ZAMFARA’S OPPOSITION POLITICS

ISA MURTALA urges the APC government in the state to apologise to the people

Politics is a vast wilderness of absurdities, brazen shamelessness and insidious machinations; it is a terrain exploited by politicians to undo the good works of their opponents who deploy the desired capacity, credibility and commitment to deliver the leadership and good governance to the electorate. 

This portrait of politics is most-glaringly reflected in the politics and governance of Zamfara State. At a time the Save-Our-Soul administration is on the verge of rescuing the state from an administration that sought to devour all aspects of the once-enviable and exemplary peace, security and development of the Farming-Is-Our-Pride state, the forces of retrogression is increasingly unrelenting.

In the 2023 general elections, the political forces, built by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and ably commanded by Dauda Lawal, had commenced the arduous project of rescuing Zamfara from those predator-like political forces holding the state by the jugular.  Now, Zamfarans have since May 29, 2023, been breathing the nourishing air of genuine development and growth delivered by the PDP administration of Governor Lawan.

But then, as is the case with the absurdities and contaminated politics that currently seem more marketable and buyable in Nigeria than the credible ones, the erstwhile predatory gladiators, represented by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its leaders now seem hell bent on deploying every available machination to render every effort by the Dauda Lawal-led PDP government at delivering good governance, unsuccessful.

Here was an administration already herding the entire state to the bandits den, throwing fits on seeing the Save-Our-Soul administration of PDP’s Dauda Lawal succeed where it failed spectacularly. Apparently, the governor’s bold attempts to rescue the state from the captivity of all types while repositioning the state on the path of genuine reconstruction and prosperity, has suddenly become a pain too much to bear.

Instead of reclining to its fate, settling down in the loser status it was relegated to in the 2023 elections, mending its ways and joining hands with the Lawal-led PDP administration to deliver the desired good governance, the APC in Zamfara State is embroiled in schemes to truncate the policies and programmes aimed at rescuing the state from the pangs of banditry and its attendant consequences on the economic and social life of the state.

The current state of Zamfara APC re-echoes the remarks of Bello Matawalle, the ousted governor who, before eventually decamping to it, once described it as a party of bandits. While addressing his then Peoples Democratic Party supporters, Matawalle was then quoted as saying that only those interested in becoming informants for bandits or engaging in actual banditry would leave the PDP for the APC. Ironically, no one from the APC has deigned to challenge the assertion, not even Matawalle himself long after he defected to the party. 

Dirty water would always find the gutters, it is so said. No wonder, therefore, that Matawalle, before the end of his governorship tenure, realised that he was better suited for the APC.

In spite of the mess that the Matawalle-led APC administration bequeathed to the Lawal-led PDP administration, especially the intractable insecurity, alleged misappropriation and mismanagement of public funds and poor infrastructure, that the APC still has the guts to show its face in the politics and the affairs of Zamfara can only be explained by the bizarre character of Nigeria’s politics. Coming at a time the governor is repositioning the state for rapid prosperity – a feat the APC administration never came near to achieving – the good people of Zamfara cannot but wonder about what exactly the APC in the state wants.

At this time, every patriotic son and daughter of Zamfara State should be more concerned with how best to contribute and support the Governor Dauda Lawal administration which has, since inception, demonstrated commitment to steer the state out of the woods. 

To trace the ugly history of the politics of the state is to understand how the APC and its top members have been at the forefront of misdirecting and positioning Zamfara on the path of underdevelopment and insecurity. The leaders have in various fora accused and counter-accused themselves of being complicit. In fact, at different times, both former governors, Matawalle and Abdul’aziz Yari have accused each other of being the architects of the insecurity the state is still drowning in. And because the electorate couldn’t have glossed over the accusations and counter-accusations – particularly the situation of Zamfara during the governorship tenures of Yari and Matawalle – these would subsequently lay the foundation for the ouster of the APC by the PDP in the 2023 general elections. 

The raging infighting within the Zamfara APC, especially between Yari and Matawalle, is certainly not surprising. It mainly presents the picture of a party unable to grapple with the realities of its defeat. Spreading falsehood and engaging in character assassination against the victorious PDP to remain relevant in the politics of the state is in their character. 

These tactics are used to distract the public from the rapid and fascinating progress accomplished by the PDP government. In just a year, the Lawal-led PDP government has accomplished what the former APC government failed to do in many years. And as typical of politicians drowning in their absurdities and machinations, these political actors of APC extraction naively believe that by launching constant attacks on the PDP, they can divert attention from some scathing the allegations plaguing them with regard to the enduring insecurity and underdevelopment of the state.

Recently, the country was shaken by a series of video clips released by Bello Turji, a notorious bandit leader, in which he claimed to have close ties with Matawalle. In a country where governance is taken seriously, such allegations would have led to serious investigation.

Nonetheless, one still expects the Minister of State for Defence to reflect on these serious allegations, especially given his position as someone who once had the opportunity to govern Zamfara State.

It is certainly not too much to ask Zamfara APC to humbly step back and reflect on the monumental damage they did to the state. Or for them to reflect, with deep sense of guilt, on their relationship with the past and the army of criminals and miscreants they created who have continued to torment the state to this day. Instead of making outlandish claims about PDP, APC Zamfara should apologise to the people of Zamfara for its 16 years gross misdemeanours. Rather than turn around and cry blue murder, those who actively worked to create an army of miscreants and all other forms of criminals persistently troubling Zamfara should bury their heads in shame.

Murtala PhD, writes from Abuja