The new bride of Borno politics?

Now, they know better. As the newest pleasant entrant their political consciousness, the people of Borno state tend to see the CPC in the light of an institution capable of providing a platform to bring about change in a political arena that has pauperized and rendered them as destitutes in a country blessed with all […]

Now, they know better. As the newest pleasant entrant their political consciousness, the people of Borno state tend to see the CPC in the light of an institution capable of providing a platform to bring about change in a political arena that has pauperized and rendered them as destitutes in a country blessed with all the resources but which lacks the right leadership.

 The two most powerful political parties in the state, the ANPP and the PDP have no doubt, caught cold. The ANPP in particular, which has been in power in the state since 1999 and which is largely seen as retrogressive in nature and context. A lot of observers of political events in the state have always held onto the belief that the ANPP in Borno has always exploited the internal contradictions and the anti-party antics of the PDP to win elections and with no other credible parties, the ANPP continues to have field days.

The PDP would have given the ANPP a good run for its money if it had knitted itself together and had fully utilised its formidability. It arrayed about the best fighting force and war chest in the country with the presence of heavyweights who should have ordinarily been an asset but whose personal ambition and pettiness has ruined what could have been a one- sided affair. The people of the state were left with no option than to make do with the lesser evil which the ANPP represents. Instead of putting their lot with a PDP that is clearly in a permanent state of crisis, they preferred to identify with an ANPP that is populated by political dregs and profiteers who have cornered and concentrated the resources of the state in the hands of very few family members to the chagrin of the majority. So when Buhari’s CPC made its in-road, it met a people who have yearned for respite for too long. The fact that it is Buhari’s party made the music even sweeter. The idea is that there is an option to choose from. This option, backed by the well respected General Buhari tend to send the danger signals to the slave takers of Borno politics, a signal that the days of political impunity and brigandage are over.

Hussaini Monguno wrote from Maiduguri. E-mail: [email protected]