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Jigawa and the Battle for Nigeria’s Soul
By Dan Okereke
Newsdiaryonline Sat March 26,2011
Critics of General Muhammadu Buhari, the CPC presidential flag
bearer , claim they know a thing or two why he loses several of
his political battles but they are not giving him sufficient
credit for knowing who, and when, not to fight at
all. His supporters were
optimistic that his campaign visit to Jigawa state would be a
fight to “reclaim the last territory still under enemy control”.
But in the end, Buhari
and his storm troopers surrendered in Dutse, the Jigawa
State capital, without
firing a single shot in anger.
Military historians fondly
weave major war plots
around geographical landmarks where the battle was fought.
The Dutse battle field was the modern, expansive Malam Aminu
Kano Triangle.Three days earlier, Goodluck Jonathan had made a
triumphant entry into the arena and enjoyed what many consider
his most boisterous campaign in the North West, a constituency
Buhari covets as safe. His defiant and intrepid host, Sule
Lamido, had encouraged him to “say anything you like” because
“we own here”. “Jigawa is a
venue for political statement. We fear nobody, and nobody can
intimidate us; when we take a position, we do it in the interest
of the country”, Lamido told the mammoth crowd, to thunderous
applause.
Buhari’s rejection of the Aminu Kano Triangle as campaign venue,
now seen as an act of unilateral surrender, also provided his
opponents a lively agendum for debate. Many initially thought
that he feared his supporters might not fill the arena and that
he did not wish to give away the impression that Jigawa is,
after all, not the
favorable fishing ground for his brand of politics. But Kano and
Katsina are nearby and the logistics of busing loyalists across
the border to lend a shout should pose no serious problem. Many
were persuaded therefore that the real reason why Buhari shunned
the modern arena, a towering symbol of Talakawa success in
power, was to send an open message to Goodluck Jonathan and
his daring Jigawa
Governor that he will choose his battleground and will not
grant them free
advertisement by using their facility. There were other
emblematic sign languages for the initiated. Buhari was not
merely rejecting a
facility but a competing symbol for popular adulation, a symbol
which inherently contradicts his own messianic identity and
renders it intangible. What would he promise Jigawa people in
the form of good governance or accountableleadership which they
are not already enjoying? If it is charisma, he couldn’t
outshine Lamido on the political stage.
His choice of
alternative campaign venue, the open field between the Mosque
and Emir’s palace, was a coded message to PDP and Sule Lamido.
And a reminder to Jigawa people about where he and CPC stand in
the frenzy of 2011. Here stands Muhammadu Buhari, defender of
the Faithful, Custodian of the North’s Heritage.Over there stood
Goodluck Jonathan. One belongs, the other doesn’t. But hey,
General, this is Dutse, not Katsina.
Descending to using
veiled religious symbolism in his Jigawa campaign is Buhari’s
admission of defeat to a superior ideology. It is like he had
little choice though. In Jigawa State, Buhari met the
Progressive Renaissance in full blown; in Sule Lamido, he
confronted an old formidable war horse, as tested as they come,
fully reinvented. If Buhari represents hope to the army of
disenchanted Northern
youth, in Sule Lamido the youth are already feeling the impact
of power and purpose. If Buhari is a promise, Lamido is already
real, much, much beyond promise. Under Lamido, Jigawa is working
and even the General graciously
conceded that. It is important to state why PDP boasts about
Lamido.
He is by far their best performing Governor. His performance
goes beyond the“dividends of democracy” verbosity. He has
reinvented trust in leadership.Lamido’s accommodating mantra has
done more to give Jigawa people a stronger sense of oneness and
unity not known since the creation of the state. It is a bit of
ironic history that a Talakawa Monument would halt the General’s
political blitzkrieg across the North West. In 1984, Buhari as
Head of State inflicted the harshest punishment in his
controversial corruption trials on ‘Talaka’ Governors Abubakar
Rimi, Sabo Barkin Zuwo and their “fellow
conspirators” in the
South (Bisi Onabanjo, Jim Nwobodo, Ambrose Alli etc), who
received longer prison
terms compared to their NPN counterparts. It was no coincidence.
He did not try hard enough to cover the fact that he harbored
annihilation intentions toward politicians of the NEPU/PRP hue.
But that is history now. Today, the Talakawa Movement is on a
high, a counterweight to Buhari’s hegemonic ambitions or intent.
In Dutse, Buhari labored under the shadow of PDP grandeur. Story
has it that he passed
the night at the G-9 Quarters after the rally. The G-9 Guest
Houses are a monument not only to PDP’s legacy but also to the
nationalistic impulses of the Progressive
Movement whose leadership Sule Lamido inherited. If General
Buhari had observed carefully, he would have seen luxury chalets
in the guest house named after Alex Ekwueme, (where he stayed),
Jerry Gana, Francis Ellah, Bola Ige and Solomon Lar. In the
context of his present campaign symbolisms, marked by
the ferocious
bifurcation of the country along toxic regional and religious
templates, naming public
facilities in the North West after Southerners or
Middle Belt Christians
would be anathema to his political philosophy. In contrast, the
political energy Lamido has invested in identifying with, and
nourishing this nationalistic impulse has enriched Jigawa’s
national profile and consolidated his position as a formidable
political influence in Nigerian politics. Here lies the
fundamental difference between both men, their political
history, contemporary
definitions, associations and assumptions. It is a
struggle for the
Nigerian political soul.
In Dutse, Buhari showed
why he easily provides ammunition to those who have made up
their mind he is a bigot. In the absence of his controversial
running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, the CPC candidate could not
see the logic in nominating another high profile Southern
Christian to join him in paying courtesy visit on Governor
Lamido, an event he should know would be beamed on national
television, even if the gesture were symbolic. Rather, the
chilling personality of his Chief of Staff, Colonel Hameed Ali,
loomed large in the Council Chambers. Colonel
Hameed Ali’s tenure as
Military Administrator in Kaduna State was very
controversial and the
people of Kaduna, especially civil servants, do not
recall
his tenure with any
particular nostalgia. They accuse him of high-handedness and of
turning bigotry into official policy directed against them.
Having such a divisive person in a visible campaign role
reinforces General Buhari’s image as grossly insensitive to the
feelings of non-Muslim Northerners, especially when he had the
option of the services of a Brigadier-General Jafa’ru Isa, a
more urbane, effective and nationalistic officer beloved by
many, who is a CPC member. Hammed Ali as COS to Buhari in the
present context is what a Jonah Jang as COS to President
Jonathan would look like to many Nigerians.
From Dutse, Buhari took away lessons on the nexus between
leadership, people and power. He smashed through other Northern
capitals in the manner of a long-awaited Messiah but met a
different kind of challenge in Jigawa. He went away with a
better appreciation of how good leadership can mobilize a people
for their own empowerment. PDP owes it to the popular support
Lamido enjoys among Jigawa people for the frenzied presidential
rally it had in Dutse. Jigawa is perhaps the only state in the
North West where the crowd responds to“Nigeria” with “Goodluck”.
It is the only state where Goodluck/Sambo posters are not
defaced or superimposed
with Buhari’s (in fact, in some states, you need security
surveillance to safeguard Goodluck/Sambo billboards). It
recorded the largest crowd turn out, perhaps only bettered by
the one that witnessed Lamido’s
declaration for second term. The crowd, I understand,
could have been twice if the
PDP rally rule had not compelled Lamido to reduce the capacity.
These are no rented crowds. In Jigawa, if they don’t like you,
you will hear it. One sloga from one mouth in the audience will
tell you your real political status with them.Come April, Jigawa
is the place to watch. In June 1993, MKO Abiola won the national
election though a coalition of national progressives led by
people like Lamido. In 2011, history looks set to repeat itself.
At a time Jonathan is seeking help to douse the political
tension in the country, especially in the North, it is important
the president and his advisers understand the issues peculiar to
this region and link up with authentic political leaders with
credible credentials. It is already accepted that Sule Lamido
will smash to victory while both Jonathan and Buhari will get
their 25percent from the presidential vote, with the former
carrying the state. But Buhari’s visit to Jigawa will be
remembered long after this era for the symbolic themes it
generated and failed to generate.
Related:
When General Buhari
Called on Gov Sule Lamido-By
Adagbo Onoja
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