2019: MY VOTE IS… (8)

2019: MY VOTE IS… (8)

By Bala Muhammad | Published Date Mar 8, 2019 22:09 PM

In continuation of our series MY VOTE IS…FOR or AGAINST (also available at https://saturdaycolumn.blogspot.com/ and https://linkedin.com/in/bala-muhammad-0784384), we today head to the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Elections. For reminders, past issues in this series have discussed Corruption, Almajiri, Drugs, Kidnapping, General Insecurity, etc. Readers should note the series will, in sha Allah, continue beyond the elections and so they could continue sending in their 100-word contributions on the future of this country in the hands of these politicians.

It seems today’s set of elections may be as ‘interesting’ as the Presidential polls two weeks ago. But ‘interesting’ in the Chinese interpretation tilts towards the ‘unfortunate’ as, in many of our states, Nigeria’s twin curses of religious and ethnic hatreds have since reared their proverbial ugly heads. In some states, as the elections two weeks ago have shown, it is down in the gutters for Muslim versus Christian agitations. Nowhere is this sad phenomenon amplified than Kaduna and Taraba States.

And while the Muslim-Christian divide may be unfortunate, it’s doubly unfortunate to hear of the vertical, or is it horizontal, divide in Plateau State – this time between two Christian denominations – the Catholic Church and the COCIN Church. Before this election, many young people may not have known any difference between these two. Alas! And then only in Nigeria will we sink so primordially low as to transform a Muslim presidential candidate into a ‘temporary’ Christian – to be celebrated with fire on the mountains. Only in Nigeria.

Many intellectuals and decent people just want these elections to finish so life can return to its normal mundane self, full of its drudgery and fears. For example, the people of Zamfara, Borno and Yobe have more worries than Governorship elections. Only in Nigeria.

COLUMNIST – MY VOTE IS…For today’s elections here in Kano, it’s the proverbial Three-Horse Race – the ruling APC, the leading opposition party PDP and the Dark Horse, PRP, or Peoples’ Redemption Party. APC is fielding incumbent Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje; PDP has Abba Kabir Yusuf; while the PRP has Salihu Sagir Takai.

Let us proceed to analyse the pros and the cons of these three:

APC GANDUJE: If there is one thing going against this incumbent, it is the trending vexing and weighty palaver of the allegation of Dollar Bribe. The clandestinely-recorded videos purporting to show Ganduje receiving gratification has done a lot of damage to his reputation and, by extension, even that of the President who has not been forthcoming on the matter. A couple of days ago, another video emerged where voices could be heard allegedly ‘allocating’ monies and market shops to principal officers of the State House of Assembly. The investigation on this matter has since stalled in the courts and the House of Assembly. But if there is any silver lining going for Ganduje, it is the support he has garnered from the likes of Senator-Elect Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, who only a few months ago crossed over from the PDP, to be followed later by dozens of powerful PDP stalwarts smoked out by Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso in his usual ‘winner-takes-all-and-more’ attitude.

PDP ABBA: Almost everything is going wrong for this candidate – First, the to-ing and fro-ing in the courts of law whether or not he is legitimate; Federal High Court Kano says he isn’t, Court of Appeal Kaduna says he is. Second albatross around Abba’s neck is definitely his godfather, mentor, lord and master Senator Kwankwaso. The talk in town is that if Abba were ever to become a Governor, he would only be a figurehead holding the proverbial cow’s horn while his leader Kwankwaso would have monopoly access to the udders for free milking, in the manner of Saraki and Kwara before O To Ge (It Is Enough). On the positive side is Abba’s association, as one-time Commissioner of Works, with Kano’s Red-Cap Flyovers constructed by his father-in-law.

PRP TAKAI: This is the real dark horse. Sometimes the horse nobody bets on usually cruises home as winner. Takai does not seem to have any negative sides, as far as the campaigns were concerned. Only that he has no money, no godfather (Shekarau was his former leader but they are in different parties today). And he has no baggage like the other two candidates. Throughout his public service career, Takai has been justifiably judged to be quite above board. The only snag in his campaign has been the fact that while the other two candidates have perhaps billions at their disposal for the exercise, the PRP, as a historically pro-poor party, has been very poor. But then Kano electorate has been known to spring surprises.

May Allah help us choose the best for us; not only in Kano but throughout Nigeria.

ENGR. RABI’U DODO (rabiueldodo@gmail.com): Your Saturday column is always exiting and sometimes serves as a “policy advisory page” just like the writeup of Barrister Audu Bulama Bukarti on his five-point advice to President Muhammadu Buhari on fighting Boko Haram. But who will bring these pieces to the notice of Mr. President? I wonder if the President even has time to read these submissions in the newspapers.

MOHAMMED M. M. GOMBE (pantami2001@yahoo.co.uk): Praise be to Allah who made it possible for us to sail smoothly through the presidential election, but it’s not over until it’s over. In other words, we must go out today to vote governors that will make a difference. Simply because state authority has the primary responsibility of making the dividends of democracy available to us at the grassroots. If we want timely payment of workers’ salaries, good healthcare, sound primary and secondary education, better local infrastructures etc., we must vote upright candidates for gubernatorial and state assembly elections. And the last outing has proved that it’s possible to make the right choice regardless of intimidation and the brainwashing tactics of the naysayers.

MUHAMMAD, AZARE (email suppressed on request): Permit me to contribute to this page now that politicians are busy engaging our innocent youths in violence. I will like to use this medium to say that my vote this week will be given to that political party that ab initio conducted free and fair primaries. In my state, the health and educational sectors are in a serious state of devastation. Most people can’t afford hospital bills considering the low standard of living; our schools are too few in number to accommodate our children, and there is no quality. Therefore, my vote goes to he who will revive these two sectors.

COLUMNIST – MY VOTE IS…Finally again, may Allah help us choose the best for us; not only in Kano but throughout Nigeria.