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The nullification of Governor Aliyu Wamakko’s (PDP) election by the Court of Appeal in Kaduna was greeted with muted reaction by the people of Sokoto State, which itself suggests that the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) will need a miracle to regain ground or recapture power in Sokoto State.
In fact, even within the DPP camp, the celebration of their technical victory at the Court of Appeal was short-lived. As they pondered over the realities of Sokoto State politics, the DPP leaders are sounding desperate and despondent. Many DPP leaders kept making persistent calls to radio and news paper editors, trying to give their own self-serving interpretation of the court judgement. One of the DPP callers went as far as accusing reporters of not properly interpreting the intention of the Court of Appeal Judges in Kaduna. According to the DPP supporters, former Governor Aliyu Wamakko was disqualified to stand as candidate in a fresh election, although nowhere in their decision did the Judges declare that he shouldn’t run in the fresh election. Irritated by the interference of the DPP into their work, one radio editor had to tell such callers that it is not the business of journalists to re-interpret court judgments based on the "facts" supplied by interested parties. He suggested to the caller to meet the court of Appeal Judges to secure a declaration that Wamakko would not stand again as candidate and it would be reported as such. Apparently disappointed by the editor’s suggestion, the DPP caller hung up the phone abruptly on him. It is clear that the attempt by the DPP supporters and leaders to mislead media houses about the content of the Court of Appeal Judgement is an unmistakable sign of a Party facing uncertain future or lacking the confidence to go for fresh elections. As a keen radio listener, I was disappointed by the reaction of the DPP Governorship candidate in the April 2007 elections, Alhaji Maigari Dingyadi, who sounded curiously desperate when he granted an interview to the Hausa Service of the BBC. Alhaji Maigari insisted that the former PDP Governor should not stand again in the election re-run. He however, failed to offer any cogent or logical argument to justify his suggestion that Wamakko should not stand again as a candidate of the PDP. What Maigari didn’t disclose, however, is that the DPP stands no chance in winning election re-run in Sokoto State. He is mortally afraid of the Wamakko phenomenon, just like the case of U.S Presidential hopeful, Barack Obama. It is obvious that, he stands no chance against Wamakko’s formidable popularity, which helped the PDP to clobber former Governor Attahiru Bafarawa and his Party out of office. Any keen observer knows that the DPP is in disarray in Sokoto State because the Party and its founder exhausted whatever goodwill they once had in Sokoto State. In fact, the Democratic People’s Party is now the shadow of its former self throughout Nigeria. Maigari Dingyadi lacks the charisma, charm, appeal and popularity of Wamakko to significantly reverse the fortunes of the DPP in Sokoto State. Any discerning and perceptive political analyst would be amazed why Maigari Dingyadi should insist on Wamakko not contesting again. If Governor Ibrahim Idris and Murtala Nyako of Kogi and Adamawa States respectively are free to contest the fresh governorship elections, why should Aliyu Wamakko be denied that opportunity? What crime did he commit to be denied his constitutional right to contest in the election? How long can the DPP and its leaders continue to fight the will of God? The emergence of Wamakko as Governor in the April 2007 elections was a divine intervention to humble arrogant leaders who believed that with money alone, they can be the masters of other people’s destinies. The excesses of former Governor Bafarawa and his open disdain for the people largely contributed to his ultimate defeat. He once boasted that Wamakko could only become a Governor when he quit politics or when he is dead! Worse still, he also boasted that if he put his cap as a candidate in any elections, it must win effortless ease! Contrary to some wrongly held notions, the influence of the federal might didn’t significantly play a role in the defeat of former Governor Bafarawa. If indeed, the federal might counted as a factor, Bafarawa would not have ruled Sokoto State for two consecutive terms. The real reason the DPP lost is that Bafarawa had thoroughly exhausted his goodwill, a factor that made it much easier for the PDP to send him to the cleaners. Bafarawa was a victim of his own hubris (self-destructive pride) and there is nothing on the ground to suggest that he has the magic formula to change the fortunes of the DPP, let alone help it recapture Sokoto State. In fact, it is easier to defeat a Party or candidate that has exhausted its or his goodwill. It got to a point where Bafarawa was being tolerated rather than loved by the people and all his desperate attempts to torpedo the political ambition of his former Deputy, Aliyu Wamakko, scattered like a pack of cards. By his own calculation of the realities of Sokoto State politics, Maigari Dingyadi has discovered to his chagrin that the cards are stacked against him. He doesn’t stand a dog’s chance against Wamakko’s popularity, which is why he is angry with the Court of Appeal Judges who refused to declare that he should automatically take over from Wamakko. The Court of Appeal didn’t say Wamakko was disqualified because his election was fraudulent, but because of procedural error in the manner of his defection from ANPP and entry into the PDP as its gubernatorial candidate. Rather than insisting that Wamakko shouldn’t stand, Maigari Dingyadi and his supporters should go to the polls and test their popularity. That is the beauty of democracy. Fear is the first enemy, which means a frightened soldier is already defeated before the battle! Is Dingyadi a captive of fear? If he believes he is more popular than Wamakko, let him prove that point in the forthcoming election re-run. His puerile insistence that Wamakko shouldn’t run doesn’t give the impression that Maigari Dingyadi is a democrat. It is ridiculous to insist that a particular candidate shouldn’t run, despite the fact that he didn’t commit any crime. In fact, even the so-called demonstration in Sokoto State after the Court of Appeal’s verdict was the figment of someone else’s imagination. If indeed, Maigari Dingyadi is so popular, why should anyone demonstrate against the Court of Appeal judgement in his favour? Zagga is a Journalist based in Abuja.
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