Obaseki should emulate Late Garba Gadi

Governor Godwin Obaseki has denied rumour that he was involved in negotiations with his former party leaders to return to the APC. If he had done so he would have lost public sympathy and respect. Although  he cannot be impeached, he cannot escape being seen as a political prostitute or power monger.  No man of principle would harm someone that saved him from drowning, although most of the Nigerian politicians are after success and self-interest. Once they get there, they will forget and abandon their political promises and the electorate rants.

Life without principles is like starting a journey without a compass. The late Bauchi State Deputy Governor, Garba Muhammad Gadi has left behind a good name. Despite the fact that he was not a rich man, good name is the reason why his children will always be proud of him.

Garba Muhammad Gadi was a rare Nigerian politician who put principles before politics. He was a former deputy governor to Isa Yuguda. He was impeached because he refused to follow Yuguda’s opportunistic politics.

Let me go back to the beginning. Yuguda was a former Managing Director of Inland Bank and Nal-Merchant Bank before being appointed as minister of aviation under the Obasanjo’s administration. He was a close friend and associate of former Bauchi State Governor, Ahmad Adamu Muazu.  Yuguda  went back home to seek the gubernatorial ticket under PDP but Muazu frustrated his ambition by denying him the ticket.  Ahmad Adamu Mu’azu also plotted the removal of Isa Yuguda as a minister.

Yuguda left PDP and rushed to General Muhammadu Buhari of ANPP and sought his support to contest for governorship under the platform of ANPP.  Buhari supported Yuguda and gave him a shoulder to cry.  Thanks to Buhari’s formidable goodwill Yuguda defeated the PDP candidate to become the governor.

As soon as he became the governor, however, Yuguda asked his supporters to abandon the ANPP on whose platform he won the election and returned to PDP.

His deputy, Garba Muhammad Gadi, however, refused to follow Yuguda back to PDP. Garba Gadi was a man of principle and refused to betray Buhari and ANPP. Yuguda used members of Bauchi State House of Assembly to impeach his deputy governor from office.  I remember the impeachment was announced when Garba Muhammad Gadi and ANPP National leadership were at the presidential villa on a visit.

Garba Muhammad Gadi challenged his illegal impeachment and was reinstated by Justice Haruna Tsammani of Bauchi State High Court  with the order that all his entitlements be paid but Yuguda refused to pay. Despite his travails, Garba Muhammad Gadi died as one of the most respected and widely loved politicians.

If you value power more than principles, then a good name wouldn’t mean anything to you. Garba Muhammad Gadi chose his good name over opportunism. Only unscrupulous politicians throw their friends under the bus after using them to attain power. Opportunism destroys one’s reputation.

So, Obaseki must decide between honour and infamy. The cost of abandoning a good name is incalculable. Principle is a personal choice; it’s not a party thing. A record of betraying those who saved you by the bell is not something to be proud of. It’s better to lose power than to be held in contempt by your fellow citizens because of your lack of principles. Posterity and history always deliver  harsh verdicts on unprincipled politicians. Don’t say principles don’t matter; they do to those who take their reputations seriously.

Abdullahi Kabir, Azare, Bauchi State.