By Ahmed Sani Zayyanu
While the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano state is focusing efforts on consolidating itself, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chapter in the state is torn between personal interests and the challenges of protecting common interest. The APC has amicably produced candidates for elective offices through consensus. Why can’t the Kano state PDP chapter borrow a leaf from this and produce its own candidates without acrimony and pursuit of private interests? The Kano state PDP chapter must recognise the reality of the challenges it faces in terms of displacing the APC from power.
The PDP cannot, however, overcome these challenges when it is divided by personal interests at the expense of the party. Party leaders such as Education Minister Ibrahim Shekarau and Foreign Minister, Ambassador Aminu Wali, should put their egos aside and produce a candidate that is formidable. Taking the governorship seat from the APC in Kano state is a grim challenge. Therefore, the PDP chapter must embrace reality and work twice as hard to displace APC.
Any strategically focused political party should identify its formidable aspirants and support them to contest elective offices. The idea of choosing candidates on the basis of godfathers’ endorsement doesn’t help the cause of democracy and clear the coast for victory. In fact, the choice of the people should be the basis of producing candidates for elective offices.
Sadly, the private interests of godfathers may ultimately harm the chances of the PDP in Kano state. It is not, however, impossible for the PDP leaders to correct their mistakes by abandoning the idea of foisting candidates instead of allowing formidable aspirants with solid grassroots support to emerge.
Producing candidates through consensus is cheaper for political parties, and I think the Kano state PDP chapter should borrow a leaf from the APC. All genuine PDP members and supporters in Kano state should rally round the most formidable aspirants for the governorship ticket and other elective offices. There is no point while aspirants with no grassroots support should present themselves, despite the knowledge that they don’t have the needed backing to make any impact.
Any perceptive political observer knows that the Kano state PDP chapter has no better aspirant than Mohammed Abacha. He is unarguably the most popular gubernatorial aspirant in the PDP in the state. In fact, you don’t need to be a magician to recognise this reality. He is the only politician who has sustained his political goodwill since 2011.
It, therefore, amazes me why the PDP leaders are wasting too much time on petty internal politics. This politics of godson or anointment is inconsistent with reality. The aspirants with the strongest grassroots should be supported to emerge as candidates. With Mohammed Abacha’s solid political backing from the people of Kano state, the PDP chapter doesn’t have to look elsewhere for a gubernatorial candidate.
Politics is about calculation and keeping your ears close to the ground. It is also about knowing which way the wind blows. In other words, you don’t need to be a political pundit to recognise that Mohammed Abacha’s popularity is unrivalled. I don’t know of any PDP aspirant who can match his formidable grassroots support. With this reality, does the PDP need to be reminded of the political wisdom of backing a formidably popular aspirant like Mohammed Abacha?
It is high time the Kano state PDP leaders such as Ibrahim Shekarau and Aminu Wali forgot about personal egos and support an aspirant who is more promising. They should consider the larger interest of the PDP in Kano state rather anointing their protégés. The challenges are too grim to be ignored. In fact, the party cannot afford to detach itself from reality.
Political leaders at any level should put higher premium on the ultimate success of their parties instead of sacrificing party interest in favour of personal interest. The undeniable fact is that no aspirant within the Kano state PDP has the enormous political goodwill that Mohammed Abacha enjoys. This is a reality nobody can ignore. Therefore, the PDP leaders should rally round their strongest aspirants and endorse them for elective offices instead of seeking to impose their protégés as candidates, regardless of their popularity.
Zayyanu wrote from No. 78, Awwal Ibrahim Road, Minna, Niger state. E-mail: [email protected]