Against the backdrop of rising political threats in the polity, Nigeria
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| *Buhari |
Palpable tension is gradually building up and
at the centre of it all, is the ruling All Progressives Congress. At a
rally held by the APC faction of Kano Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje in the
state on Tuesday, January 30, 2018, hundreds of youth were seen brandishing
various kinds of weapons.
The pictures were scary and beyond imagination. Cudgels, cutlasses,
knives, daggers and other dangerous weapons have replaced brooms, widely-known
symbol of the APC in
Having studied the character of Nigerian
election cycle since 1999, I believe it is unlikely there will be a let-off in
the rising tension in the political space. The state has vacillated too much;
and, there is always no proactive mechanism in place to arrest this dangerous
slide in elections season. The usual last-minute interventions by
stakeholders to douse tension always come too late. This time round, the
situation is not helped by a recent comment by President Muhammadu Buhari that
he is not in a hurry to do anything.
At a time when forces of evil are virtually
encircling the country; when killings and threats from Fulani herdsmen are
agitating the nation and putting it under constant threat of food terrorism;
when Boko Haram is still a present threat; when things are not looking good for
the ordinary Nigerians; it is regrettable and worrisome that the President is
unperturbed and has had the comfort of mind to tell Nigerians not to expect him
to act with dispatch.
I will always reflect on historical
antecedents, he said. There is no doubt that Nigerians expect a better attitude
from Buhari, who has seen it all at over 75.
Political desperation is rising. The
reported demolition of PDP secretariat located at Dandal Way , Maiduguri
Initially, we thought the threats were part of
the usual persecutions we have been facing all these years but when the
Governor revoked the building’s certificate of occupancy, we knew his
desperation to take us out has taken a new dimension, said Baba Isa, a PDP chieftain.
The owner of the building that was recently
acquired by the PDP was said to have come under intense pressure from the state
government to revoke a lease agreement with the opposition party, but he did
not budge. Certainly, this is a desperation taking too far.
Although, the party has said this sudden
strategy to silence us won’t work, but we should be perturbed that this can
unsettle the polity. Borno State Governor Ibrahim Shettima should be very wary
of allowing politics to feed on insecurity in his state.
Power is very transient in a democracy, and
there is every possibility he could be at the receiving end tomorrow. This
gathering storm is unhelpful to anyone.
In a similar development, the country should
also be very worried that the threats coming out of Kano
As irritating as it could be, it is even more
dangerous that the Police allowed this cancellation to happen in the first
place without factoring the consequential effects on the country at large.
There is a high possibility of a bandwagon effect by other political
actors, who may replicate this unsavoury development in their states. This is
going to complicate issues for the Police and give them more problems to
contend with in the days ahead.
For a while now, the news coming out of Kano State
The frosty relationship between Kwankwaso and
his former deputy has become of serious concern to those who had watched the
two working together effectively for over 14 years, since 1999. Ganduje served
as the deputy to Kwankwaso between 1999 and 2003, and between 2011 and 2015.
From 2003 to 2007, Ganduje also served as the
special Adviser (Political) to him as a Minister of Defence. He also served as
member of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) through the goodwill of
Kwankwaso. When Kwankwaso supported him to emerge as his successor, it was
applauded across the country.
Although, things started looking bad between
the duo before the swearing-in of Ganduje, it was not until the presidential
ambition of Kwankwaso started gaining momentum that things became tensed.
Every effort made by some stakeholders to
reunite the two has failed. While Kwankwaso’s presidential bid for 2019 may be
rattling the Presidency, it is not impossible that the hawks in Aso Rock could
be using Ganduje to deny him a space in Kano
Some members of the Kwankwassiya have boasted that
their crowd would dwarf those who came out to welcome President Buhari, any day
any time Kwankwaso visits the state again.
Since APC came to power, the Presidency has
been giving vent to a growing politics of isolationism within the party. They
have practically cut to size, virtually all the major players who helped him to
win the presidential election. The likes of Bukola Saraki, Atiku Abubakar,
Kwankwaso and even Bola Tinubu, will certainly have tales of political woes to
share one day. Nigerians are aware that the Buhari presidency would not have
been possible without these political gladiators.
My fear now is that some governors, who are
intolerant of opposition in their respective states, are bound to capitalise on
this regrettable loophole, to undermine political opponents. Stopping Kwankwaso
from coming to Kano
Judging by the nature of our politicians, they
are going to have much more to contend with in the weeks ahead. Ordinarily, the
police ought to have given cover to and allow Kwankwaso and his movement to
conduct his political business without any crisis or molestation. You cannot
stop Kwankwaso indefinitely. Never.
This is the time for the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC), civil society, the Police, civil defence and other
stakeholders, to put in place a proactive mechanism for engaging political
actors, especially those who are desperate to have their ways at all cost.
At this juncture, the police must avoid taking
sides with the ruling party or the presidency to undermine political opponents.
*Atoye wrote from Abuja
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