In Borno State, the ‘rat race’ for the 2019 election is gradually building up, with insinuations, innuendos and aspersions, here and there. Posters of prospective contestants, mostly from the All Progressives Congress, are rapidly springing up, defacing public buildings, especially those that are situated along highways and at conspicuous areas.
However, there are some contestants with posters bearing no political parties, and these are widely believed to be governorship aspirants contesting on the platform of the APC but are yet to get any clear signal as to whether they will be endorsed or not. This is more so as people of the state, who are just getting over the incidence of frequent attacks from the Boko Haram insurgents, look much ready to back any candidate supported by Governor Kashim Shettima, in appreciation for his collaborative efforts to contain the insurgency.
“Sai, Kashim; if he says I should stand on a railway line and close my ears and eyes, I will gladly do it, because I know he loves us all in Borno and wants the best for us. So, anybody that he is supporting to succeed him is the next governor,” said Alhaji Aliu Daura, an APC member in Maiduguri, the state’s capital.
The sleepless night Governor Kashim has given the prospective aspirants in the governorship race, however, is his silence over who will succeed him.
Meanwhile, investigations revealed that there were moves by stakeholders in Borno state to draft Senator Babakaka Bashir Garbai into the race. Babakaka is currently the Senator representing Borno Central Zone in the Senate. He is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Business.
Findings showed that while contestants to the Government House, Maiduguri, are busy, silently courting the support of the people, it is the people, on the other hand, that are pleading with Babakaka to come out and contest. The people involved, it was learnt, include prominent stakeholders in the ruling party in the state. Yet, the Senator is not forthcoming as he remains silent, as if not perturbed, despite the nod given him by those that matter in APC circles in the state.
Babakaka came into prominence three years back when he was elected Senator representing Borno Central following the death of the incumbent Senator Ahmad Zanna. Before then, he was Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Governor Kashim’s administration.
His humane disposition, service to the people, especially the underprivileged; empowerment of the youths, protecting the underdogs, and philanthropy, it was further learnt, particularly endeared Babakaka to the people who now say ‘Sai Kai’, meaning, ‘you must led us’.
The Senator, a prince from the famed El-Kanemi dynasty, though a first timer at the senate, had initiated and supported many bills in the senate. For example, he sponsored the motion calling on the federal government to intervene on the illegal movement of Nigerians to Libya as well their maltreatment. He also sponsored the motion imploring Buhari’s administration to investigate the activities of the Presidential Initiative in the Northeast, which described the award of grass-cutting contract allegedly to the Former Secretary to the Federal Government, Babachir Lawal, improper.
OTHER CONTESTANTS
However, it might not be all that a smooth ride for Babakaka if he finally chooses to bend to the people’s will and contest the governorship election. This is because some of the other aspirants are no pushovers. Take for instance, Senator Abu Kyari who is a former Commissioner for Water Resources whose activities impacted positively on the people. Even as Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence, Senator Kyari contributed immensely, one way or the other, to enhance the war on insurgency in the Northeast, especially in Borno. Also believed to be in the race is the current Commissioner for Works, Alhaji Adamu Zaufanjinba, who is making waves in his Ministry, with regard to the provision of the essentials to locals still smarting from the havocs of Boko Haram insurgency. Neither is Eng. Kabiru Wanori, a pushover, as he is like others, a formidable politician.
However, indications from the APC circles in Maiduguri showed that the aspirants jostling for the seat of Governor Shettima come next year, may reach a consensus after the APC national convention, to prepare the grounds for a rancour-free governorship primary election
