Sokoto 2023: Last flight to Abuja
By Aminu Mohammed
With the exception of the political drama in Adamawa, one can conclude that the 2023 general elections have come and gone with so many twists, surprises, intrigues and lessons that would linger in our memories for many years to come.
It was an election that shocked many sitting governors, senators and other elective representatives who had wished for more action at the center but now have to step aside. Duniya rawan yan mata, na gaba ya koma baya. Yes, the excitement of winning and the pain of losing are gradually dying down but what are the positive and negative lessons of the recent elections in Nigeria? I would limit my argument on Sokoto state where the PDP witnessed an upset that may bury the party for a decade to come.
The two principal actors of the presidential/ National Assembly and governorship elections were former Sokoto state governor, Distinguished Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko and out-going governor, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. In the end, Wamakko triumphed over Tambuwal by taking the governorship seat he single handedly dashed to Tambuwal in 2015. Having lost the governorship seat to the APC, the only option left for Tambuwal was to give his all and clinch the Sokoto South Senatorial District seat. It was one hell of a battle the outgoing governor would not easily forget.
As earlier pointed out, he had to give his all by doing whatever it takes to clinch that seat because failing to do so would mark the end of his political career. The Sokoto South Senatorial District seat was the climax of all the elections held in Sokoto state this year as Tambuwal and his APC opponent were both in the PDP in 2019 when the charade of the famous and infamous 342 took place. In fact, the APC candidate, Senator Ibrahim Danbaba who defected from the ruling PDP to the opposition party was an architect of APC failure in 2019. He and some few others connived and denied the APC its mandate so as fate would have it, he has now tasted the bitter pills of election malpractices. He left the PDP knowing fully well that governor Tambuwal would go for that seat and he was ready to slug it out with the governor whose political survival depended on that senatorial seat.
Although, he gave Tambuwal a good run for his money but the end they say, justify the means. Tambuwal, another political fox fought tooth and nail to save his political career and despite all the odds against him, he proved to be a political gladiator. With less than 5,000 vote margin, the outgoing governor would now represent his constituency in the senate and whether he would perform or not is for the future to determine.
Now that the PDP has lost Sokoto to the APC and governor Tambuwal (tagged as an Abuja politician) is returning to base, how would the PDP survive and who will oversee the affairs of the party since former Sokoto state governor, Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa has announced his retirement from “active politics”? As a governor, Tambuwal has spent more time in Abuja than in Sokoto in the last eight years and now that he has the constitutional backing to return to the Federal Capital, would he visit Sokoto at all and give hope to the remaining PDP die hard supporters or is this his final flight to Abuja? Tambuwal likes and loves political leadership and this he can get in Abuja and not Sokoto so the probability of his frequent visit to Sokoto after May 29, 2023 is negligible. I fear for the PDP in Sokoto because the party will not get the needed attention and from the analysis and political permutations, Sokoto PDP would go on long recess and may even collapse into the APC simply because there would be no leadership at the top and those at the bottom cannot bear the impending heat.
All in all, Tambuwal, if I may quote Shakespeare, ” he came, he saw” but failed to conquer. However, there is always a second chance and as ambitious as he is, the next four years in Abuja should serve as Reflection Base to review the mistakes of his eight- year stewardship as governor and make amends. I always believe he has the credentials to lead this country but he is pursuing it in the wrong way and in haste. The future looks bright for him but one of his weaknesses is human relations. As a politician, you eat and dine with all manner of people just to achieve your goal but running away from people is running away from political fortunes. Wamakko built a political empire because he accommodates, he embraces, he is generous and kind to all kinds of people and spend more time listening to them. Tambuwal needs to emulate these traits in politics.
As a friend, I wish him a fruitful senatorial deliberations and whenever he decides to embrace, accommodate and consider all manner of people as political assets, he should count on me because I would rather vote for him as president than somebody far away from me.
According to a Hausa proverb, da gidan wasu gara naku . Congratulations Amigo for your recent success at the polls because is one of the Greatest Escapes in world history.
Aminu Mohammed is a media consultant
