Date Published: 05/07/09
Hong LG Polls: The Subversion of a People’s Will
By Edward Wabundani
Half way into the first term of this administration, the proponents of Fulani antiques spearheaded by the manipulations of Jibril Aminu may have hit the bull’s eye. To start with, the emergence of Murtala Nyako as Adamawa governor through questionable means coupled with the dramatic appointment of his former legislative aide as a junior minister and the most recent handpicking of a stooge as local government chairman in Hong and other LG’s have revealed all these.
The hitherto rumoured Fulani agenda on the state citizens, most especially the natives who naturally are the majority, seems now to be a reality and no more a fallacy. And the way things have taken shape, I am afraid they may continue to remain so for sometime to come. But surely, situations will sooner than later iron out themselves as political realignment among political gladiators have earnestly commenced ahead of the 2012 governorship elections in the state. No wonder, Dr. Bala Takaya, a two time former governorship aspirant in the state, a sage in his own right, had earlier on forewarned of the imminence of a Fulani agenda. Unfortunately however, when this sectional and divisional agenda was hatched, few people believed it. Happily however, most if not all the victims who saw no reason to believe Dr. Takaya two decades ago have started to believe in the message of that gospel. They are now sober and can see even clearer.
The havoc caused by this systematic dominance by this cabal is unquantifiable politically. Generally, the natives have now come to terms with the fact that the 2007 agenda led by Jibril Aminu popularly referred to as a “controversial leader of Adamawa PDP” and Murtala Nyako “the Lord of Mangoes: is a design meant to institutionalize Fulani stronghold on politics of the PDP and on government machinery.
The objects/people readily available for use are their anointed stooges tactfully attracted to them through petty appointments. These are delicate issues mostly nursed by stakeholders but difficult to mention publicly. However, an attempt to address them came to the fore at a caucus meeting of WHO is WHO last year in Abuja. Convened by the former Acting Governor James Barka on 5/3/2008 at the International Conference Centre, the forum highlighted some of these salient issues ahead of the governorship re-run election of 26/4/2008. After a heated debate, participants among who was Murtala Nyako supported by his fellow oppressors, hurriedly took an undertaking to redress the identified injustices after assumption of office. They deceived themselves as usual, an outcome of which has started to manifest, thus threatening their former chummy relationship to something else (Nyako and Jibril Aminu feud) each of them struggling for a political structure ahead of 2012.
Though the relationship among the major players of dominance of the natives in Adamawa is still sour, their acolytes have however been mandated to take over. For example, the script they acted last week in Hong Local government was the imposition of Ibrahim Gayus as the LG Chairman. This same undemocratic, primitive and fraudulent exercise was equally institutionalized in the other 20 councils of the state. This is a clear violation of the PDP constitution. For the records, article 17 (A-F) provides for the conduct of primaries to elect candidates of the party for each public office. The conduct of such primaries is subject to guidelines released by NEC of the party. What really this means is that there is no provision in the constitution of PDP for automatic candidates. Surprisingly, this kangaroo decision of imposing candidates 10 years after PDP ruling in Hong and Adamawa is a shameful act. For if a community can’t vouch for the credibility and acceptance of a candidate and a party after ruling for this while, then there is something fishy somewhere, people’s loss of confidence.
The major culprits of imposition in the state are Jibril Aminu and Aliyu Idi Hong. This started with a semblance of selection exercise out of which some unfavourable candidates to the duo were disqualified based on flimsy and mundane considerations. In what was described as a terrorist exercise, 17 of the 21 councils were handpicked in the name of election on 20/12/2008. However, elections were suspended in the remaining four councils namely; Michika, Hong, Lamurde and Shellerg for what government described then as security volatile areas to warrant such exercise.
But surprisingly last Saturday May 2, 2009 the errand boys led by the boy-boy minister using the instrument of government machinery stealthily stormed Hong town with lorry loads of mobile policemen. Their mission can be likened to the Ekiti experience. To ensure that Aliyu Idi Hong’s puppet and another boy-boy appointee of Jibril Aminu is forcefully installed as chairman by all means.
Infact what transpired in Hong on this fateful day was astonishing. A council that formerly prides itself as peaceful area was turned into a vice grip of an unbearable tension. I witnessed lorry loads of security men armed to the teeth, criss crossing all the 12 electoral wards in the local government. I personally visited some wards such as Thilbang, Daksiri and even the three in Hong town but could neither see ballot boxes nor SIEC officials in these places. Potential voters remained indoors while others were seen going about their individual businesses. However, when I enquired of where electoral officials were, I was taken to one house, where people were seen busy stockpiling some ballot boxes with ballot papers in favour of the minister’s candidate.
One of the residents who spoke to me on condition of anonymity averred that “perhaps the reason behind the minister’s choice to impose his boy against the wishes of the people is to use (him) as a conduit pipe to siphon government resources to his personal use.”
It would be recalled that last year, Aliyu Idi Hong at a meeting to resolve the impasse of imposing Ibrahim Gayus with some community leaders in Hong, the minister was quoted as being haughty and impervious. He told those present that as a minister of the Federal Republic from the state, he had the final say as to who will fly PDP ticket in all elections, adding that, that is the policy of the government of the day. He reportedly said that after all, both the president and the state governor did not emerge through primary election, why then is he being accused of imposing just a local government chairman?
(Edward Wabundani wrote from No.52)
Wuro Dole Ward, Hong, Adamawa
