Re: Imposition of candidates and Katsina PDP

But when a timetable for the election was released early this month, they started screaming that the time given for campaign was too short, that the age limit was too high, that the money for the purchase of form was too much. To everybody’s surprise, the Katsina State Independent Electoral Commission (KASIEC) granted their every wish. It extended the time for campaign, reduced the amount for the purchase of form and lowered the age limit for contestants.
Now, having run out of excuses and even out of credible and quality people to make noise in the media, they are resorting to getting a few disloyal and disgruntled members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to do their bidding, albeit unsuccessfully. They found one of such disgruntled elements in a political nonentity known as Sani Aliyu, who approached a couple of reporters to interview him.
In the interview, which was published in the Daily Trust newspaper of Tuesday, July 29, 2014, the said Sani Aliyu, who is claiming to be a member of the PDP, made some very silly remarks. He claimed that so-called members of a so-called “Concerned PDP Members Forum” in the state will not accept imposition of candidates when the time comes to field a candidate for the governorship election next year.
This is curious, to say the least. Who is imposing who on anyone? Mr. Sani did not say where he got the story about imposition from beyond some incomprehensible claim about moneybags coming to pick the party’s ticket. My wonder here is: Why couldn’t Sani reveal to his members the names of the moneybags? Sani did not also say whether as loyal party member, he has tried the official channels of complaints that are available to all members of the PDP to lay his complaint rather than running to get unconscionable reporters to ask him leading questions.
What I personally expect Sani, and if indeed his forum does exist, to do, is to do their homework well and consolidate their hypothetical popularity with the people. Democracy is a game of numbers, and if you have the numbers, nobody can impose anything on you. But I think I understand the predicament of those that are afraid of Governor Shema. They can’t rise up to his level, morally and politically, and he is not prepared to lower himself to their level.
The second thing I understand about the interview is that Sani Aliyu is frustrated that he is not getting what he wants to get from the present arrangement. And even though he is claiming to be a member of the PDP, he is gearing up to play the role of a spoiler, or what in popular parlance is known as “anti party” despite his denial of that in his interview. He also seems to be struggling to find fault with the governor of the state Barrister Ibrahim Shema. Unfortunately for Sani, the governor, who is human, and like all mortals, has his own human weaknesses. However, injustice and mediocrity are not among his shortcomings. So Sani is left with singing discordant tunes, making spurious claims about the governor, not being accessible or listening only to a small group of people.
Okay, for the record, Governor Shema, by my understanding of him, selects his advisers carefully. One of the reasons why Sani Aliyu is probably not among them is because of his dismal record as a political player in the state. Whereas Governor Shema has won every election he ever contested (even as he had won every case he fought as a lawyer), Sani, for example, has never won an election in the state.
Secondly, all the people whose campaign Sani had identified with for governorship, have never won their elections. So he has little or no track record to speak for him. Therefore, it is not surprising that, frustrated by his own inadequacies, he is desperately struggling to attract the attention of the governor whose sterling performance at every level of his political journey has earned him the trust, support and confidence of the good people of Katsina State. From his days as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Katsina State under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, to his tenure as deputy national chairman of the PDP, to the various strategic PDP committees he has headed successfully, up to the time that God elevated him to be elected governor of Katsina State twice by a landslide in a free and fair election, Governor Shema has never disappointed himself or his people. People like Sani Aliyu are simply not qualified to assess him, let alone criticise him.
Ibrahim Saulawa wrote in from Saulawa Quarters, Katsina.