By Rogers Edor Ochela
As the people of Nasarawa state wait with bated breath for the governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scheduled to hold on Saturday, December 6, expectations are high that the right candidate will emerge to fly the flag of the party in the February 2015 governorship election in the state.
Already, eight aspirants in the race are holding consultations and mobilizing people ahead of the primary. Some of the aspirants have made huge political capital out of the entire issue by making it a frenzied media affair. This is expected, considering the fact that Senator Pius Anyim Pius once said, “Democracy is like an audience, if you don’t raise your hands, your voice would not be heard’’.
However, it is necessary to draw a roadmap here, because the assignment is not only enormous, but requires the display of patriotism of the highest order. In choosing its gubernatorial flag-bearer, PDP must be guided by some critical factors. In a nutshell, the party’s flag-bearer must possess the following credentials: impeccable record of service; experience; charisma, visibility; mass appeal; flexibility; ability to operate under stress nay provocation without flying the handle, etc.
After taking a holistic of the entire Nasarawa landscape and the array of governorship aspirants currently on parade, it is so glaring even to the blind that Alhaji Aliyu Akwe Doma, immediate past governor of the state, is a complete embodiment of all the above qualities and as such, towers above other contenders.
Before my conclusion is misconstrued as a backhanded attempt to curry favour from the former governor, permit me to declare here with every sense of responsibility that my conclusion on this matter is a product of an honest assessment of all the aspirants vying for Nasarawa PDP gubernatorial ticket; no doubt, some of them are qualified.
For a better appreciation of the issue at stake, come along with me as we mount the horse and gallop down memory lane of history. As a retired permanent secretary, former deputy governor of the old Plateau state (now Plateau and Nasarawa states) and former governor of the state from 2007 to 2011, Doma has proved his mettle and truly, he stands poles above his contemporaries in this titanic race to Shendam Road Government House, Lafia as far as experience is concerned.
According to Confucius, a Chinese philosopher, “to know what is right and do not do it is the worst form of cowardice.’’ Right from the beginning, those close to Akwe Doma said he was not keen in seeking the mandate of the people again following the conspiracy of some enemies of the state to rig him out in the 2011 gubernatorial election.
But after considering the despicable level the state has sunk since his departure from office in 2011, he has no option than hearken to the call of his people by stepping out once again with a view to rescuing the state.
Those talking gibberish about the man’s seeming advanced age miss the point; they forget that age comes with wisdom and experience. In the face of the massive failure of current rulers of the state, which has resulted into incessant nay avoidable communal crisis and unnecessary blood-letting, it is has become imperative for Doma, one of the founding fathers of the state, to step in with his vast experience, maturity and famed humility to steer the state to safe harbor. History will not forgive him if he decides to ignore the massive clamour for him to step in at this critical stage of the state’s history.
Again, at this critical stage of its history, Nasarawa state needs a man with the Midas touch, a man who is highly visible and has mass appeal, someone who is down-to-earth with extensive tentacles at the grassroots. I make bold to declare without any fear of contradiction that Doma approximates all these. In this race, his visibility and mass appeal will stand PDP in good stead against any incumbency factor.
In terms of record of service delivery, Akwe Doma has been tried, tested and has delivered to the satisfaction of all and sundry. During his sojourn at Government House, Lafia, he demonstrated that with conscious efforts, a public official can restore people’s confidence in governance. So between 2007 and 2011, Doma restored the confidence of the people of the state in public service and proved that theory (read electoral promises) can be replicated in concrete terms as epitomized in his awe-inducing achievements. But due to time and space constraints, we shall dwell extensively on these achievements at a later date.
Above all, according to an Igbo proverb, “the fowl does not forget the person that plucked its tail feathers during rainy season”. In the last four years that PDP has been in the political wilderness in the state as an opposition party, Aliyu Doma has remained consistent in offering it psychological and moral support, commendable trait of a loyal party man, which should speak for him in this circumstance.
Another area that Doma has proved his mettle is in his legendary humility and forgiving spirit. Since he left office in 2011, his successors and their supporters have made Doma bashing their favourite pastime. Invectives have been hurled at him, but he has refused to return fire-for-fire, in the spirit of an elder statesman.
Judging from the foregoing and considering the fact that Aliyu Akwe Doma has thrown his hat into the ring; it is incumbent on the delegates to do the needful by giving the ticket to the man who has all it takes to win the election for PDP. Anything short of this will amount to smoothening the way for the incumbent administration to effortlessly sail through at the polls. The pertinent question is: Can PDP afford to remain in the political wilderness for another four grueling years?
Ochela, former newspaper editor and now media consultant, wrote from Abuja