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APRIL 2, 2007 VOL. 20. NO 25 |
Set to Break a Jinx?
By Suleiman Anyalewechi, Kano part from priding itself as the commercial nerve centre of the North, Kano State can equally be regarded by not a few as the political hub of the region. From the status of shaping the political direction of the North, it has, of recent, gradually secured for itself the image of a state which cannot be governed twice by any one person. Either by design and or accident no person has governed the state twice since its creation in 1967. Perhaps in keeping with this, the state in 2003 went down in history as the only one in the country where the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was ousted from power by the rival All Nigerian People’s Party (ANPP). But political events in the last two weeks indicate that the trend, which many have come to perceive as a jinx may be consigned to the dustbin of history by the incumbent governor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau come April, 2007. The Source’s findings, indeed,revealed that embattled Governor Shekarau may be the ultimate beneficiary of a series of political intrigues and animosity rocking the ranks of the three major political parties in Kano, namely the PDP, ANPP and Action Congress (AC). Although he recently escaped the hammer of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) by the whiskers, Shekarau on April 11 sent jitters down the spines of his rivals, when against all political permutations and expectations, he attracted an unprecedented crowd to the formal flag -off of his re-election campaign at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano. Before then, many had thought that the embattled governor would be consumed by the EFCC and INEC ‘inferno,’ having initially made the list of persons indicted by the anti-graft commission for corruption. His political rivals had, in fact, earlier petitioned the EFCC, alleging that Governor Shekarau had soiled his hands in several corrupt activities including the award of a four billion naira fertilizer contract in 2003, without regard to due process and subsequently pressed for his disqualification as a candidate at the April polls. However, he was cleared by the electoral body, which penultimate week made public its list of persons cleared to contest the 2007 general elections. Addressing the crowd that graced the flag -off of his campaign, Governor Shekarau stated that with his clearance by INEC, his detractors have been put to shame, noting that despite the relentless efforts of some people whom he described as unscrupulous to stop his return bid, his party, the ANPP still chose him as its gubernatorial candidate. “Those who don’t want us to be where we are today have been shamed as we have seen today. Whatever that was done to the late Malam Aminu Kano was done to me by enemies who do not want us to be here,” Shekarau noted. He, therefore, called on the people to be ready to face the daunting task ahead in the next elections by way of working hard to ensure success at the polls. Although several factors appear to favour Governor Shekarau’s return bid, the political in-fighting and disagreement within the rank of his main rivals, the PDP remains, perhaps, his biggest electoral asset. The PDP was plunged into what has become an irresolvable crisis some months back by the entry of former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso into the Kano State gubernatorial race. His entry instantly pitched him not only against all the aspirants who never thought he would join them in the race, but lots of other PDP chieftains and major stakeholders. The former minister’s efforts to get the support and understanding of the aspirants, most of who alleged that they were encouraged to contest by Kwankwaso himself, met a brickwall. Although he finally won the primaries ahead of the other aspirants, the acrimony occasioned by the development, instead of abating escalated, with almost all the other aspirants vowing to distance themselves, both from Kwankwaso’s candidacy and the PDP. Their anger, The Source’s finding reveal, was rooted more in their feeling of betrayal by a person whom they all perceived as a father and leader. The situation was, however, worsened about two months ago following the dropping of the former Defence Minister as the PDP gubernatorial flag- bearer by the party hierarchy on account of his indictment for alleged corrupt activities in 2003 by the Kano State government. In a move which jolted not a few, the party, allegedly on the advice of Kwankwaso went outside the ranks of the other aspirants who contested the primaries, to pick a replacement. The aspirants had insisted that Kwankwaso’s replacement would only be supported if chosen from their rank. But despite their protest, the party settled for Alhaji Ahmad Garba Bichi, who was earlier chosen as Kwankwaso’s running mate. This development, The Source authoritatively gathered, was the last straw that broke the party’s back in the state, as almost all the aspirants recoiled into their shells. It was gathered that all the aspirants after series of meetings resolved among other things not to work for the success of the PDP in the state, by way of not making their personal funds available for the party’s campaigns. Their decision not to make personal funds available was said to have been informed by the alleged claim by Kwankwaso of being the one taking care of the party since 2003 when it lost power in the state. The Source equally learnt that the other aspirants are not also willing to work for the success of the PDP in the state owing to the need to protect their political careers. According to one also of them, the success of the party in the state, as things are presently, is a victory for the Kwankwaso over all the other stakeholders in the PDP, especially the other aspirants. He noted that going by the dictatorial tendencies of the former Defence Minister in the running of the affairs of the party, a victory for PDP in the state would ultimately mean the political death of the other aspirants “He Kwankwaso in his usual arrogant manner would then claim credit for everything and see others as people who are inconsequential. He would not stop there. For having the courage to contest the primaries with him, he would then use the opportunity to take his pound of flesh by blocking everybody from being appointed into any office, both in the state and at the federal levels,” The Source was told. Indeed, while many stakeholders and some aspirants are said to be worried about the overbearing influence of Kwankwaso on the party, others are believed to be greatly embittered by the choice of Bichi as Kwankwaso’s replacement. According to some sources close to the party, some of the aspirants are yet– and appear not ready– to come to terms with the choice of some -one who never bough nomination form, never campaigned and never contested, over and above them that fulfilled all the conditions. They are said to be of the believe that supporting and working for the party’s victory in Kano is akin to encouraging injustice. “My feeling is that we (the PDP) should lose the election, thereafter we would learn to follow the path of justice and fair play” one of the aspirants said. The Source’s findings revealed last week that most of the party’s stakeholders including the aspirants have resolved to concentrate on the presidential election, having lost hope of the PDP winning the Kano state gubernatorial election. A chieftain of the party from one of the North west states put the situation succinctly: “The truth of the matter is that as things are, there is no way the PDP would win Kano, state. The problem with the party is Kwankwaso. He does not want the party to grow in the state. He prefers to run a small empire, because he is afraid that he would lose control if the party is allowed to grow. Look at the AC (Action congress) in Kano over 90 per cent of its members were PDP members. Kwankwaso drove them away. And now, look at the way he mismanaged the party’s gubernatorial primaries”. According to him, the primary concern of the PDP in Kano for now is to ensure that the AC does not win the election, as that would signal the end of the PDP in the state. He further stated that a victory for the AC in the state would ultimately throw up the likes of Abubakar Rimi and Musa Gwadabe as heroes– a situation which he fears would greatly diminish the PDP. “A damage caused by the victory of ANPP would be more manageable, than that caused by the victory of AC,” he noted. Only penultimate week, confronted with the hard reality of the recarious situation of the PDP in Kano, President Olusegun Obasanjo summoned all the gubernatorial aspirants, including Kwankwaso to Aso Rock for an urgent meeting. The Source authoritatively gathered that the president convened the meeting after receiving the report of the party’s reconciliation committee sent to broker a truce in Kano, which clearly showed that the PDP would never win Kano. Particularly, senator Isaiah Balat and Governor Ahmed Makarfi of Kaduna (the enissaries) were said to have clearly told Obasanjo that it would be difficult for the party to win Kano owing to the differences existing between Kwankwaso and the other aspirants. Although the aspirants were said to have promised their support and co-operation after President Obasanjo pleaded with them, The Source reliably gathered that most of them have sworn never to give any cooperation beyond the level of the presidential election. In fact, it was learnt that “the close your pocket” refrain still holds sway as far as the gubernatorial battle is the state in concerned, with some of them said to be working for the ANPP underground. In deed, with most aggrieved PDP members not feeling comfortable with a possible AC victory in Kano, many political observers believe that Malam Shekarau may be the ultimate beneficiary of the internal wrangling in the PDP. Besides, even within the AC itself, The Source’s findings revealed last week that not a few members and chieftains are fronting for the ANPP and are likely to throw their weight behind the re-election bid of Shekarau at the last minute. It was gathered that the AC apart from the purported alliance with the ANPP, would be more at home with an ANPP victory in Kano than that of the PDP. Although some of its chieftains like Rimi and Ghali Na’Abba have been criticising Shekarau sporadically, they are nevertheless believed to prefer an ANPP victory to that of PDP when it comes to a matter of choice. Like the PDP chieftains, the AC stalwarts, equally see the victory of the PDP in Kano as being capable of signaling the end of their political careers. Similarly, Shekarau’s return bid is believed to be enjoying the support of the traditional institution in the state. Although seen as the father of all , Shekarau since coming into power in 2003 has been enjoying the support of the Kano Emirate Council. His pet project, “Adaidatasahu,” a society re-orientation programme has the Emir as its chairman, with the revered royal father partaking in its launching in all the local councils of the state. Even the formal protest by the rival PDP against the participation of the Emir in the spread of the programme, which it perceives as partisan, has not distanced the traditional ruler from the programme. Defending the involvement of the Emir in the programme, the Emirate council noted that the Emir being the custodian of the religious and moral values of the people is duty -bound to identify with any policy geared towards creating and sustaining high moral standards in the society. The Source was reliably informed that Kano Emirate appears to be more comfortable with the ANPP government in the state than itwas with the PDP under Kwankwaso. It was gathered, for instance, that during the regime of Kwankwaso between 1999 and 2003, the palace did not find the disposition of Kwankwaso to the council funny. Their frosty relationship peaked sometimes in 2002 when Kwankwaso allegedly summoned the Emir to Government House for a meeting at about 12 midnight. An enraged Emir was said to have delegated Kwankwaso’s father the District Head of Madobi– by extension a member of Emirate Council– to represent him. Kwankwaso’s father, on arrival at the Government House was said to have severely chided Kwankwaso for daring to summon the old Emir for a meeting at that time of the day. Sources revealed that the Emirate has been working for the return bid of Shekarau, using some moslem clerics, district heads and opinion leaders in the state. In fact, penultimate week, Alhaji Bashir Tofa, the former presidential candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) lent credence to this when in an address at the flag -off of Shekarau’s campaign, he said the palace has directed the people of the state to vote for the ANPP in the April general elections. As at the time of filing this report last Wednesday, the palace was yet to debunk the claim. However, Shekarau’s chances of succeeding where his predecessor failed is threatened by his alleged political differences with some of his political godfathers, especially General Muhammadu Buhari, who played a key role in his electoral victory in 2003. From an initial speculation, the frosty relationship between the twosome blew open some weeks back following Buhari’s open opposition to the return bid of Shekarau. In fact, Buhari and some of his key aides were said to have spearheaded the now botched attempt to disqualify Shekarau from contesting the 2003 polls. Authoritative sources revealed that Buhari’s aides allegedly mounted pressure on the EFCC, INEC and other relevant authorities to indict and disqualify Shekarau. The embattled governor was said to have been saved by some power brokers and top federal government officials, including allegedly some PDP governors who mounted pressure on President Obasanjo to discard and disregard the petition against Shekarau, As at last week, indications appeared that the duo of Buhari and Shekarau may have finally decided to part ways for good following the resolve of supporters of the latter to withdraw their support for the former. Before the March 11, 2007 campaign flag -off by Shekarau, the popular slogan was “Kano sai Malam, Nigeria sai Buhari (Kano for Malam Shekarau Nigeria for Buhari). However for now, the slogan has changed to: Kano sai malam, Nigeria sai mai rabo (Kano for malam, Nigeria for the lucky person). In fact, Tofa who is also the chairman of the state ANPP elders forum, had during his address at the March 11 rally told the people to vote for all ANPP candidates for all positions and vote for anybody they prefer for the president. According to him, the people of Kano should no longer wait for “a stranger” (Buhari) to dictate to them regarding who to vote for or not. Indeed, many observers believe that with the deep discord within the ranks of the rival PDP, whatever political differences between Buhari and Shekarau would prove too insignificant to stop the return bid of the latter. |
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