Loading ...On Saturday, 23 March, 2019, history was made in Kano when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) organized the supplementary governorship election that eventually confirmed the re-election of the state Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Since the declaration of that result, the good people of Kano state have been in celebration mood, for witnessing the return of a Governor who has kept a date with the mandate given to him to take Kano state to the Next Level.
However, in every contest, there must emerge a winner and a loser. While the victor relishes victory, the loser resorts to all sorts of bickering, including spreading of lies and propaganda. In doing this, the Kwankwassiyya Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has hired machineries, using ghost names to spread lies and falsehood in the media.
One of such names is Jibrin Ibrahim, a phantom writer who authored an article on page 42 of Daily Trust of Tuesday, March 26, entitled ‘Anthropology of fabricating electoral results: How the Kano outcome might have emerged.’ Jibrin, in his desperation to deceive the public branded himself as an ‘observer’ who went round on that fateful Saturday to monitor the election! He met an unknown Assistant Presiding Officer (APO) who according to him, recounted what happened at Gama Tudu Primary School Registration Area Centre (RAC).
Jibrin’s ambition was well jettisoned, as he struggled in vain to discredit the result of an election which both local and international observers have described as peaceful and credible. So sad for Jubrin and his co-travelers that security agencies stood their ground and disallowed all attempts by the PDP Kwankwassiyya to disrupt the process of the election with their thousands of hired thugs who could not gain direct access to the polling units. They had wanted to replay their tactics of March 11 when they openly harassed voters and engaged in stupendous vote-buying and other forms of electoral malpractices, which eventually resulted to the cancellation of the election in some polling units in about 28 Local Government Areas.
Unlike the Kwankwassiyya PDP which believe in the use of force and violence to win election, the All Progressive Congress (APC), taking note of the March 11 experience went back to the drawing board and re-strategized ahead of the supplementary election. The APC engaged more in voters’ education and mobilized its teeming supporters to not only troop out en masse to exercise their franchise, but to also stood their ground and defend their votes—which they did.
The commitment of the APC supporters to ensure the victory of their candidate was not only a surprise to the Kwankwassiyya PDP, but also a shocker that took them off balance, as business was no longer as usual. As an observer who went round and monitored the exercise, it will be too bad to remain silent and watch a non-existent writer rewrite the history with the episode of a fictitious Bayero University, Kano (BUK) undergraduate APO..
In the world over, there has never been an election that has come and gone without peculiar challenges, but to say that the Kano supplementary governorship election was not peaceful and credible is simply doing disservice to the concerted effort of INEC and the show of commitment by security agencies who rebuffed all kinds of overtures and inducements from the Kwankwassiyya PDP, and did the right thing.
It is, indeed, very sad that in this part of the world, some politicians find it, rather, very difficult to concede defeat even when it is very obvious that they are roundly defeated. Notably, it is only the uninformed minds that will doubt the victory of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje at the polls. Defying all sorts of gang-up and betrayals by those who believe power belong to them, Ganduje with records of uncommon achievements in all fronts of governance and infrastructural development retained his seat to the chagrin of his detractors and opponents.
It is, however, very important to remind the aggrieved and the losers that Kano is bigger than anybody’s interest. Instead of engaging in spreading white lies and hate-speeches, it is better they accept defeat and give Governor Ganduje the breathing space he deserves to continue dispensing democratic dividends for the development of the state and the interest of her residents. The election has come and gone, continuous bickering over the exercise is nothing but a pull of detraction. However, my advice to Governor Ganduje is to remain unshakably focused. He should not be pulled down by his detractors; rather, he should re-strategize and concentrate on how to transform Kano into a mega city now that he has another chance of four years.
Ibrahim Aliyu is the Coordinator of
Centre for Democracy and Good Governance
He can be reached through ibrahimaliyu@gmail.com
