KADUNA PDP

KADUNA PDP: The Odds Against Namadi Sambo

Ishaq Alhassan Qauranmata

Obviously, the enthronement of internal democracy within the PDP will in a large measure ensure the success of your administration. Therefore, you cannot allow…… continue (d) onslaught against internal democracy. Council of Patriotic PDP Youth

His Excellency, Architect Mohammed Namadi Sambo has, over the last six months left no one in doubt that he is a man who likes to keep his promises. Since assuming office as governor of Kaduna state, his efforts to fulfill campaign promises especially in the areas of Education, Healthcare and water supply have been receiving commendation from all interests within and outside the state. However, one promise that his Excellency may find extremely tough to fulfill is that of operating an “open door and all inclusive” government. Already, recent efforts, “aimed at strengthening internal democracy within the party as a means of eliminating rancor”, are said to be setting the governor on collision course with “some powerful interests who are used to the old culture of arbitrariness”.

In the build up to the aborted state congresses of the PDP, his Excellency convened a meeting of all stake holders of the party to review the zoning arrangement in the state in line with current realities. Subsequently, a committee was set up to review the zoning and come up with recommendations.

The committee noted that in the last dispensation, Zone 1 produced the state governor; Zone 2 had the speaker of the state assembly and the state party chairman while Zone 3 got the deputy governor, the ministerial slot as well as the secretary to the state government (SSG). The committee noted that the position of Zone 3 has not changed while Zones 1 and 2 have swapped positions. It therefore recommended that Zone 3 maintains the status quo while the positions of party chairman and house speaker (hitherto held by Zone 2) should go to Zone 1. This position was ratified by both the stake holders as well as his Excellency.

However, while all other positions have been taken up according to the sharing formula, the position of state party chairman appears to be the major contentious issue of the moment. The zoning committee had, (while sharing positions among the various local governments that made up the zones) allotted the chairmanship to Zaria local government in Zone 1 and the decision was accordingly conveyed.

Consequently, series of meetings were held by party elders and faithful in Zaria culminating in press conferences and solidarity visits to the governor expressing gratitude for the honor done to the local government. Similarly, about seven contestants have already emerged and vigorous campaigns have started.

The first sign of trouble came in the form of a letter by the Southern Kaduna Senatorial Zone, dated 15^th November 2007 and addressed to his Excellency, the executive governor. The letter, also published as an advertorial on page 18 of the Daily Trust of Thursday, November 22, was signed by Musa Nikaf, Zonal PDP chairman and 21 others including Dan’zumi Kissabo, state secretary of the PDP. According to the signatories, “Equity, fair-play and Justice” are served only if the party chairmanship is allotted to zone 3 which, as noted earlier, already has the deputy governor, the minister and the SSG.

Fortunately however, Youth of the zone whom the signatories claim to be representing distanced themselves from that demand, describing it as “spurious and unrealistic”. The Southern Kaduna Youth led by one Mr. Gideon not only affirmed support for the zoning arrangement but went further to name Alhaji Salisu Dabo, one of the contestants from Zaria as their choice.

Similarly, one Tim Maiyaki of Madakiya, writing on page 16 of the daily trust of Thursday, November 29 accused the “elders” of playing desperate politics in order to hide their failure to impact positively on the lives of their people. In apparent reference to the unfair demand by the “elders”, Maiyaki charged that “he that goes to equity must go with a clean hand”.

However a much more formidable challenge appeared from the camp of the former governor of the state, Makarfi. This challenge is formidable both in terms of Makarfi’s influence as well as the strategy adopted. First, the current state vice chairman of the party (who hails from Soba local government) is encouraged to intensify his campaign for the chairmanship as though unaware of the zoning to Zaria with the current chairman serving as his major support base. Secondly, senator Makarfi is said to be personally agitating for a member of the national assembly from Sabon-gari local government to resign and take up the chairmanship. Thirdly, most of the ‘Makarfi boys’ around governor Namadi are asked to support another candidate from Lere local government.

The plan is to put so much pressure on his Excellency that will force him to reconsider the Zaria option, unacceptable to the Makarfi group which has enjoyed a strangle hold on political activities in the state over the last eight years. That feat was made possible by a firm control over party apparatus, facilitated by the strangling of internal democracy and the promotion of mediocrity.

First, the current set of party “leaders” emerged through a dubious “electoral” process that denied any other contestant a chance to vie for any office except the anointed. In a jamboree called “state congress”, two years ago, they were all returned “unopposed”, hence securing their loyalty to those who made it possible for them to be in office despite their lack of acceptability to party members. Secondly, these “leaders” are largely illiterates and thus more prone to manipulations, especially to endorse candidates and/or policies without recourse to the aspirations of party members, as was the case in the last eight years.

To maintain its relevance/influence in the scheme of things in the state, especially now that “the boss” is no longer at the helm of affairs, the group is desperate to “either maintain these crops of leaders, or at least replace them with others that could be trusted”.

Unfortunately, the people of Zaria have, by their antecedents, shown a remarkable pedigree towards exerting their independence as evidenced by their rejection of the Makarfi train at both the 2003 and 2007 elections and thus cannot be “trusted”. Moreover, all the contestants from Zaria have attained an appreciable level of education and are thus unlikely to submit to any manipulative scheme.

More worrisome to the group however, is the strong support that Alhaji Salisu Dabo appears to be enjoying, not only in Zaria but across the state as the favoured candidate of the grass root. Dabo is not exactly one of the “enemies” of the Makarfi group, but his “being as much at home with the grass root as with the upper class”, coupled with his well known advocacy for fairness to all are qualities at variance with the group.

Above all, his Excellency’s apparent resolve to allow a level playing ground and to strengthen internal democracy, if it succeeds, will no doubt spell doom for a group whose very existence depends on arbitrariness and nepotism, hence the plot to “throw spanners in the works”. What is left to be seen therefore is whether his Excellency will insist on doing the right thing or cave in to the pressures.

Qauranmata @ yahoo.com