Sani S. Bala
In its practical kinesthesia and engagements, politics has various attributes. It depends on which side of philosophy one belongs and adopts. Also, political loyalty and partisanship to a particular cause or ideology has been the predominant feature of advanced political systems, where political leaders, activists and foot soldiers could remain behind a self-perceived idea or tendency for a long period of struggles and undertakings not minding whose ox is gored in the process of perfecting their never-failing dispositions.
However, in contemporary Third World countries or even nearer home in Nigerian democracy and political ambience, there’re politicians who remain studiously loyal to a genuine cause or objective for the overall interest of their followers and demographies. Some believe and conceive it as the normal practice that after having reaped copiously from a particular platform or party, they could conveniently jump ship to another political party in a bid to perpetuate thier selfish political agenda to the detriment of their respective political constituencies and parties.
The above scenario had played out in the build up to the 2015 general elections with the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the unprecedented massive defection of political light and heavy weights alike from the brobdingnagian Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the former. Certainly, very few of them decamped in tandem with their political ideologies and the best interest of the masses. It is also certain many must have done that in search of political relevance while others jumped ship in assurance of clinching fresh tickets or mandate in the APC.
Therefore, despite having jettisoned the PDP sour grape for the APC apparel, they seem are still stuck there as glaringly their anti-APC politicking and shenanigans had shown. In fact, at any given opportunity, these so-called decampees have bandied together with the PDP to frustrate the people-oriented policies and programs of the APC-led federal government and in their states.
In Bauchi State, the cause of the defection of Speaker Yakubu Dogara of the House of Representatives could be less salutary and more to do with the instincts of self-preservation and political career advancement than he would publicly admit. The well-publicized political feud between Dogara and the then Bauchi State Governor, Malam Isa Yuguda, had become very toxic when feelers emerged that Yuguda had privately vowed that Dogara would only obtain a fresh ticket in the PDP to run for a third term in the National Assembly over his dead body. Indeed, the chances of Dogara running on the PDP platform had become effectively foreclosed when Yuguda reportedly handpicked another candidate for Yakubu Dogara’s seat.
Therefore, the only reasonable option for Dogara was to hurriedly defect to APC and today the rest, they say, is history.
As the Leopard would not shade its dark spots, controversy, rancor and allegations of double dealings and disloyalty have continued to dog the Speaker’s every movement with insinuations being rife that he has one foot in the APC and the other solidly in the PDP. For instance, the manner of his election in 2015 still begs a lot of answers as his federal constituency, particularly Tafawa Balewa, Dass and Bogoro local government areas, had voted massively against APC’s Governor Mohammed Abubakar and President Muhammadu Buhari while at the same time lining up behind Dogara. What was that?
Even the dramatic Dogara’s emergence as House Speaker against his party’s position was primarily based on the solid support of PDP members while the bulk of APC members had followered the APC will and voted for Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
And the slim eight-vote margin of victory Dogara secured was hardly evidence of his popularity and widespread acceptance. Rather than soberly reflect on his marginal popularity and lopsided support in the House, Dogara has conversely assumed a larger than life posture, preferring to play the role of the proverbial godfather who expects fealty and subservience from political leaders in his home state, Bauchi, including those elected on a much broader and superior mandate than him.
It’s no longer news that Dogara has been at daggers drawn with Governor Abubakar over the latter’s insistence on running an independent, free minded government not subjected to control or dictation from Yakubu Dogara and his legion of acolytes and hangers on.
A visibly frustrated Dogara had after conspiringly and trickly connived with the PDP members to have survived the quantum of budget padding allegations by Hon. Abdulmumin Jibril, crossed another boarder to delve into Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai’s affairs and continually lash out at the action Governor Abubakar, claiming dubiously that he, Dogara, had installed Abubakar as the governor. Indeed, this is a laughable assertion given that the governor has been a grassroots politician and has been in the APC before the Dogara’s window-entry into the party.
Let us look at this: the total number of registered voters in the whole of Dogara’s constituency is virtually the same with the number of voters in Governor Abubakar’s Makama ward in Bauchi, a case of the tail claiming to wag the dog, indeed.
Typical in his spreading of falsehood, is the Speaker’s claims to constituency projects in his zone, as most of the projects were that of the FG’s Sustainable Development Goals. So the credit for those projects should deservedly be given to the Federal Government not Dogara.
Indeed, from the foregoing it is obvious even to the blind and deaf that Dogara has never and will never be loyal to the legitimate objectives and aspirations of the APC, rather he sees the party as a stop gap vehicle to his ultimate ambition. Let us see how he realizes that this time!
Dr. Bala writes from Bauchi
