Why Katsinawa won’t sing old songs

First, despite having held the very prestigious position of the number four man in the political pecking order in the country, Masari has not been able to develop, cultivate and project his own independent political identity in his own right. In 2003, he became Speaker from virtual political obscurity through the sponsorship of the then […]

First, despite having held the very prestigious position of the number four man in the political pecking order in the country, Masari has not been able to develop, cultivate and project his own independent political identity in his own right. In 2003, he became Speaker from virtual political obscurity through the sponsorship of the then Governor of Katsina State and later president of Nigeria, late Umaru Musa Yar’adua. When he ran for governor in 2011, he did so in the intimidating shadow of General Muhammadu Buhari who was then contesting for the presidency under the now-defunct CPC. By commission or omission, Masari made little or no effort to develop, nurture and project his own political identity in his own right.
Fast-forward to the present and Masari is again hoping to ride on the momentum of the personality of Buhari still. But he has failed to realize that the more he tries to latch onto the candidate of the day, the more Katsina voters become suspicious of his ability to lead and the less likely they are to invest their future in a political figure they could not define with certainty. Simply put, Masari, beyond being a “Buhari appendage” has not been able to give Katsina voters a tangible picture of himself, a personality they can identify with any empirical characteristics that are assuring. He seems to relax in the politically dubious comfort zone that being associated with Buhari is sufficient to guarantee victory. That is ancient thinking and might possibly work in a less-enlightened and less politically sophisticated society, but certainly not in Katsina.
The second important reason why Masari might not win is the Shema factor. Unlike Masari, Governor Shema, who was tutored and mentored by the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, quickly adapted right after becoming governor and stepped out to carve his own political identity without renouncing his association with Yar’Adua. That was why by the time the late leader passed away in 2009, Shema had already created a political image for himself in Katsina and indeed at the national level.
The third trajectory that would work to deny Masari victory in the next election is the intimidating performance of the eight-year administration of Shema. Although he was not known to have nurtured the ambition of becoming Governor before he was “conscripted” by Yar’Adua, he appeared to have come into the job with a plan that will easily compete for the best in the entire country. His policy and performance in education, agriculture, infrastructure–especially road networks–that have opened up and interconnected the entire 34 local councils in the state; his policy and performance in healthcare development; youth empowerment; the very delicate and all important issue of security wherein Katsina has become a small miracle of sorts; his financial prudence that has seen the state free of debt, have combined to make it difficult to fault Shema.
Somehow, the PDP in Katsina appears to have found their candidate for the governorship election. Apart from being a distinction student at all levels of his academic career, with at least two post graduate degrees to his credit, Engineer Musa Nashuni is the kind of fellow that is impossible not to pay attention to. He has no known political antagonists or baggage and he is also an insider and an influential part of the current administration. Taken together, these are the condensed reasons why it is impossible to imagine how Masari can surmount all these obstacles and actually beat Nashuni at the governorship elections in February. So, for some of us, it is impossible to imagine Engineer Nashuni losing to Masari. Come the 14th of this month, we’ll see about that.
Dahiru wrote in from Daura, Katsina State