PDP and the new mercenaries
Mischievous petition writing by faceless individuals or organizations that lack any iota of credibility is a needless distraction, which is not good for our democracy. Resort to falsehoods to bring down formidable opponents because we have no superior credentials to match them has been the common practice among politicians who have nothing to offer. Healthy […]
Mischievous petition writing by faceless individuals or organizations that lack any iota of credibility is a needless distraction, which is not good for our democracy. Resort to falsehoods to bring down formidable opponents because we have no superior credentials to match them has been the common practice among politicians who have nothing to offer. Healthy competition demands putting forward better credentials to convince or persuade the people that you are more qualified for particular political office.
With the PDP national chairmanship up for grabs, some aspirants have already started negative campaigns against those they perceive as formidable rivals for the much-coveted position. Political campaigns should be based on cultured persuasion and formidable credentials and not dirty tricks. Experience has always shown that those who use blackmail to attain office rather than competence usually display the worst cases of ineptitude when elected.
Recently, a mercenary group that calls itself Justice and Equity Advocacy Centre, led by a self-styled “lawyer” Tunde Orimoloye, emerged from nowhere to write a petition to President Goodluck Jonathan, asking him to stop former Governor Adamu Mu’azu of Bauchi State from contesting the PDP national chairmanship. The group claimed that Mu’azu’s ambition is “provocative and an affront on the sensibilities of PDP members from his (Mu’azu’s) immediate constituency of Bauchi State .” Even a moron could easily see through this stupid trick. By their names, they gave themselves away as mercenaries rather than genuine stakeholders from the Northeast political zone.
The grounds of their petition are that Mu’azu is facing a 10-year-ban from holding public office and that he was indicted by the EFCC. According to them, former Governor Mu’azu also failed to prove himself as “a good administrator” while in office. If the chairman of this fake and obscure advocacy organization is truly speaking for stakeholders in the northeast and is a lawyer as he claims to be, he should tell Nigerians when Mu’azu was formally convicted by any court based on EFCC indictment. Only the court of law can convict a person and thus declare him unfit to hold office.
On the 10-year-ban on the former governor, this self-styled lawyer should not forget the politics behind the issue. In Kano State , former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau had banned his predecessor from holding office and kwankwaso had to go to court to assert his right as the citizen of Nigeria . Former FCT Minister, Nasir el-Rufai, did the same thing when the National Assembly banned him from holding office for 50 years. The court ruled in el-Rufai’s favour, saying that the lawmakers had no power banning him from holding office or serving his country which breached his constitutional right. This group has also failed to tell Nigerians whether any court validated the 10-year-ban on former Governor Mu’azu.
As God would have it, Kwankwaso is now back as the Governor of Kano State against the wishes of those who had wanted to use the ban to scuttle his ambition. It seems this group doesn’t have the slightest idea of what is happening in Bauchi State politically, socially and economically. Their ignorance is on ridiculous display. Where did the so-called Equity Centre get the idea that former Governor Muazu “failed to prove himself a good administrator?”
It is doubtful if this group has ever visited Bauchi State during former Governor Muazu’s eight years tenure.
If the northeast must consolidate its efforts to produce the next PDP national chairman, then we don’t need the intervention of faceless mercenary groups that are totally ignorant of our situation and needs. Any politician that truly loves the progress of Bauchi State in particular and the northeast at large shouldn’t associate himself with people whose interest is mainly to cause division, disunity and disaffection among us. It is only recently that Governor Isa Yuguda and FCT Minister, Bala Mohammed, were reported to have reconciled, which is heart-warming news to our people. The people of Bauchi State are looking forward to a similar fraternal reconciliation between former Governor Muazu and incumbent Governor Isa Yuguda. Without unity among the PDP family in Bauchi State and the entire northeast zone, the party’s national chairmanship may slip out of their grasp.
Disunity and mutual destruction is the first step to ruining our political interest. How does the northeast produce the next PDP national chairman when its politicians are looking at ways to destroy one another, which will make them play into the hands of those seeking to deny the zone the chairmanship?
In the spirit of common and collective interest, the people of the northeast should unite and produce a formidable candidate that can provide effective leadership for the PDP. A house divided against itself cannot stand. Political leaders in Bauchi State and the northeast in general should forget about personal vengeance or bickering and instead focus on the common goal of producing the next national chairman of the party.
Darazo wrote from 23 B, Lugbe Housing Estate, Abuja . [email protected]