the public that the General was indeed anointed that the public took it seriously and politicians considered the development as too dangerous for silence.
When the General finally took a state-wide tour of the emirate councils in company of some governor’s associates, especially when a local government chairman who is intimate to the governor took a rented crowd to pay solidarity visit to the retired General, it was further confirmed that the deal was indeed sealed.
It is still not clear why the governor has preferred a successor outside the political circle, or better still, those who are known to be very loyal and capable.
Shall we conclude that Dakingari does not trust those who supported him and worked assiduously for his success? Does that mean there is no trustworthy candidate in the entire PDP family in Kebbi State? How does he intend to rally support for his anointed General? Does he expect the political elite to support his anointed General at the expense of their collective interest?
It is reported that royal fathers in the state are not comfortable with the choice of the General because he is a prince whose lineage is eligible to rule the Gwandu Emirate; hence the emir may not be comfortable with him as state chief executive. Secondly, he is an in-law to a Yauri prince who contested the throne with the current emir and lost. There are other reasons why the royal fathers are not comfortable with the choice of the General, but the governor has ignored them, just as he has ignored other calls against his anointed successor.
It is expected that the governor would hearken to the voice of stakeholders before it is too late. No one needs to be reminded of the enormous influence of the groups that form the resistance to the choice of General Sarkin Yaki Bello as the anointed PDP gubernatorial candidate in the state. For instance, every emir is in perfect command of the traditional institution in his domain. The ward heads, village heads, district heads and other traditional title holders have greater roles to play in the electoral process.
The political elite have a direct connection with Wadata House and those who matter in Abuja politics. That is apart from the enormous resources at their disposal. The party leadership and other members of the family in the state are of great consequence when it comes to contact and mobilisation. They are the foot soldiers and the link between the electorate and candidates. In fact, they are the custodians and determinants of success or otherwise of any political arrangement. To ignore these important political variables is to say the least, a political suicide.
Usman wrote from Nasamu Foundation Secretariat, Jega Road, Birnin Kebbi