Taraba: A few good men still left in Nigerian politics?

Politics in Nigeria has been so bastardized that many people doubt the principles of actors. However, it appears that there are still a few good men in the art.  One of such people is former acting Governor of Taraba State Alhaji Garba Umar. His recent actions have shown that there are individuals with strong values in politics. 

 Here is a man who is being wooed with juicy offers, just as he is threatened by some people to lie about the gubernatorial primaries that were supposed to have held last year. Yet, he has remained resolute and has stood firmly for the truth. Some people might categorise this as sour grapes; the resentment of not being the ‘anointed’ by the powers that be, but that is not the point. He, like every human being who hates injustice, is pained by a process that has been designed to uphold inequity instead of justice and merit, and has decided not to be a part of it.

His statement that he cannot lie before a court of law marks him out not only as a man of conscience but as a man who understands the future.

The facts as referenced by the tribunal sitting on the Taraba gubernatorial elections are that PDP did not hold proper primaries and that Darius Ishaku was not a validly nominated candidate in the April 11 2015 gubernatorial elections for Taraba State.  It therefore nullified Ishaku Darius’s candidacy and victory in the election.

While prudence should have led Ishaku to vacate the Governor’s Office, he decided to waste the time of the court and the state by filing an appeal. Unfortunately for him, he now needs members of his party who were cheated out of a properly conducted primary to rally round him. How that is expected to happen remains to be seen. 

Nothing last forever they say and that is indeed true in the case of the PDP.  The Taraba ruling is an indication that the era of impunity is over.  It might have worked for a season but quite apart from the wind of change, is the fact that the majority of Nigerians are tired of being taken advantage of by people in power whose only redeeming quality is that they are not a threat to whoever wants to prop them up and use them as a place holder.  The people of Taraba are no different - they want someone at the helm of affairs who is beholden to them and who puts their welfare first. As a child of the soil who has achieved a series of firsts for Taraba and for women, the experience and passion of Al-hassan is surely what the people of Taraba deserve at this stage of their development. 

All well-meaning Nigerians, who understand the importance of transparent processes and adherence to the rules and regulations, must watch carefully the proceedings and depositions given at the appeal. Will Umar and Chief David Kente stand firm to their values and be remembered in history as men who understand what it really means to be loyal party members and concerned citizens or will the normal way of doing business within the PDP prevail? Time will tell. 

Abdullahi Gogo
Googo68@gmail.com