There is no doubt that SDP’s Senatorial candidate, Colonel Ishaya Bauka is now using soldiers at his service to intimidate voters as the campaign train rolls on. As we write this press release, soldiers attached to his house in Takum are busy beating up supporters of Senator Emmanuel Bwacha. Senator Bwacha was only going about conducting his campaign when soldiers started attacking convoys and condoning other violent activities of thugs in Dutse wards where Bauka resides. In all cases, Bauka’s soldiers often take center stage in the attacks.
We write this to remind the Army Chief to recall his promise that soldiers would not be used to intimidate any one during this election. What is even baffling is that this Bauka is running for senate under a different party. We say this because, it is often held that it is the ruling party that intimidates but what we are seeing is a chieftain of an opposition party terrorizing PDP members.
Other acts of violence by the opposition
In Taraba now, all that the opposition is doing is causing trouble. They are not only causing trouble; they are hunting for trouble. And they may soon get it because when you push even a goat to the wall, it would bite. Right from the day, the PDP started its governorship campaign, thugs from the opposition supported actively by the trio of Ishaya Bauka (SDP senatorial candidate of Sourthern Taraba), Senator Alhassan Jummai (the APC flag bearer) and Chief David Sabo Kente (flag bearer of the SDP) have resorted to gangsterism. Their supporters are known to be very violent.
Gembu
On the way to Gembu in Sarduana Local Government Area for the kick off of the campaign, thugs from Senator Aisha’s APC heckled the convoy of the PDP guber candidate, Arc. Darius Ishaku. Stationed in strategic points as Garba Chede in Bali LGA, the thugs insisted that everyone must shout “Sai Mama” (the slogan of Senator Aisha) before they allow anyone go through the towns. But even at that, people still got stoned at and cars were damaged including those of innocent commuters who had nothing to do with the PDP. Passengers were forced to chant sai mama or risked getting beaten. At Mutum Biyu, Darius’s convoy was also attacked by the same “sai mama” clowns.
Inside Gembu itself, it was the same story as thugs of the other party, bound together in a union of hate, took to the streets. It took the restrains and maturity of the PDP leaders and supporters not to cause more mayhem. Again, PDP displayed maturity not out of fear but out of pure tolerance. The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Gebon Kataps had to personally beg PDP supporters to calm down.
Jalingo
Unless the Jalingo horde of Aisha and Kente’s supporters are checked, the state would soon witness an orgy of violence. Here, youths mostly from “agwan gadi” have clearly band themselves into a militia, ready for anything. The die-hard have so far attacked everything and anything PDP. Of course, they recently descended on Darius’s convoy. Then just last week, it was the turn of President Goodluck Jonathan to feel their wrath. A day before the President’s arrival, Mallam Garba Shehu, the APC’s spokesperson, had curiously alerted that Gen. Buhari was going to be stoned by PDP’s supporters. Buhari eventually came to town and did his thing unmolested. President Jonathan however arrived the following day and was welcomed with a hail of stones and invectives from the APC,SDP throng. So you begin to wonder why Mallam Shehu warned about a stoning of their own candidate only for the stones to be reserved for Jonathan.
Karim Lamido
In Karim Lamido, where the acting governor, Alhaji Abubakar Danladi, kicked off his senatorial campaign, it was the APC thugs masquerading as a PDP splinter group that led the offensive. There, as in all the other places, it was the chants of “ba mu yi” that took over an otherwise peaceful event. The idea was to embarrass the acting governor and a section of the media repoerted the incidence in a way to cast Sani Danladi as an unpopular candidate. As in all the other attacks, the reports does not condemn the act. It is slanted in a way to cast the victims as unpopular politicians.
Suntai
At Suntai village on the outskirt of Bali, two unarmed young men were killed in cold blood after Chief Kente ordered his soldiers to open fire on innocent PDP supporters. The desecration of this town (the beloved country home of our dear governor , Pharmacist Danbaba) is a sad reminder that the opposition means business this time. Curiously, the media is mute on this dastardly act.
Ibi, Gassol and Wukari
We learn there is a buildup of violence in these towns even before the PDP train arrives.
CONCLUSIONS
*Gen. Bauka is misusing soldiers to advance his ambition
*APC and SDP are fomenting trouble because they know they are losing
*A section of the state’s media may have been compromised to misreport the opposition fuelled violence.
*PDP supporters are running out of patience!
Ismaila Inusa
James Bauka
Coordinators.