Nigeria Content Online

The elevation of architect, Mohammed Namadi Sambo,
former governor of Kaduna State to the position of Vice President of
Nigeria paved way for his deputy, Mr. Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa to become
governor of the state. Initially there were rumours that Yakowa, a
Christian from the southern part would face strong opposition from the
majority Muslim population of the state. It turned out that the rumours
were the handiwork of detractors whose candidate lost out in the race
to be vice president. Rightfully, the Sultan of Sokoto dispelled the
rumours and pledged Muslim support for the new governor.

The fact that only the unexpected elevation of
Sambo to vice president made it possible for Yakowa to be governor
raises serious issues about our brand of politics, the concepts of
majority and minority, competence in the selection of candidates and
the entire electoral process.

If there ever was a candidate qualified to be
governor of Kaduna State, that candidate would be Patrick Yakowa. This
man was a director in the Federal Civil Service in important ministries
like Water Resources and Defence, Kaduna State chairman of one of
General Babangida’s two defunct parties, commissioner in Kaduna State
for several years, Minister of Solid Minerals under General Abdulsalam
and federal permanent secretary.

After leaving the Federal Civil Service, Yakowa
became secretary to the state government, and upon the death of former
Kaduna State deputy governor, took over that position under then
Governor Makarfi. Ordinarily, he should have stepped into his boss’s
shoes and become governor in 2007, but so timid was minority politics
that he hardly bothered to contest the primaries.

After the political abracadabra that brought the
then relatively unknown Sambo to Kaduna government as governor, Patrick
Yakowa was content to remain as deputy governor. That was the limit of
his political aspirations, restricted as it were, not by lack of
ambition, but the issue of minority and majority politics.

The patient dog, they say, may eat the fattest
bone, and Yakowa’s patience has paid off. The danger in accepting this
position is, what if President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had not died? Or
what if another of the numerous contenders for the position of vice
president had been nominated? That would mean that Yakowa, as qualified
as he is to be governor, with his far reaching contacts and many Muslim
friends in Kaduna and elsewhere across Nigeria, might never have become
governor. This is a man who in all likelihood has more experience in
politics, public administration and governance than his two
predecessors in office – Senator Makarfi and Vice President Sambo
combined.

Unless Yakowa gets distracted by the desire and
pressure to contest for governor in his own right in 2011, he may prove
to be a better administrator than both men. And that, exactly, is the
point of this piece because if he falls for the politics of religion
and ethnicity, and not competence, he may not win. Across Nigeria, the
partition of Africa that the Berlin Conference started so long ago has
been perfected by the politics of state and local government creation.
And as more states are created, so are new minorities. Thus, in Kaduna,
only the emergence of Sambo as vice president made it possible for
Yakowa to become governor.

In Benue State, the Tivs would probably never
surrender the governorship to an Idoma no matter how qualified and
experienced. This happened in 2007 when Mike Onoja, an Idoma retired
federal permanent secretary with all the right contacts lost the PDP
primaries to the relatively inexperienced Gabriel Suswan, from the
majority Tiv. If the Idomas succeed in getting Apa state, the Igedes
would become the minorities in the new state and may never produce a
governor. In Taraba State, a Muslim candidate for governor, regardless
of qualification for the position would require Christian support to be
elected.

In Adamawa state, Boni Haruna, a Christian broke
that trend and was governor for eight years, beating Muslim candidates
in 2003, but it is now business as usual. In Plateau State, despite its
large Muslim population, no Muslim has been deputy governor in this
Republic. The highest elected office Muslims occupy is deputy speaker
of the State House of Assembly. In the south, even in relatively
cosmopolitan and homogeneous states like Ogun, issues exist between the
Egbas and the Ijebus.

In the final analysis, when religion or ethnicity,
rather than qualification and competence determine who gets elected
into what office, our political system may continue to remain one of
garbage in, garbage out.