Politicians and their day of reckoning

Recent political activities and campaigns in the state organized by the incumbent governor Aliyu Akwe Doma, who is seeking second term in office and his two major challengers, Umaru Tanko Almakura, the gubernatorial candidate of the CPC and Nawani Aboki, the gubernatorial candidate of   th Labour Party, are worthy of note. Governor Doma campaigned seriously […]

Recent political activities and campaigns in the state organized by the incumbent governor Aliyu Akwe Doma, who is seeking second term in office and his two major challengers, Umaru Tanko Almakura, the gubernatorial candidate of the CPC and Nawani Aboki, the gubernatorial candidate of   th Labour Party, are worthy of note.

Governor Doma campaigned seriously from local government to local government, from zone to zone and from house to house. Before the governor personally embarked on his campaign tours, his party, PDP, had set the campaign tone for him by constituting a reconciliatory committee to pacify its aggrieved members who contested one position or the other and were denied tickets due to lack of internal democracy in the party. However, nothing was heard of the committee’s visits to various communities, traditional rulers and those who contested various positions during the last primaries. It was reliably gathered that the committee which syndicated itself to the three zones in the state, saw what their eyes would not want to and their ears heard what they would not want to hear.

Governor Doma again met with ethnic groups such as the Eggons, Madas, Igbos, Hausa-Fulanis and lastly, his kinsmen, the Alagos. All the meetings were heralded by low turnout of the electorate who are the major stakeholders in this case.

A key lesson all politicians should learn is that there is a day of reckoning when they have to face the electorate and give account of their stewardship. To me, that is the issue defining the gubernatorial elections that will be taking place in a week’s time. Certainly, governor Doma has a lot of challenges ahead of him at the polls. The handwriting is very clear on the wall with the wind of change certainly blowing in Nasarawa State.

Yakubu Adagbo writes from Nasarawa.