Dahiru Hassan Kera
Many informed pundits, political observers, analyst and youth activists both within and outside the All Progressives Congress (APC) have reacted with an admixture of shock, astonishment, consternation and disbelief at the election of Hon. Ibrahim DasukiJaloWaziri as APC National Youth Leader given the fact that the said Waziri is alleged to be far older than his stated football age of 43years, which by all standards cannot qualify him as a youth. While constitutionally 18-40 is youthful age, the UN considers 35 and below as agreeable age for youth. I think the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has to be recommended for electing their National Youth Leader with an age of 31.
Many point accusing fingers at Senator DanjumaGoje, former Governor of Gombe state, for singlehandedly selecting and imposing Waziri on Gombe state APC while forwarding same to the national leadership of the party thus paving way for the emergence of the over-aged ‘youth leader’ who is a dyed in the wool fanatical supporter, acolyte and also in-law to Goje.
To set the records straight, it must be stated in clear terms that Hon. Waziri has been severally accused of presenting inconsistent and patently false age declarations at various periods of his political career which has led many political observers to question his integrity, principle and strength of character.For instance, in 2011 when the visibly aged DasukiJaloWaziri, then in PDP, squared up against the youthful Hon.KhamisuMailantarki of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, he Dasukiallegedly declared the age of 49 in his nomination form only to once again declare the age of 43 years in 2014! By his earlier declaration in 2011 which is even doubted as he may have been older, the beleaguered Dasuki should be 52years old by now which makes a total mockery of his purported election as APC youth leader.
Even though there were numerous petitions, protests, objections and warnings to APC national leadership of the age discrepancies posted by Hon. DasukiWaziri, they refused to investigate the petitions or heed the series of advice by concerned youths, activists and stalwarts of the party thereby confirming the widely held view that the bigwigs and cabal in APC are in league with Gojeand the hardline despots are in no mood to promote or advance the principles of internal democracy, due process or the rule of law in the operations, activities and organizational structure of the party.
In fact, at the state level, Goje’s defection to APC after his political fortunes ebbed in the PDP, signaled doom and disaster for ardent party faithful, especially members of the legacy parties – CPC, ANPP, & ACN – that originally merged to form APC and which formed the bulk of the supporters and loyalists of the party at its formative stage, Senator Goje’s reputation for arrogance, bullying autocracy is well known as he believes that he is the messiah divinely inspired to liberate and deliver the toiling messes and cannot and should not be challenged by any living being on his mistakenly divinely ordained mission.Any attempt at dissent or disagreement with Goje’s views, tactics or directives cannot receive favourable or positive review and will be met with hostility, unremitting backlash in the form of media denigration, verbal assault and even physical traumatization, harassment or brutalization.
The vandals and miscreants infamously referred to as the ‘Yankalare’ bandits had free day and tenure unleashing terror on innocent citizens. With his unheralded entry into APC, a vindictive Goje rode roughshod over the existing party structures and officials and with the aid of his unrepentant criminal elements as well as well-oiled propaganda machinery and lots of financial incentives took total control of the party while installing his loyalists in strategic segments of the APC in Gombe state. Allegations of imposition, strong arm tactics, manipulation of members’ register and widespread fraud and irregularities trailed the APC ward and local government congress in the state as Goje moved ruthlessly to stamp his authority on the state party.
The original members that had toiled to build APC structures in the state have been arrogantly shunted aside by the Goje bulldozing train and it is either you pay unalloyed loyalty and fealty to the self-styled messiah of Gombe state or you find yourself irrelevant or inconsequential in the political reckoning of the Jewel of the Savannah. Through Goje’s politics of imposition, a sitting member of the National Assembly, Hon. Mailantarki, who had defeated Hon. JaloWaziri with a highest vote and a wider margin in 2011 was sidelined from the APC and now his defeated friend was handpicked for the party’s National Youth Leadership position against all odds and that proved the alleged manipulation by Goje to avenge the defeat he had suffered from Mailantarki at a time he enjoyed the power of incumbency.
This brings to fore the underhand tactics employed by Goje and his acolytes in imposing Hon.Ibrahim DasukiJaloWaziri as
APC National Youth Leader. It is clear from available records thatWaziri is well above 50years old and cannot qualify as a youth leader, even his false declaration of 43years, hardly qualifies him as a youth not to talk of a youth leader or a national youth leader for that matter. Therefore, majority of APC faithful both in Gombe state and beyond have unanimously rejected his election or selection as youth leader. APC national leadership should take immediate steps to investigate the age discrepancies of Ibrahim JaloWaziri with a view to disqualifying him as APC Youth leader to pave the way for the emergence of a truly youthful, energetic and vibrant leader or the APC’s doubted designation as a progressive party out to liberate the masses will be exposed as a false, mischievous and deceptive charade calculated to hoodwink and obfuscate the hundreds of thousands of toiling, suffering and sweltering party faithful.
Kera wrote from Gombe.
