Kano PDP And Death Of Outrage

Muhammad Ladodo Gama

News that disgraced former Speaker of the House of Representatives, our own ‘Original Torontonian’ Ibrahim Salisu Buhari, has picked nomination form to contest the 2007 gubernatorial elections in Kano is both mind numbing and a rude shock. We all know that Salisu Buhari’s PDP is a party where perfidy is glorified but a Salisu Buhari as Governorship candidate means that the thin moral fiber on which the party stands in the eyes of the public is now completely submerged. A Certificate Forger as Governor of Kano state? What do these characters take Kano for, a land of crooks? Are PDP chieftains so contemptible of Kano state, of its proud history, which dates over centuries, of its distinguished historic figures that they would hoist a desperate young man with battered political antecedents to rule over people who value piety and public morality above worldly pomp?

Salisu Buhari, for record purposes, was the first speaker of the Fourth Republic, a young man who had so much going for him. He was rich, handsome, highly networked and had suddenly been thrust to the national stage as the fourth highest ranking officer of a new republic ushered in with so much hype and élan. Alas, the man was fake; he claimed educational qualifications he never had, criminally misled INEC, shamelessly brought the name of a school in Toronto into disrepute, shamed Kano and his generation without remorse and had risen to the pinnacle by fraud and devious manipulation. When his misdemeanor caught up with him he fell from grace to grace but in true tradition of his party PDP favouring expediency over morality, he was granted an emergency presidential pardon and but for the vigilance of patriotic House of Representative members almost returned to his post in place of the gallant Ghali Umar Na’abba, the Lion whose intrepidity effectively checkmated Obasanjo’s dictatorial inclinations in the first term.

That Salisu Buhari has the effrontery to stand for election is not only absurd and recklessly irresponsible, it shows the young man is thoroughly cynical about moral values and believes his immense wealth can buy him respectability where his credentials and public office behaviour could not.

Why does he want to rule Kano and not return to the centre where politics under Obasanjo is a huge swindle of public morality? He would do well there. Power may have made Salisu Buhari forget his roots but Kano politics is deeply moralistic and has no place for those to whom the end justifies the means.

That explains why Malam Aminu Kano remains the most dominant influence among the people, even those outside his circle of radical ideological politics. Malam preached liberation from forces of tyranny, oppression and reaction. He mobilized the people against lack of accountability of the commonwealth, raised questions about unjust taxation, questioned the rational for using the people’s sweat to justify and maintain a reactionary aristocracy.

Ideological fidelity, underlined by transparent morality has thus continued to define the political predilections of Kano politics. Moneybag politics and especially the glorification of deceitful charisma are recent influences lacking deep foundations. As it is now the true heroes, the leading lights of Kano politics are those men and women of virtue whom the people can repose trust without flinch. That is why General Muhammadu Buhari and Malam Ibrahim Shekarau continue to enjoy unprecedented support in Kano and beyond. Their politics is an extension of their personal lives, ingrained in deep religiosity, personal discipline, transparency, honesty, sacrifice and devotion. To Kano people, politics must stand on some ethical foundation be it ideological, personal moral authority or religious devotion.

That is why a Salisu Buhari presenting himself for election affronts Kanawa sense of propriety and assaults our sense of decency. He is not just a negative influence but a dangerous loose canon, a free agent of vice rich enough to corrupt our youths and debase our principles. The behaviour of men of power defines those of the public. Where leaders cheat, shortchange the system and emerge victorious, without sanctions or serious retribution, they contaminate the society with the virus of corruption, students would attempt examination malpractices, motorists would not obey road signs, hoodlums would vandalise public utilities, public officers would steal more, traders would cheat their customers through offering compromised measures, in short, the cap of restraint would come off and the society would be enmeshed in a roller-coaster of malfeasance. Better to stop the one man who has the power to corrupt.

Low moral standards infect the rulers with a sleaze consciousness, misuse and abuse of public trust, arrogance and poor accountability of power and the public with cynicism, frustration, resignation and civil disobedience

Kano state is already enjoying a new lease of life under Malam Shekarau, a man who has raised the bar of public morality too high for PDP vermin re-penetration. Kano today is the only state government that invites EFCC to probe its officials and contractors. Where other governors go to ridiculous lengths to frustrate EFCC investigation and prosecution in their domain, it was Malam Shekarau who took the initiative to invite the Commission to scrutinize its fertilizer supply contract after the contractors collected mobilization and failed to deliver. The state’s money was recovered intact. Here we have a chief executive who is not acquiring personal houses and properties in the state and around the world with public funds; a governor whom the people agree is simple, unassuming and honest. This is not canvassing for Shekarau to be returned unopposed; Kano expects high quality candidates to step forward for election, the Governor’s personal style simply provides an ethical benchmark for those seeking to contest against him.

The problem with PDP is it neither has respect for the people it seeks to govern nor respect the electoral processes that sustain the machinery of democracy. Its national officers were appointed not elected in brazen contradiction of its own constitution. Its primaries are more like bazaars for the highest bidder. A research group once argued that PDP is not a political party in the conventional sense of the word but an assemblage of emergency power seekers with scant regard for due process or the etiquettes of the game.

A run down of the characters jostling to rule Kano under PDP confirms that party is very economic with uprightness, characters who represent every loathsome attribute fathers wish not their sons - wealth without integrity, power without honour, charisma without morality.

Salisu Buhari’s impudence is a deafening slap on the moral face of Kano people, whatever emboldened him to collect nomination form to vie for a gubernatorial seat in Kano has seriously damaged his potentials for possible rehabilitation in the future. Ibrahim El-Amin is not called ‘Little’ for nothing, he lacks conviction, prostitutes his influence, does not believe in party discipline or group sacrifice and would ditch PDP when, as I predict, he fails to clinch the ticket.

Umar Ganduje is a spent force in Kano politics and is seen as over recycled and overindulged. His chances of winning a free and fair election in the state are nil.

Aminu Dabo’s tenure at the Nigeria Ports Authority will remain one of the most controversial and if the current federal government is unwilling or unable to conduct a non-contentious investigation into allegations of sleaze while Messrs Dabo and Olabode George were at the helm, a future government would. Question: is do Kanawa desire a repeat of Dabo’s NPA stint here? Do we deserve him? Do we need him? The answer is NO. If Bode George dares not show his face to Lagosians for election because of the unflattering NPA label he wears, where did Dabo pluck the bravado to rate his chances in Kano? In any case, the thinking here is that these men know quite well they don’t stand a donkey’s chance with Kano voters but merely want to negotiate a ministerial position for themselves come 2007. Clever tactic then, but one which forebodes trepidation for those of us who look forward to a New Nigeria where only the morally upright would make it to the podium for election.

Muhammad Ladodo Gama contributed this piece from Gama Quarters, Kano.