“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable.” When George Orwell made that wisecrack, he could not have had Nigeria’s modern-day politicians in mind, because the sage came and left before this country came into existence. Political language can be categorised into both body language and verbal communication.
And so, political betrayal can be situated by Nigerian politicians who turn around to bite the fingers that once brought political godsons to stardom.
It is no longer news that Nigeria’s political landscape is replete with stories of political mentees who fell out with their mentors simply because they decided it was time to usurp the thrones that made them. It is more the norm now than the exception. This immorality can be traced to Nigeria’s Second Republic when intrigues, backstabbing and crude betrayal played out in the election that brought the late President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari.
In Kwara state, betrayal reportedly played out between father and son. It reared its ugly monstrous head in Kano between Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and his erstwhile deputy outgoing Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. Kwankwaso seems to hold on to that political culture as he fought tooth and nail to install Abba Kabiru Yusuf who will succeed Ganduje on May 29, 2023. The fallout from the Kwankwaso-Ganduje brawl is what currently puts Kano state on the burner. Kano is very hot to the touch now. Though Kwara state is peaceful now, but it looks like Saraki is being forced to go on compulsory political holiday or retirement. There are lessons to be learnt in these whole macabre.
However, none of the betrayals, especially since 1999, can compare with the crude betrayal of Senator Danjuma Goje ongoing in Gombe state. It was 2003 when Goje had just ousted Abubakar Habu Hashidu’s All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to become the second elected governor of Gombe state on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Among his first appointees was one unknown political quantity Inuwa Yahaya who served as his commissioner for finance for seven of Goje’s eight years tenure.
In 2011, Inuwa Yahaya contested against Hassan Dankwambo for the PDP ticket and lost. Of all those who contested that primary election, only Inuwa Yahaya and Bayero Nafada challenged Danjuma Goje. For Nafada, it was understandable, but tongues wagged as Inuwa Yahaya had the temerity to challenge Goje given that Goje lifted Inuwa Yahaya from political obscurity, dusted and built him to political stardom.
This is despite the fact that virtually every Nigerian knows the story of Danwambo’s exploits as accountant general of the federation, specifically how he came top of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s assessment of prospective candidates for the office before landing the job. It would have been foolhardy to overlook a shining star such as Dankwambo for anyone else and I’m sure that’s why the PDP in Gombe settled for him.
Despite these early signs, however, Goje let bygone be bygone and brought Inuwa Yahaya to APC in 2015. As a serving senator and founding member of the APC in the state, Goje, as the leader of the APC in the state, gave Inuwa Yahaya the APC platform to actualise his governorship ambition.
Goje went ahead to manage the post-primary election fallouts to ensure all aspirants rallied round Inuwa Yahaya for the rallies that took them to all 114 electoral wards in all the 11 local government areas of the state. Inuwa lost and Dankwambo became the only incumbent to survive the Buhari tsunami that swept across Northern Nigeria. Without making it too obvious, Dankwambo’s reelection in the face of the Buhari waves more than confirms that Goje’s 2011 choice of Dankwambo was right.
In 2019, with Dankwambo rounding off his constitutionally permitted two terms, Goje again fronted for Inuwa Yahaya to be governor despite stiff opposition from other deserving contestants who wanted the governorship seat. Again, Goje managed the fallouts and, this time, made sure Inuwa Yahaya and the APC coasted to victory across the entire the state. Inuwa Yahaya became governor.
It is said if you cannot build, don’t destroy. For Inuwa Yahaya, he is not to build Goje, because Goje built him. So, what was doable for Inuwa Yahaya was for him to just face governance squarely if he cannot show appreciation to Goje. Now as governor, it didn’t take long for Inuwa Yahaya to mount his deification rostrum. Without holding back, Inuwa Yahaya decided it was time to mess up with the one who made him king.
Things came to a head when in 2021, the ƴan Kallare thugs (a scourge battled to the end by Dankwambo) allegedly attempted to prevent Goje from entering Gombe. In the ensuing melee, seven innocent people reportedly died and others were fatally injured. Shortly after, Inuwa Yahaya dislodged and dislocated fellow political godsons in his administration loyal to Goje.
Inuwa Yahaya succeeded in creating many political enemies for his master. Among such political godsons turned political foe Goje nurtured since 2015 from scratch to the green chambers of the National Assembly is Hon. Usman Bello Kumo. Kumo went as far as to challenge Goje in the senate contest under the PDP, but after he lost woefully and embarrassingly, he apologised to Goje and begged for forgiveness. As a tradition, he again holds political arms against him after securing his seat back in the House of Representatives.
Inuwa Yahaya allegedly hatched another plan to malign Goje again, but kissed the dust. Recently, a plot was orchestrated by the band of Goje’s political opponents, sadly those he mentored – to expel Goje from the APC, a party he passionately built and led to win at all levels in the state in 2019 and where he is now standing as the only senator re-elected on its podium.
It may surprise those who undermine and underestimate Goje’s political forte, he won his re-election without campaigning or even visiting the state to avoid a repeat of the November 5, 2021, horrible and unfortunate incident where he was attacked by political thugs intent to stop him from entering the state.
It naturally hurts. This is a state where he was part of those who relentlessly secured its statehood from the then Bauchi state in 1996 during the military administration of General Sani Abacha. As the second civilian governor of the state, it was during his eight years of administration that the state really wore its desired face of a sovereign state – he built roads in all nooks and crannies, hospitals, a befitting stadium, Gombe State University, the airport that even those fighting him are now enjoying, central mosque, the CAN centre, and lots more.
It’s also silly, absurd, and illogical to accuse Goje, the lone APC representative and leader in the state, of engaging in anti-party activities let alone expelling him. He won his units, wards, local government area and constituency during the February 25 election, it could have been right and justifiable to accuse those who lost at all levels including their immediate polling units of compromising the party’s successful outing during the presidential and national assembly election, in spite of the fact that Inuwa was the North-east zonal campaign coordinator, it was evident that APC woefully lost to the opposition PDP.
As it stands, out of five House of Representatives members-elect, APC got only one, and out of the three senators, the party got one which is Senator Goje. And now the party is expelling him under Governor Inuwa’s watch. Which is more anti-party, Goje’s or Governor Yahya’s, who is chasing away virtually all APC powerful blocs in the state?
It’s ridiculous to suspend serving senator, member, and expel the lone senator re-elected under the party and suspend hundreds of his loyalists and pretend you’re doing good for the party. What is more disturbing is making it a tradition in Gombe to backstab the person who helped you. Goje deserves not this and we’re certainly setting a bad precedence! It is a betrayal like no other.
Maybe Yahaya should look in the direction of Bukola Saraki and Kano to see if there is a lesson to learn in betrayal.
Muhammed writes from Abuja
