I read with irritation a nauseous write-up by one Abu Shekara with the above title and published by the Blueprint newspapers.
When I first read the article, I thought about advising the editor of Blueprint newspapers against allowing hired, obscure keyboard mercenaries to use that medium to champion the warped political agenda of masked sponsors; but then, I realised we are in a new world of press freedom – where people can make any statements, comments and arguments, however, stupid and tenuous.
Nauseating though, the tone and intent of the writing, nevertheless, confirmed the worst fears about the possibility of using orthodox media platforms to upload junk by fringe commentators with the aim of dragging the name of revered institutions into political disputes.
Apparently quite unprepared for the job and scantily equipped with facts, the writer resorted to half-truths and downright untruths in an attempt to pitch the respected Sokoto Sultanate as an institution and the person of His Eminence Sultan Saad Abubakar as paramount leader against the persons and interests of a targetted section of equally respectable Sokoto political leadership.
In that desperate attempt, the writer unwittingly blamed a different personality, to wit: Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko of an attrocity that is the specialty of his paymaster, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.
Who else could have incited the commoners to commit acts of dissent against the Sultanate better than he who has a record of cunning, deceit and make-believe?
Tambuwal, we all know, has the ugly record of camouflaging to desecrate the sanctity of the institution of the National Assembly to unduly assume the leadership of the House of Representatives.
Tambuwal was so desperate to become speaker at that time that he saw nothing in arranging and managing such embarrassing and belittling move as to get supposed honourable members of the House to scale the fences of the National Assembly complex against all rules of descency and decorum.
The sponsorship of the unruly conduct at the Sultanate premises referred to in the article accurately bears the fingermarks of Tambuwal who is known to play untidy political games driven by a burning obsession with reckless conduct.
The write-up had constantly hinted at an election victory of sorts – savouring in the fun of a poll that is said to have been “won” and “lost” by the most minimum of margins ever recorded in the history of electoral democracy in Nigeria.
Officially, the margin that purportedly gave Tambuwal the so-called victory was a paltry 342 votes or so. By every standards, the thin layer of the margin ought not make him celebrate so early, rather it must reasonably be done with cautious optimism.
But these are not sensibly reasonable times and when dealing with such haughty and unreasonable power-thirsty men as Tambuwal, no one should expect reason, decorum and convention.
This is perhaps why Tambuwal and his ill-informed crowd sees reason as threat, civility as weakness and rascality as valour.
For more politically savvy minds like Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa, Wammako is an indisposable political influencer, which explains why such heavyweights always respect him.
Wamakko thus remains the unbeatable father of.modern Sokoto politics as can be seen from how a clever Bafarawa (unlike Tambuwal) paid homage to him.
There were too many pointers to the fact that Governor Tambuwal has continued to politically shoot himself on the foot, by being so presumptuous that he has become a force to reckon with on Sokoto’s democratic space. This a fundamental miscalculation capable of undoing Tambuwal’s politics in Sokoto within a short time. In politics there are mentors wherever you go, be it in Africa, Asia or Europe, who quietly prepare the ground of success for their political disciples and this one reality Tambuwal needs to bear in mind. Wamakko did not just wake up one morning to become the godfather of Sokoto politics, because it takes a long time to build a political empire that would last. Therefore, no amount of subtle attempt to change the narrative – as Tambuwal and his political footsoldiers are currently doing – can change the tide of Sokoto’s history of politics. A good student of the history of contemporary Sokoto politics would readily admit that Tambuwal has stepped out of tune many times.
It is evident that Wamakko is now more of a phenomenon in Northern Nigerian politics. He has transcended limits that Tambuwal thinks. Practical politics is one that involves a lot of calculations and re-strategising and it seems Tambuwal has conveniently forgotten this. As the saying goes, it is better to retreat than persist in error and here lies the pitfalls of Tambuwal’s unwieldy political strategy.
It is now abundantly clear that Governor Tambuwal is politically on a roller-coaster ride and his co-travellers in this political misdaventure have blindly jumped in for the ride without even asking about the destination. The good thing about tomorrow is that it is inevitable.
What is there to celebrate, is it yet Uhuru? Tambuwal and his “Almajirai” of political aides should bury their faces in shame, especially the writer of this piece under discussion who was allegedly picked up by security agents for stuffing his vehicle with money for vote buying. It is absurd that those who leave in glass houses are throwing stones that will eventually return and hit them.
From what I gathered from Sokoto people, Tambuwal has been a political failure and only managed to buy himself back to power. You cannot buy power for it to last long and sooner than later both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Tambuwal who allegedly connived and rigged the people’s mandate would be exposed for the world to know that you reap what you sow. The good thing about tomorrow is that it never dies. Therefore, all those who connived and stole the All Progressives Congress (APC) landslide victory would be put to shame, in shaa Allah.
Bello writes from Legislative Quarters, Unguwan Dosa, Kaduna, Kaduna state.
