Preparations for the forthcoming governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party in Borno State, are so intriguing, unpredictable, full of suspense and expectations . Come to Borno and see as seeing is believing. As the saying goes in Hausa language, “GaniYafi Ji”, meaning seeing surpasses hearing.
This is so as about 20 aspirants have purchased the form for governorship primaries of the party for the September 25 primaries. The assumption that will readily come to mind is that the APC in the state is polarised, hence the number of governorship aspirants. But this is not so.
The APC in the state is well rooted, structured and in the firm control of its leader in the state, who is Kashim Shettima, the state governor. He enjoys the confidence of the state legislature which is a hundred percent APC membership. As a matter of fact, Borno State is one of the states, if not the only state, where APC controls hundred percent, membership of the state legislature and National Assembly.
Because of this, one would naturally be of the opinion that the party’s primaries would be less tensed without rancour, bitterness or back stabbing. Instead, the opposite is the case due to conflict of interests some that centred on ego, prejudice, bitterness, hatred and self-serving interest.
There are three categories of the combatants in ensuing scenario. The first group is made up of those known as “the Abuja visitor citizens”. This group is regarded as Borno citizens from Abuja and beyond who are non-residents in the state. Besides some members of this group who were residents in the state are alleged to have ran away with members of their families and pets from the onset of the insurgency without recourse to Borno again, except now that elections are here. The antagonists of this group regard its member as those who want to reap where they did not sow.
Politics aside, the successor to Kashim Shettima must possess certain distinct qualities to be able to steer effectively the ship of the state due to the unusual circumstances Borno has unfortunately found itself
The second group of combatant consists some chieftains of the APC in the state who rightly or wrongly are said to nursing grudges against the state governor for reasons best known to them. This group said to be sponsored by Senator Modu Sheriff, therefore, is alleged to be sponsoring some candidates in the primaries to counter possible preferred candidate of Governor Shettima.
The third and the most formidable group consists of those described as the “home based” politicians or “the natives” made up of party chieftains, members of the state and National Assemblies, state commissioners, stakeholders and multitude of followers. This group is alleged to owe total allegiance to Governor Kashim. It is seriously opposed to the other groups on the ground that its members swallowed the bitter pills, endured the bullets, saw deaths, sorrow and blood in the heat of the insurgency and would therefore not allow others outside their domain to reap where they did not sow. The three groups are therefore sponsoring their respective candidates for the September 25 governorship primaries.
What makes the entire scene interesting, complex and unpredictable is the visible neutrality of Governor Kashim Shettima in this game though there is no means to read the mind’s construction. So far, no one has been able to point at any anointed one. He lets the field open to all but kept things to his chest. However, the extent he has gone so far in his speech indicates that whosoever will succeed him will be one that has been part and parcel of the on-going liberation struggle. Governor Kashim had at several fora indicted those he described as “Abuja politicians” who not only abandoned Borno at the inception of the insurgency but instigate conflict against his administration from the their new abode. At a point, he declared, “We will expose them. We are waiting for them. We will defeat them as we defeat Boko Haram.”
While it is alleged that the first and second groups are striving to have the blessing of the presidency and the national leadership of the party, the third group is said to have given its backing to Governor Shettima’s possible choice. It would be recalled recently that the former Deputy Governor to Governor Modu Sheriff, Alhaji Adamu Dibal, accused Sheriff of trying to manipulate the presidency and the National Chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, to hand over the Buhari Presidential campaign structure in the state to him to enable him influence the goings in the state APC to his advantage.
At the last count, about 20 candidates have purchased the APC governorship form for the primaries with the third group said to be in sympathy with Governor Shettima being the majority of the aspirants.
Kashim has repeatedly stated that he did not know his successor but was categorical in saying that the Abuja politicians from Borno, who want to reap where they did not sow, will meet him ready on the battlefield. He lamented that at the trying period of Borno, the politicians concerned, along with members of their families and pets, abandoned the state to its fate. In addition, some of them with deep-rooted prejudice against his administration constituted a block, encouraging from their new abode, subversive activities in Borno.
As at the time of filing this report, the governorship aspirants are still expected to pick their forms. However, those that have purchased the form include Senator Kaka Bashir Garbai of the Borno Central Senatorial Zone. Garbai was a former commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Governor Kashim’s administration and presently, Chairman of Senate Committee on Ethics and Rules. Incidentally, Governor Kashim who is heading for the Senate is contesting in the same Senatorial Zone with Garbai. The assumption points to the likelihood that he might swap position with the governor. As a Senator in the 8th Senate, Kaka Garbai has made a mark.
Adamu Lawan Zaufanjimba, the workaholic works and transport commissioner in the current dispensation., is another aspirant. Before now, he was the Assistant General Manager of Zenith Bank. According to speculation, he has the ears of the governor for his competence. Professor Babagana Zulum, the Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RRR), is another aspirant. Professor Zulum, popularly referred to as the 3Rs commissioner, is a technocrat and a commissioner who has made impact in the reconstruction, and resettlement programme of Kashim’s administration. Barrister Kaka Shehu, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice is another contender. A vocal and brilliant lawyer. He is one of the youngest, if not the youngest contestants. Senator Abubakar Kyari, representing Borno North in the Senate, is also an aspirant. He had served as commissioner in some ministries and was Chief of Staff to Governor Shettima between 2011 and 2015. Also in the race is Alhaji Baba Shehuri, the Minister of State for Works. Alhaji Adamu Dibal, the former Deputy Governor to former Governor Ali Modu Sheriff, is also in the race. Dibal is from Borno South, the zone that is agitating for power shift. Similarly is Idrisa Mamman Durkwa, a chartered Accountant from Borno South Senatorial Zone. Another aspirant is Mohammed Makinta, who was the Commissioner for Education during the governorship tenure of Mala Kachallah. Senator Abba Aji, a one-time Presidential Liaison Officer to the National Assembly during President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure, is also in the contest. The Nigeria Ambassador to China, Ambassador Ahmed Baba Jida, a seasoned technocrat, is an aspirant. Ambassador Jida was Secretary to the Government of Kashim Shettima before his latest appointment as Ambassador to China.
Each of the aspirant has a plus as well a minus. In as much as the list of the aspirants is inexhaustive, it is expected that the man the lot would eventually fall upon who comes from the group of home-based politicians loyal to Governor Kashim as against the choice of Abuja politicians.
Politics aside, the successor to Kashim Shettima must possess certain distinct qualities to be able to steer effectively the ship of the state due to the unusual circumstances Borno has unfortunately found itself. The successor must be intellectually sound having foresight with eyes wide-opened and ears to the ground. He must be diplomatic, possess cunning skills and legalistic, humble and his administration must have the human face; bold but considerate, accessible but firm. He must have the guts to say “no” or “yes” when it becomes imperative. The successor must be articulate, energetic, steadfast, having the capability and capacity to bolster through the debris of catastrophe Borno is presently experiencing. He must be a willing sympathiser of Borno’s predicament, a sympathiser of the thousands of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), the orphans, the widows, the broken limbs, the tattered lives and the looted barns. He must be a catalyst or a redeeming agent in the present predicament of the state. The successor must be a symbolic projection of the popular saying of the American President “what will I do for my country and not what my country will do for me.”
Above all, Kashim successor must show love to all and be magnanimous in victory. He must be achievement personified and be able to match and marry competing interests. The masses remain always his allies.
If Governor Kashim Shettima had succeeded so far, which is generally the popular view or perception, it is because he exhibited the above characteristics which endeared him to the people. An observer notes “What Kashim has down so far is to prove to the pessimists that Borno is not a failed state as well demonstrate to all the difference between those who use the mandate of the people for their upliftment to those who use the same to oppress them.”
The outcome of the governorship, state and National Assemblies primaries in the state will be instructive. This is because for the past four years or thereabout, there have been alignment and realignment within the leadership structure of APC in the state and the development has created a new order. Consequently, the myth surrounding the acclaimed grand masters of Borno politics has been demystified either in elections or related contest where they were beaten hands down .
So far, there has not been a governorship aspirant from the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, a state completely dominated
by APC.
