The protest against Tallen

About two weeks ago, a sponsored group staged a protest against Dame Pauline Tallen, over her decision to contest election for the Senate. Those behind the incident cashed in the ignorance and poverty of some youths and sponsored them to stage a fruitless and futile protest, saying they don’t want Senate, but governorship of the […]

About two weeks ago, a sponsored group staged a protest against Dame Pauline Tallen, over her decision to contest election for the Senate.

Those behind the incident cashed in the ignorance and poverty of some youths and sponsored them to stage a fruitless and futile protest, saying they don’t want Senate, but governorship of the state.

That protest was totally uncalled for as Tallen has proven her mettle as the political amazon in Plateau State, a development which bothers her opponents.

In the build-up to the 2011 general elections where, as then Deputy Governor, she slugged it out with then Governor Jonah David Jang for the governorship of the state, many allegations were made against her. They alleged that if elected she would cede Jos North to the Hausa community, that she will Islamize the state, among several other issues.  In the build-up to the 2015 general elections too, as she nursed the ambition to vie for the senatorial seat of the southern senatorial zone of Plateau on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), some forces rose up against her.

Coming to this political dispensation, the same game of scuttling her ambition is being scripted by some persons.

The protesters said they don’t want the senatorial seat but the governorship of Plateau State, and that Tallen is a spoiler.

First and foremost, the protesters have admitted by their action that if Tallen is allowed to contest for the Senate, she will win.

The former governor of Plateau State, Jonah David Jang, was well accepted by the people of the Northern Senatorial District; that was why despite coming from the same district, local government and speaking the same dialect with his nephew, Gyang Nyam Shom Pwajok, the people immensely voted for GNS to fill the vacuum created by the death of Senator Gyang Dantong.

If Governor Lalong is very popular in the southern zone, Tallen’s ambition wouldn’t be a threat to him or anyone else. In fact, the issue of saying they want the governorship and not the Senate should not have arisen.  Secondly, the protesters and their sponsors should note that elective positions are decided at the polls and not by protests.  Rather than issue threats, they should concentrate on winning the delegates or wooing the congress to their side.

Furthermore, Shendam is only one out of the six local governments that constitute the Southern senatorial district and it cannot, alone, decide for the zone who to represent them at the Senate.

Protesting against Pauline Tallen, is equivalent to protesting against the choice of her teeming supporters and that is great injustice.

The sponsors of the protest are dictators and enemies of democracy. Another point raised was that Tallen is a spoiler, but in the real sense she is not. The protesters themselves are the spoilers. Tallen never told anyone not to support whoever they want, but they are the ones protesting against her constitutional right to contest for the Senate.

In any case, who told them that Tallen‘s ambition will spoil Lalong’s second term bid? Where did they get that information from?

How can one judge another on a perceived offence? Has Tallen actually spoilt Lalong’s chances for a second term? No! So why call her a spoiler? Finally, the overall protest by the sponsored youths is an attack on the federal government and an act of ingratitude.

Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari supported the agitation that women should be given one-third of the elective positions in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory. His wife, Dr. Aisha Buhari, is also agitating for one-third slot of elective positions to be given to women. It was on that premise that Dame Pauline Tallen decided to take a shot at the senatorial seat.

If there should be a state in Nigeria and local government that should support the cause of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government, it should be Plateau State and Shendam Local Government Area, because of the relationship between the president and the Plateau State governor.

I salute Dame Pauline Tallen, because even when the security operatives told her not to go in she insisted and went in and also met with the chairman of the APC in Shendam Local Government Area.

I urge all those who have issues with her to dialogue. Violence is never the answer. We must note that the world now is all about women inclusion in governance.

Shabul Mazadu can be reached at: [email protected]