To say that Nigerians have come of age politically, is to state the obvious, though not developed politically for want of political leadership and the will to engender growth in the society.
Another truism is the fact that since the advent of democracy in 1999, most of the leaders who have come since then have failed to win the people’s confidence due to failure to live up to their expectations in terms of engendering growth in the society. So it will be an understatement to say that there is a huge mutual distrust between the leaders and the led.
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One thing that is certain is the fact that not all political leaders have failed the people. There are however exceptional ones. One of such is Alhaji Umaru Tanko Al-Makura and the scenario that brought him to power.
It was a conflict situation, a conflict between the forces of darkness and the will of the people. One thing led to another and at the end of the day, the people’s will triumphed. Al-Makura led that vanguard in a way, which succeeded in halting in 2011, the drift Nasarawa State sided into in 1999.
Talk of the APC as a ruling party at both the national and state levels, it is common knowledge that all is definitely not well with it.
The party’s membership and register revalidation exercise held in this year nationwide, knocked the heads of some national figures of the party against its Caretaker Committee under the Chairmanship of Yobe State Governor, Mai-Mala Buni. Also some ministers are at loggerheads with their governors.
The crises are infesting its state chapters in Kano, Kogi, Zamfara, Gombe, Rivers, Kaduna with their governors and other top notches of the party which include both serving ministers and members of the National Assembly otherwise known unofficially as “Abuja politicians.”
This is not to talk of the recent congresses held at the ward, local government and state levels that further polarized the party in some states.
With a situation like this, the APC can’t comfortably and confidently approach the 2023 general elections and retain power, reclaim lost states and win more. Who is going to resolve all of these and stabilize the party ahead of the 2023 general elections?
Certainly, it is not the Buni-led caretaker committee. It is going to be an onerous task for a National Working Committee (NWC) which the party’s convention has to produce. A tough road lies ahead for the APC, you may say.
But how does this concern Senator Al-Makura? As a founding member of the party, the former governor feels there is need to return to the root, which is unity of the aggrieved persons and resolving all the contentious issues where justice and fair play in tandem with the party’s extant rules and guidelines are upheld.
Already, stakeholders of the Nasarawa State chapter of the party have, typical to what happened in 2011, endorsed Al-Makura, for the position of National Chairman of the party. Al-Makura is currently the senator representing Nasarawa South Senatorial district at the National Assembly.
The leader of the Progressives for Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, Makpa Malla, explained that “Senator Tanko Al-Makura is not only a son of Nasarawa, but also a nationalist whose legacies and achievements in leadership are worthy of replication on a wider scale.”
With a good deep rapport with national leaders and major stakeholders who trust in Al-Makura as a true party member, who, as a gentle man can be taken for his words, as well as his commitment to the ideals of the APC, the former governor can be trusted to take over the mantle of the party’s leadership to deal with the myriad of challenges threatening the very foundation of the ruling party.
Faruku Omonu-Ojoku, a chieftain of the APC Kogi State Chapter, can be reached on [email protected]
