Niger 2023: How Bago is disrupting the status quo

By Awaal Gata

Honourable Mohammed Umar Bago’s emergence as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Niger State has been met with mixed feelings from various quarters, including amateur political analysts casting all kinds of aspersions on his person without recourse to his political history and antecedents.

While politics is often regarded as a dirty game it doesn’t always have to be dirty for the fun of it; it can be played objectively and conscientiously without enmity, especially considering that the claim to political participation is for the betterment of society, and democracy is about citizens’ participation regardless of which camp the people belong to hence it must be encouraged and sustained.
No society will be able to advance if the citizens who are supposed to be the pillars of democracy become the same people stifling the process with anti-democratic processes backed by malicious intents.

The burning question that critics of Bago have not answered is, why not Bago? What makes him unqualified to become the governor of Niger State? The answer is absolutely NOTHING! When part-time political analysts and errand boys of bitter political rivals attempt to discredit Bago by insinuating that he doesn’t have the experience to lead the state, they do it so poorly that one wonders if they have any basic ideas about what constitutes experience and competence. If there is anything that Bago is not, it is not “unqualified” for he is more than qualified both educationally and otherwise. Bago holds a Bachelor of Political Science Degree, a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Master of Finance Degree, and several other certifications from reputable educational institutions around the world including Cambridge University, UK.

There is no way that anyone reasonable enough would attempt to say that such a person is not qualified to become the governor of a state anywhere in the world, especially in Nigeria where the standard requirement for becoming the president of Nigeria is a secondary school certificate.

On the professional front, Bago is a consummate banker with decades of banking and financial sector experience with some of Africa’s apex banks like the United Bank for Africa, Afribank Plc, and First City Monument Bank where he left as a manager to join politics in 2007. A solid banking experience is no mean experience especially when it relates to financial management and prudence. A man that has creditably managed the assets of other people for several years can certainly manage the state’s resources on behalf of the people when elected as governor in 2023. With his sturdy financial sector experience, one can only expect to have the best economic team that Niger State has ever had since its creation. Bago is certainly not a pushover in Niger politics which explains why he clinched his party’s governorship ticket even against what many thoughts were stronger opponents in the primary elections. Yet, after his victory, he has remained humble, and accessible to all and has toured the state to unite stakeholders of the party ahead of the 2023 general elections. He has shown that he has the right leadership mindset to lead the people of Niger State to the Promised Land.
Bago’s political doggedness is instructive and reflective of his knowledge of the Nigerian and especially the Niger State political terrain.

When he emerged as the elected candidate for the Chanchaga Federal House of Representatives in 2011. He left no doubt of his capacity to actualize his dreams as a human being. In the same vein, in the face of seasoned politicians in the APC primaries, he emerged as the candidate of the party for the 2023 general elections. This victory was another manifestation of his acceptance and wizardry which even his staunchest haters have come to terms with. Therefore, one cannot help but agree that there is something special about Bago and what he represents for the people of Niger State. As a three times legislator with success stories of impact among women and youth in the Chanchaga constituency, there is no doubt that Bago will be the difference that Niger State needs to move the state to the next level in terms of development across sectors of the state’s economy.

A three-term legislator certainly cannot be said to be lacking in political wisdom and influence to pilot the affairs of a state. This is a man that contested for the Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives against the expectations of the godfathers and other stakeholders who didn’t believe he had the clout to vie for such a high position but he proved them wrong and came second in the election. What many didn’t realize during the Speakership race was that he used it as a platform to launch his national reach as a visionary politician who was not simply a member of the ‘aye’ or ‘nay’ have it. He proved that he was capable of providing leadership for the Nigerian House of Representatives as an equal representation of his people.

It is important to posit at this point that Bago is not the status quo but a disrupter of the status quo which has been done over and over again. Since the beginning of his political career, he has been associated with positive disruptions that have changed the narratives and status quo of politics in Niger State. An objective observer cannot help but commend this philanthropist that is lovely to the people for providing the direction for youth participation in politics since joining politics from the banking sector in 2007. He is always proving that he is with the people and that the people are with him. He is a mobilizer and humble politician with a high sense of regard for his elders regardless of their standing which explains the overwhelming support his candidacy continues to enjoy. The overwhelming support has continued to starkly show that Bago is on the cusp of victory in 2023. Any forward-thinking Nigerlite knows that Bago is the way to the greater change that the people have long desired.

Mr Gata, a journalist and political commentator, wrote from Abuja.