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A Presidential
candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Sarah Jibril, has criticised
the move by some northern elders to present a consensus northern
candidate to contest against President Jonathan in next year’s
elections.

Ms Jibril in an
interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Bauchi
said that she will not step down for any consensus candidate
“considering the ugly track records of most of the aspirants”.

“Zoning is real but
I wonder why some PDP top shots are running away from it. I also wonder
why fellow Christians who are aware of the zoning formula are calling
on President Goodluck Jonathan, who was a party to the arrangement, to
contest for the 2011 polls. I still wonder why Obasanjo, Abeh, Nwodo
and a host of them who signed the pact and which Obasanjo was a
beneficiary are trying to abort the tenet of the party,’’ Ms. Jibril
asked.

Speaking at the
17th Annual Convention of the Women Wing of the Christian Association
of Nigeria (CAN) in Bauchi, she urged Nigerians to shun money politics,
saying they should elect only credible candidates.

According to her,
it is time for women to take over the mantle of leadership of the
country as obtained in Liberia. She also alleged that the men had
wasted the 50 years of the country’s independence without anything
tangible to show for it.

“How long will we
continue to bring in people who have continuously ruined Nigeria and
turned our country into bankruptcy? How can we continue to sit behind
and allow other selected few to choose leaders for us,’’ Ms. Jibril
said.

She promised to rescue the country from the “claws’’ of unpatriotic and evil leaders.

“No nonsense will be tolerated this time around, if I am given the mandate to serve as president’.

“The so-called
politicians in the country are characterized by deceits and I urge the
electorate to shun them, especially the money bags who will like to
come to power at all cost.”

NAN

The membership
registration exercise of the Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN) in Oyo
State, at the weekend suffered a slight setback as hoodlums believed to
be loyal to a governorship aspirant within the party attempted to
hijack the registration materials.

Although no one died in the ensuing scuffle, many party members suffered injuries.

The police have arrested four men suspected to be behind the act.

The incident
happened at Oyo North and Oyo Central Senatorial Districts where the
hoodlums, wielding machetes and other dangerous weapons, stormed the
venue of the registration and attempted to snatch and make away with
the registration materials being distributed by the officials ahead of
the commencement of the exercise.

The incident led to the suspension of the registration of members in Afijio and other parts of Oke-Ogun area of the state.

One of the
governorship aspirants, Abiola Ajimobi said he and members of his group
boycotted the exercise because of the attempt by some people to hijack
the materials.

Minor skirmishes

The leader of the
party in the state and a former governor, Lam Adesina said the exercise
was successful, and the party will give another opportunity to the
group that boycotted it to participate. He said that only the
electorate will chose all political office holders in the next election.

Similar situation
played out at Ward 9 of the Ibadan South local government of the state,
where about 25 cutlass-wielding hoodlums reportedly swooped on the
registering members to cart away the materials, but the people
confronted their attackers.

Despite the success
of the exercise in many parts of the state, the hitches in some part
have created bad-blood among the contestants, who are, however,
unanimous in the belief that nothing will be allowed to affect the
fortune of the party in 2011.

Femi Lanlehin,
Kazeem Adedeji, Wale Oyemakinde, Soji Akanbi and other aspirants
explained that such “minor skirmishes” can not be ruled out in a place
where nine aspirants are vying for a single seat.

Mr. Adesina assured
members that the culture of internal democracy currently imbibed by the
party will give them victory over the ruling Peoples Democratic Party
in the state in the next election.

The joy of the
families of the Ondo State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Tola
Wewe knew no bounds yesterday as the octogenarian mother of the
commissioner, Pege Wewe and her grand-daughter, Rachael Lawrence, were
freed from suspected militants.

The freedom came about nine days after the duo were abducted at Sabomi area of Ese-Odo Local government area of the state.

NEXT gathered that the women, who were ferried out of Ese-Odo Local government, regained their freedom in Sapele, Delta State.

The rescue of the
women was made possible when the people of Sapele community noticed the
movement of strange faces in their community.

The community
raised alarm and reported the case to the police in Sapele division who
responded to the distress call and rescued the woman and her grand
daughter although the kidnappers escaped from the scene. Police in the
Sapele Police division later handed the victims to the men of the Ondo
State Police Command in Akure.

Spokesperson of the Ondo State Police Command, Adeniran Aremu, said the old woman was released in good condition .

Mr Aremu, who noted
that the command had earlier arrested two suspects in connection with
the kidnapping, said “the police was still investigating the case. We
will make sure that we get to the root of the matter, the woman is in
good condition of health when she was freed.”

Hunger strike

Around 2 pm in the
afternoon, the woman and her son moved to the governor’s office where
they were welcomed by the state Governor, Olusegun Mimiko. They also
visited the office of the State Security Service situated at Alagabaka
to official report their release. A source however claimed that an
undisclosed sum was paid to the kidnappers who had earlier demanded for
N50 million. But Mr. Wewe said no ransom was paid to the abductors,
thanking security agencies and the state government for their role in
ensuring his mother was released.

“I am grateful to
the Almighty God that my mother and the girl have been released. I
thank the state government and the security agencies for their
concern”, he said.

Sources say that 81-year-old Mrs. Wewe was on hunger strike throughout the period she was with her abductors.

Barack Obama
isn’t just presiding this week over what many of his supporters
consider a civil rights milestone, he’s fighting it.

Last month, a
judge overturned ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ the U.S. military’s policy
forcing gay and lesbian personnel to keep their sexuality secret or
face dismissal.

As a result, the Pentagon told recruiters that for the first time they can accept openly gay and lesbian applicants.

Mr Obama pledged to help end to ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and you might expect him to welcome the judgment.

But the White
House says it’s up to Congress to repeal the law, not the president or
the courts. Congress isn’t rushing to do it.

The judge’s ruling
broke the logjam but the Obama administration is appealing, hoping a
higher court will reverse the ruling and let Congress act.

The battle raged in the courts this week and the administration convinced other judges to temporarily restore the policy.

But it makes for a strange predicament for Obama: fighting a policy
he supports, that was pushed forward by a judge, without the help the
president promised.

The drama of a lifetime was abridged to fit into
Wayne Rooney’s last eight weeks. If the life of Manchester United’s
star striker were to be depicted in a movie for instance, those last
two months will form a major part.

After his dismal outing in South Africa, images
emerged on the internet of Mr Rooney smoking and urinating against a
wall outside a London night club. In the meantime, his poor form
continued for United where he only managed to score one goal all season
– and that from the penalty spot.

Fast forward two weeks and sultry stories of
Rooney’s dalliance with a prostitute when his wife was pregnant
emerges. But just when you thought that his bag of scandals was
exhausted, it emerged on Tuesday that he had asked to be transferred
after declining to sign a new contract. Manchester United manager, Alex
Ferguson looked heart-broken for the first time in a long coaching
career.

Then to the dizzying finale, all in the last 96
hours: a request to leave and speculation on his next destination:
thugs at his gate warning that he must not leave Manchester unless he
wants to die : and then Fridays sudden about-turn when it emerged that
he had signed a new five year contract with the Red Devils.

The amount involved has not been revealed but it
is rumoured that he will get between £120,000 and £150,000 a week. For
all that money, perhaps the drama that accompanied the greatest and
fastest turn-around in football history should have been expected.

And if you did not run out of breath while reading all the above,
then you must have enjoyed the saga of the Englishman known as the
‘White Ronaldo!’

The presidential ambition of Nuhu
Ribadu on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria is not going
to be easily achieved considering growing intra-party opposition, NEXT
has learnt.

There are also indications that
some northern leaders, disillusioned by the primacy of President
Goodluck Jonathan in the PDP, are seeking alternative platforms. It has
always been held in some quarters that the major beneficiary from any
fall-outs in the PDP will be the Action Congress of Nigerian and Mr.
Ribadu – who has been the recipient of several solicitations.

The National Secretary of the ACN,
Usman Bugaje, has however declared his intention to resign his position
as the party’s secretary in order to challenge Mr Ribadu for the
presidential ticket. Mr Bugaje may not be the only challenger to the
former EFCC boss’s ambition to become ACN’s candidate.

Part of the new movement, NEXT
learnt, is fuelled by the emerging sign that some former stalwarts of
the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will soon defect to ACN.

On the list of those said to be
planning to defect are Ifeanyi Ararume, a senator representing Imo
North; Abiye Sekibo, a former minister of transportation and secretary
to the Rivers State government; Achike Udenwa, former governor of Imo
State; Adamu Aliero, a former FCT Minister and Buka Abba Ibrahim, a
former governor of Yobe State and currently a senator.

The news is already troubling some
ACN stalwarts, who see the incoming members not only as PDP leaders,
but as cronies of former President Ibrahim Babangida. There are fears
among this section of the party that the new entrants will take the
advantage of the ongoing membership registration in the party to
register their supporters also, thereby, establishing a structure
strong enough to either bring Mr. Babangida into the party or
destabilise any plan of the party to challenge the PDP.

Efforts to speak with either Mr
Bugaje or Mr Ribadu on their candidacy did not succeed. But a source
close to Mr Ribadu’s camp said he was not surprised by the planned
defection because ACN is the only viable alternative for politicians
leaving the PDP who still wanted to remain politically relevant.

“We will rather see the move as their effort to remain politically relevant and not as a threat to Ribadu,” the source said.

No formal approach

Lai Mohammed, the party’s
national publicity secretary, however said there has not been a “formal
approach” by any intending members notifying the national leadership of
the party of their interest in the party.

“I have heard about the rumour
also,” he said, “but there has not been any formal approach.” Mr.
Mohammed explained that an intending member can either approach the
national leadership of the party, notifying the leadership of his
interest, or approach the state leadership.

“I can confirm to you that there
is no such thing at the national leadership, but I cannot say if they
[intending members] are talking to the leadership of the ACN in their
respective states,” he said.

Only Senator Ibrahim, out of the
five, replied to text messages sent by NEXT. He said the news is not
true. However, NEXT learnt that Mr. Sekibo has long concluded plans to
formally join the party before the end of this month.

“He is already on his way to formally join us,” said Mmuen Kpagane,
the former chairman of the party in Rivers State. “He has told the PDP
he is no longer their member and has informed his ACN Ward leaders and
by tomorrow, he will be picking up his membership card in Okrika.” The
state chairmen of ACN in Imo, Yobe and Kebbi all denied the reports.
However, a source close to the national leadership of ACN said some of
the negotiation were done at the national level and some state chairmen
may not know yet or “pretend not to know because they want to be
contacted directly by the intending member.”

The South African Police Services
(SAPS) must make available copies of the hard drive of computers and
cell phone memories seized from suspected terrorist Henry Okah to his
lawyers “no longer than three working days” after Friday’s sitting.

The order came from presiding
magistrate Henry Louw as he considered an affidavit filed by Mr Okah
requesting for the records, as well as telephone numbers and the
identity of those whom the prosecution claims Mr Okah gave instructions
to over the bombing.

Mr Okah’s affidavit, as read by
his lawyer Rudi Krause, also requested the warrants issued towards the
search of his house and subsequent arrest.

Prosecution lawyer, Shaun
Abrahams, in his opening arguments, said “the state will make
concessions,” but would not allow Okah to “peep over the shoulder of
the investigating authorities.” He insisted that due to the
“connections” Mr. Okah had, “if we accede to all of his requests, we
strongly believe that he will interfere with the investigation. The
applicant is wanting to know step by step how Colonel Zeeman and his
team are investigating. He does not want Ben Ebere to be found,” Mr,
Abrahams said.

But Mr Okah’s lawyer, Rudi Krause
said his client’s phone records had been reviewed by his legal team and
“there’s nobody he had phoned so many times,” in reference to 1126
calls which the prosecution stated was made by Mr. Okah to Ben Ebere
between 7 August and 29 September 2010.

He said evidence against Mr. Okah
did not exist and asked: “is the state serious when they say the
applicant is not entitled to know who his co-conspirators are? And how
on earth can that jeopardise the investigations?”

Judge Louw subsequently accepted
the prosecution’s willingness to furnish Mr. Okah’s lawyers with copies
of his telephone call records and computer hard-drive as well as the
affidavits. He, however, ruled that the prosecution would only be
obliged to produce further evidence when the case moved on from a bail
application to the trial proper.

The Cybercrime Unit of SAPS is
willing to provide the records to Mr. Okah’s lawyers, so long as they
have a 2 terabyte memory stick on which to store the information,
according to Mr. Abrahams.

This points at more legal fireworks when the court resumes on November 4 to continue hearing on Mr. Okah’s bail application.

Following the defeat of an attempt
to alter the 2010 Electoral Act in a manner that will allow political
appointees regain their eligibility as voting delegates at the
conventions of political parties, presidency aides appear set to launch
a new tactics to woo lawmakers into re-introducing the “dead” bill.

Sources say the senate’s decision
to kill that aspect of the electoral law was received as a rude shock
by the president and his campaign team.

However, president Jonathan’s
campaign organisation has decided to start a fresh attempt to lobby the
lawmakers to re-introduce the bill.

Even though the standing rules of
both chambers of the national assembly prohibit the re-introduction of
a bill that has been rejected, Sully Abu, head of publicity for the
Goodluck Campaign Organization told NEXT they will stand their ground.

“We haven’t given up. We will go
back and negotiate and ask questions,” Mr. Abu said. “There is not
absolute victory or defeat. There is no monopoly of wisdom either in
the presidency or the national assembly. We hope that we will have a
meeting of the mind with the senate to see sense on the matter.”
Analysts, however,

believe that judging from the
unity predicated on common interest displayed by the senate in arriving
at their decision on Wednesday; the Jonathan campaign team might find
it extremely difficult to re introduce the bill.

Last Wednesday, the senate acted
in a largely unified manner to shut down Mr Jonathan’s attempt to
reshape the 2010 Electoral Act. Their action was devoid of the usual
political or ethnic sentiments that usually colour similar debates.

“It was obvious their actions were premeditated,” Fred Idowu, an independent political analyst said.

“They were determined to “kill the
bill” and perhaps send a message to the presidency. The senators were
convinced the bill is toxic to the current electoral act and self
serving – to the president – judging from the changes the bill proposed
to bring.” The bill proposed three major amendments to the current 2010
electoral act. It sought to give the leadership of Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) the power to determine the sequence in
which elections are held; it also wanted political parties to adopt the
system of indirect primaries – the type of primaries usually adopted by
PDP – for the choice of its candidates.

What the amendment meant to do is
to allow political parties to change at will the rules governing
procedures for primaries by issuing new guidelines, rather than relying
on the provisions of the current 2010 Electoral Act.

The bill proposed that Section
87(8) of the Electoral Act 2010 should be deleted. That section
provides that no political appointee at any level shall be a voting
delegate at the convention or congress of any political party for the
purpose of nomination of candidates for any elections.

Section 87(8) is viewed as
revolutionary because it prevents the president and governors from
flooding political party congresses with ministers, special advisers,
commissioners and other political appointees who would vote to choose
their boss or the candidate of their boss’ choice.

While the civil society and the
opposition – both within and outside the PDP – described the action of
the senate as patriotic, Mr. Abu said the setback at the senate has
sharpened their resolve to move on stronger.

Loyal appointees

The President’s campaign team
greatly rely on the votes of the various political appointees serving
in this administration to push their principal through in the primaries
of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Before President Jonathan made up his mind to run for the presidency in the forthcoming elections,

there were 1027 splinter campaign organizations sponsored by political appointees within the government.

During the presidential
declaration which took place mid September, an official at the
presidential villa said that the level of sponsorship the president
received from his appointees was up to 95 per cent.

Attendees at the declaration were
also seen clad in uniformed dresses bearing their support for the
president and which political appointee was sponsoring them.

NEXT also gathered that the
lawmakers, in the closed meetings, had considered this impassioned
support from his staff before arriving at the decision not to allow
voting by personal aides; bearing in mind it will give the president an
unfair edge over the other contestants.

Goodluck Campaign Organization, however, disagrees with that all appointees are rooting for the president.

“The fact that they are appointees does not make it compulsory that
they will vote for the president. After all, you will not have a gun to
their heads that they must vote for him,” Mr. Abu argued. “These are
people that were carefully chosen across various areas of the country,
so they represent the different sections of the country so they have
legitimate political interest and representation.”

Last Wednesday, a crucial meeting
of the 12-member committee appointed by the Northern Political Leaders
Forum (NPLF) to pick a consensus candidate among the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) aspirants from the northern part of the country, was
shelved at the last minute.

The parley was convened following
the failure by the committee, during a previous one, to agree on who,
among the former military president, Ibrahim Babangida; former vice
president, Atiku Abubakar; former national security adviser, Aliyu
Gusau and the incumbent governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki, should
challenge President Goodluck Jonathan, himself an aspirant, in the
forthcoming primaries of the PDP.

Members of the committee expected
at the meeting were Adamu Ciroma (chairman), governors Danjuma Goje of
Gombe State, Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, Babangida Aliyu of Niger
State, representing North East, North West and North Central
geo-political zones. Also expected were former senate president,
Iyorchia Ayu; former PDP national chairman, Audu Ogbeh; former
Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Yusuf and Ahmed Kurfi, from
Bauchi State.

They were appointed into the
committee by the Forum in the middle of last month to search for a
consensus candidate to run in the primaries.

Sources however revealed that the
meeting, scheduled to hold at the prestigious Transcorp Hotel, was put
off because of an urgent need by the committee members to tour the 19
northern states to sell the idea to the members of the PDP in the
region.

It was further gathered that the
need for the tour arose in order to rubbish whatever gains were made by
the campaign outfit of Mr Jonathan and his deputy, Namadi Sambo. The
Jonathan campaign outfit led by its director general, Dalhatu Tafida
had visited the north-west zone and was in north central zone when the
committee decided to embark on its own tour.

Some northern members of the PDP
had argued that it was wrong for the president to join the race since
there was an agreement reached by the party, some years ago, that
presidential power should rotate between the north and the south.

The group also argued that with
the death of former President Umaru Yar’Adua in office last May,
another northerner should emerge in 2011 after Mr Jonathan (Yar’Adua’s
deputy) might have completed the tenure began by the last president.

However, Mr Obasanjo and some
other members of the party are insisting that any Nigerian has a right
to contest the presidential election, irrespective of the region their
region.

In their determination to keep
power in the north, the northern forum initiated a meeting with the
quartet of Babangida, Abubakar, Gusau and Saraki as well as their
aides, on September 18, during which they resolved to present a common
candidate for the presidential election. They also resolved to set up
an eight-member team to deliberate on the matter.

Those at the meeting were Raymond
Dokpesi from Ibrahim Babangida Campaign Organisation; Chris Mammah of
Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation; Ben Obi of Aliyu Gusau Campaign
Organisation and Ibrahim Yakubu Lame, then of Bukola Saraki Campaign
Organisation.

Although, the committee membership
was expanded to 12, that appears to be the last time it reached a
consensus on any matter, prompting speculations that the single
candidate plan might fail. Before last week’s meeting was shelved, the
committee members, who were christened in “the 12 wise men” had met
several times without achieving the aim for which they were appointed.

Though both the aspirants and
their supporters have variously claimed that they will respect the
wishes of the committee, their utterances and actions so far have
suggested the contrary, thereby endangering their assignment. In the
course of the pre-primaries campaign, each of the four aspirants have
flaunted their credentials, sometimes in utter embarrassment to the
others.

For instance, Mr Abubakar has
severally claimed that of the lot, he has the best democratic
credentials, having been in politics for so many years and vice
president of the country for eight years under a civilian dispensation.
This is perceived as an indirect attack on Mr Babangida and Gusau, both
of whom are retired military generals.

On his part, Mr Saraki has been hammering on the issue of generational change.

Only last week, the 48-year-old
governor reportedly told presidential hopefuls born before the nation’s
independence in 1960 to withdraw from the race. Again, this was
interpreted as ‘missiles’ fired at Messrs Babangida, Abubakar and
Gusau, all of whom are in their late 60s.

People deceiving people

Mr Babangida has also not been
averse to flaunting his experience in government. He said having run
the country for eight years, he is best positioned to be the consensus
candidate. Yet, Mr Gusau would claim that his experience in the
security circles puts him ahead of others.

If anything, these utterances and
actions, which suggest desperation, have tended to frustrate the plan
of the 12-member committee.

At a recent all-night meeting, Mr
Ciroma was said to have expressed concern over the success of the
committee if its members continued to canvass support for their
principals. Source said he expressed frustration when the committee
could not take a vote he called on the matter.

Besides, there appears to be a
lack of commitment on the part of members of the committee to the
cause. For instance, some members regularly shun meetings, often
without any explanation. Despite being invited several times, Messrs
Lamido, Babangida Aliyu and Goje have continued to boycott the
meetings, causing the committee to postpone its meeting.

Also disturbing is Mr Ayu’s entry
into the presidential race. The former senate president, from Benue
State, is said to have shocked his fellow committee members when he
announced his intention to contest the presidency two weeks ago.

Furthemore, the northern
presidential aspirants were jolted when a new entrant into the race,
Sani Aminu, distanced himself from the quest. Mr Aminu, who hails from
Katsina, told journalists, he would only concede to consensus
arrangement at the level of the party.

“I am yet to get in touch with the
Northern Political Leaders Forum. I am not part of them,” he said. “But
if there is any consensus within the parameters of PDP, we would
welcome it. PDP is PDP, we aren’t talking of North or South.”
Expectedly, Mr Jonathan’s camp has cashed in on this apparent confusion
to raise its stake. The Goodluck/Sambo Campaign Organsation says the
gang up against the president would fail because it is not based on any
programme.

“The consensus arrangement being
pursued is based on sheer opportunism and driven by an undemocratic and
illiberal spirit,” Sully Abu, spokesman of the organization, said.
“That is why they have continued to be at pains to explain that they
are at work, irrevocably committed to the success of the arrangement.

They have continued feverishly with their individual campaigns while
they continue to protest their commitment to subsume their individual,
galloping ambitions. Who is deceived?”

The North West
geo-political zone has suddenly become the beautiful bride courted by
all the presidential aspirants of the ruling People Democratic Party
(PDP).

At the last count,
five of the aspirants, Goodluck Jonathan, Ibrahim Babangida, Atiku
Abubakar, Bukola Saraki and Aliyu Gusau have either showed up in the
region or sent foot soldiers to do the ground work necessary for them
to achieve their desire.

One reason for the
special interest in the zone, which comprises Kano, Katsina, Jigawa,
Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna and Kebbi states, is that it boasts a huge
voting population and enough delegate votes to make or mar the chances
of any presidential candidate.

The zone, which
pride itself as the most politically astute part of the country, has
more delegates than any other geo-political zone; and in any election,
can muster an estimated 10 million votes. It is also the centre of
conservative north, home to the Sultan of Sokoto and leader of Muslims
in the country. Besides, it is the zone where late president Umaru
Yar’Adua hails from.

The feeling among
the local populace in the aforementioned states is still that of loss.
It is believed that for political expediency, aspirants, who are
conscious of the sensibility of the people, will rather concentrate
their energy in the zone than anywhere else. There is also the fear
that if all necessary ground work are not done by the PDP, the people
might, out of protest, vote en masse for Muhammadu Buhari in the event
that an aspirant from another zone picks the party’s presidential
ticket.

For strategic
reasons, the zone has produced five out of the country’s 14 Heads of
state and elected presidents; namely Murtala Mohammed, Shehu Shagari,
Muhammadu Buhari, Sani Abacha and Umaru Yar’Adua whose influence is
still been felt in the civil service, academia, military and
para-military establishments across the country.

All the states in
the zone, apart from the redoubtable Kano, are governed by the PDP. The
governor of Kano, Ibrahim Shekarau, belongs to the All Nigeria Peoples
Party (ANPP).

After the disputed
2003 presidential elections Mr. Buhari who enjoys large support in the
zone claimed he won the elections, leading to tension in the entire
region. The Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero had to lead a delegation of
influential traditional rulers to pay the then winner of the
presidential election, Olusegun Obasanjo, a solidarity visit in order
to douse tension in the zone.

Presidential
liaison officer to Mr Shagari in the second republic, Tanko Yakassai
said he believes the fact that the zone has a larger population than
any other zone in the country and the influence of the sultanate on
other northern zones were reasons enough for the zone to become the
most sought after by politicians.

“I think in my own
view, the reason why you see politicians concentrating in the
north-west is because we are in democracy which they said is game of
numbers,” he said. “We have the highest number of people. We have more
National Assembly members than any other zone, highest number of
delegates of any political party, not PDP alone.

“Another factor is
the influence of the Sokoto caliphate on the other zones in the north,
including the north central states of Kogi and Niger. If you go to the
north east, the caliphate also has its influence on Borno State, Yobe
and the rest. These and many more reasons are why all attention is on
the zone.” The national vice chairman of the PDP for the North-west,
Danladi Sankara agrees with his assertion. “I must confess that the
Northwest is the most sensitive geo -political zone in the country,” he
said. “The zone has produced brilliant politicians in the past and we
have the highest population and the highest numbers of PDP delegates.”
On whether the zone should produce the next president, Mr. Sankara said
the constitution which is supreme allows everyone to contest and as law
abiding citizens the people respect that.

“This zone does not
have a particular person that we are supporting now among the
aspirants, but whoever emerges the winner of the primaries I assure you
will enjoy the total support of this zone, and as you are aware that
this zone is a PDP dominated one,” Mr. Sankara said.

Pundits believe
that any politician worth his salt and who is keen for political power
will do himself a big favour by reaching out to the zone.

Mr. Babangida, who
was a military president for over seven years, has a retinue of retired
military chiefs and politicians that he once mentored in the region to
fall back on at this critical period of the electioneering process in
the zone.

In Kano, for
instance, the gap-toothed former general is either attending weddings
or burial ceremonies that enable him reach out to the people of the
zone. It is a known fact that he regularly sneaks into town to
strategise with his supporters on how to win back power.

Among Mr.
Babangida’s supporters in Kano are former minority leader of the House
of Representatives in the second republic, Junaid Mohammed and former
speaker of the House Representatives, Ghali Umar Na’abba.

Mr. Na’Abba, whose
support might have been prompted by the godfather of the PDP in Kano,
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso said he believes Mr. Babangida is the most
experienced of all the aspirants.

“I don’t believe
that Babangida destroyed anything and I don’t believe that Babangida
introduced corruption in this country, he did not introduce
corruption,” Mr Na’Abba said. “When the late Murtala Mohammed became
Head of State, he promised to fight corruption. This means that during
the days of Gowon, there was corruption. When Chukwuma Nzeogwu and his
co-travellers overthrew the Balewa government, they said they were
going to fight corruption because they said Tafawa Balewa, Nnamdi
Azikiwe, Sardauna were all corrupt.”

Musa Danbirni, who
is head of media for Kano State IBB 2011 campaign, said Mr. Babangida
has done enough in the zone for the delegates to give him their votes
in block.

“Babangida is the
man to beat in this zone,” he said. “My advice for other aspirants is
to concentrate in other places where they think they are popular and
stop wasting their time and resources here. People will be surprised
why I’m saying so, but the truth remains that he done a lot for this
zone when he was the military president.” The former military president
has Zamfara State governor, Aliyu Muhammadu Shinkafi in his camp and
enjoys the support of the Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido and a
tacit endorsement of former Kano State governor, Musa Kwankwaso.

Jonathan’s footprints

Supporters of
President Jonathan, who are conscious of the traditional support some
of his opponents enjoy in the zone, are not resting on their oars as
members of his campaign team, led by Dalhatu Tafida have traversed the
entire states of the North West several times.

Incidentally,
majority of the people in the campaign team of the president come from
the North West. Mr. Tafida is from Kaduna State; former minister of
Internal Affairs and national director, campaign and logistics, Saidu
Balarebe Sambawa, hails from Kebbi. The special assistant to the
President on political matters, Akilu Indabawa is from Kano.

Mr Jonathan, who is
billed to be in Kano on Tuesday, may have kick started his campaign
subtly in the zone. He has paid repeated visits to Sokoto, Kebbi and
Zamfara states, partly to meet with victims of the recent flood
disaster and for other official matters of state.

When the campaign team visited Kano last week, Mr. Sambawa assured the people that the president would sweep the polls.

He further said
that going by the appreciable reception members of his team received in
the five states within the North West geo-political zone, there is the
guarantee that Mr Jonathan would emerge winner of next year’s election.

“You see us
campaigning, we are not sitting because our president is an incumbent;
we are going to everywhere and talking to people we shouldn’t be
talking to get the votes. This is because he is a president who
believes in fairness, justice, ensuring adequate security for lives and
properties. The president was ready for the primaries before now,” Mr
Sambawa said.

The team also
attacked suggestions that the president does not possess the qualities
needed for governing a country such as Nigeria, saying Mr Jonathan is
exceptionally patient, has listening ear and has the aspiration of
Nigerians in mind.

“Here is somebody
who was a deputy governor, he was a governor, he was a vice president
and he is now the president. Can you give me any person who has gone
through this politically in this country? None,” Mr Sambawa said. “This
Goodluck/ Sambo ticket is one of the most educated ticket we have ever
had in this country. So, for anybody to make that type of comment, does
not seem to have respect for the office of the president.” Although it
was gathered that Mr Lamido avoided members of the campaign team, the
Jonathan team received the warmest of receptions accorded from Mr
Kwankwaso, who is himself angling to return to the Kano government
house next year.

The visit by the
Jonathan team came barely 24 hours after former vice president Atiku
Abubakar stormed Kano, Jigawa and Kaduna states. Although he could not
meet Mr Kwankwaso, Mr. Abubakar met with stakeholders of the party and
assured them that he would ensure that the PDP reclaims Kano from the
All Nigerian peoples party (ANPP) at the polls.

Atiku’s focus

The former vice
President met Kano PDP leaders in the residence of a former deputy
governor in the state, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. “In 1998, I left Adamawa
and came to Kano to make Kwankwaso the governor of this state. I’m back
again to remake him the governor of this state, God willing, by 2011
and you all know that whatever I focus to achieve, I always do that no
matter the obstacle,” Mr. Abubakar said.

Mr Gusau has also
woven into his narrative, the impression that he is a son of the Zone.
His campaign handlers claim he should be the one to complete the
eight-years due the Zone following the inability of Mr Yar’Adua to
complete the job as a result of his death.

While other
aspirants have been working assiduously to garner support from this
zone, the campaign team of Mr. Gusau and Mr. Saraki have not been as
prominent in the zone. They are however believed to be working
underground for now. Mr. Gusau, for instance, has been holding meetings
with politicians across different political party platforms in the zone.