By Raheem Oluwafunminiyi
The gubernatorial election held last Saturday will go down in history as the freest and fairest in Adamawa state. Before the election, there was serious apprehension and fear in all the nooks and crannies of the state, perhaps as a result of the Boko-Haram menace, which had spread to many parts of the North. In the build up to the election, the state capital, Yola and one of the local governments, Mubi witnessed shootings that led to the death of some Igbo, leading to a curfew that lasted for weeks. This coupled with the fact that Christians from the southern part of the country who lived in the North had been threatened and given three days ultimatum to leave, further gave rise to trepidation. As if that was not enough, the election was postponed on two occasions by the INEC for reasons which was harped on insecurity.
After it seemed the election would not hold for the upteenth time, it was at last, held in a conducive and peaceful atmosphere, devoid of rancor and violence. In fact, the people of Adamawa comported themselves in a manner that showed their understanding and workings of the elements of democracy. It was quite a surprise that the post election violence witnessed in some parts of the North was non-existent in Adamawa state, which indicated that the winner of the election was voted for by the majority of the people. The voice of the people had prevailed (even as there was voter apathy in many local governments) and it is for this reason that INEC, gubernatorial candidates, the politicians, political parties, the people of Adamawa and all stakeholders must be commended for a job well done. This goes to show that sanity has been restored in our electoral process and the lessons of electoral triumph must be learned by all to further strengthen the electoral process.
Having said this, Adamawa state in the last couple of months had witnessed boisterous political activities with campaign posters of the different political parties and their candidates hanging around the nooks and crannies of the state, in readiness for the gubernatorial election over the weekend. The most visible parties and their candidates included, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, whose candidate, Vice Admiral Murtala Hamanyero Nyako, was the incumbent governor of the state, until the Supreme Court proved otherwise, while General Muhammad Buba Marwa was the candidate of the Congress for Political Change, CPC. The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN on the other hand had as its flag bearer, Engineer Markus Gundiri, the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP had Alhaji Ahmed Usman as its candidate while the African Democratic Congress, ADC had as its flag bearer, Dr. Zainab Kwonchi. Each of these candidates were well known individuals in the State and had cut a niche for themselves in their respective and chosen profession.
After the election, Vice Admiral Murtala Hamanyero Nyako was declared winner, having polled majority of the votes and won over fourteen local governments. Nyako’s electoral victory could be seen on his populist skills acquisition programme, free medical services for nursing mothers and infant under five, among others. However, feelings among the people proved otherwise. The governor, many believed, had done little or nothing for the vast majority of its civil servants, despite being a party to the Minimum Wage deal. They pointed to the fact that when the issue was in the embryonic stage, Nyako himself had argued the 18,000 naira was too small, yet refused to pay his workers when the Bill was signed into law. This, to observers led to series of strike and for months, workers were not paid back log of salaries.
In the area of education, observers argued that the Nyako’s agenda for the state paid little attention to education and this could be seen in the falling standard of education from the primary, down to the tertiary level. Teachers and lecturers had gone on strike for months as the governor refused to pay them backlog of salaries agreed upon. They pointed to the fact that many of the schools have no visible structure, children learn under the most horrific conditions, there are also lack of basic amenities in the schools like chairs, tables, chalks, standard laboratories and even dearth of qualitative teachers. Education to these observers has been nothing to write home about in the state. They also argued that health workers have been treated badly, leading to month long strikes with little evidence of a viable clinic, health centre or hospitals in major towns and villages, while both state and federal government roads are death traps. Observers argued that the closure of the legislative chamber by PDP thugs and stern looking policemen attested to the impunity and disregard for the rule of law in the state.
However, the beauty of democracy is the opportunity it gives the people to vote in or out a government which has performed well or abysmally low. Such was what appeared at the last election when Nyako got the people’s mandate for a second term.
As he is sworn in in a couple of days, governor Nyako must prove himself worthy and truthful to his people. He must continue his people oriented programme not only within places they had been felt, but in places that are yet to see his goodwill. He must observe a level playing field to all irrespective of tribe, ethnic affiliation, political leanings and religion. He must not play a political vendetta upon those who did not vote him in because it’s the beauty of democracy to have opposition all the time. The governor must ensure he uses his second term to finish up projects and erect new ones that will last a life time. The governor must understand that a man of history is not one who came and left with nothing, but one whose name and actions had been left on the sands of time for people to remember.
As a new political dispensation begins, this writer congratulates the governor and wishes him a successful second term in office.
Raheem Oluwafunminiyi, a social commentator and political analyst, resides in Ibadan. He can be reached at creativitysells@gmail.com