As Gombe Prepares for 2023 Elections, By Kabiru Danladi Lawanti, Ph.D
The political stage for the race to Gombe government house is set, as the incumbent, His Excellency, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya, battles two prominent candidates in the People’s Democratic Party, Alhaji Muhammed Jibrin popularly known as Dan Barde and the New Nigerian Political Party candidate, Alhaji KHamisu Ahmed Mailantarki. For anyone conversant with Gombe politics, they know that the political environment is tricky, with divergent political culture. From the “pade roba” politics of 2003, which scuttled Abubakar Hashidu’s second term ambition, to the Dankwambo’s phenomenon that led PDP to victory in 2015, despite the Buhari tsunami which swept PDP in many states and the coming of Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya in the political scene in 2019, Gombe politics remains as unpredictable as the recent weather.
Unlike what happened in 2019, Gombe state is going into the presidential elections on Saturday, 25th February with its political heavyweights, especially in the ruling APC fighting each other. I have read several submissions on how the elections will go, with some predicting failures for the APC’s presidential flagbearer Ahmed Bola Tinubu in the state because of the Atiku factor. Others were predicting a tough race for APC at all levels because of the internal wrangling within the party hierarchy, especially the crisis between Senator Danjuma Goje and Alhaji Usman Bello Kumo, the present member representing Akko Federal Constituency and APC candidate for same position.
Goje assumes the position of a godfather of Gombe politics, in which he feels he is the only person in the state that can determine who gets what, when and how in the state. Therefore, he is not happy seeing the people he thinks he “helped” bring to power are challenging his authority. Initially, he indicated that his opposition was with Usman Bello Kumo (World), but after his failure to convince His Excellency, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya to ditch World, Goje waged an open war with the Governor citing issues of betrayal. Even after the intervention of the Buni led Committee, Goje continued setting landmines for the Governor and all his close allies including World.
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Politics, they say is local. This is what we are seeing playing in Gombe state. Goje, who earlier retired from politics, has been responsible for the present crisis in Akko LGA, Gombe Central Senatorial District and Gombe state in general. He came out openly to oppose Inuwa’s second term ambition and has shown his determination to make sure Alhaji Usman Bello Kumo did not participate in the party’s primaries or even giving the ticket. When he failed, after the intervention of the National Working Committee of the party, Goje changed tactics. He was accused of aligning with the opposition candidates tacitly supports them to the detriments of his party’s candidate. Now Goje has come out openly to show support for opposition candidate, especially the House of Reps candidate in PDP and the NNPP governorship candidate. This was evident when the candidate of the NNPP, Alhaji Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki visited Akko last month. Mailantarki openly chanted Goje’s name as the candidate of Gombe Central Senatorial District against his own political party flagbearer Alhaji Muhammad Babikir Gale. Mailantarki’s anti-party activities infuriated the supporters of Gale, who promised to teach Mailatarki lesson during the general elections.
The marriage of convenience between Goje, Mailantarki and NNPP also made PDP and Danbarde angry. They felt, according to this school of thought, betrayed by Goje, who promised to support their House of Reps candidate Hajiya Nana Aisha, their governorship candidate Alhaji Jibrin and presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. With NNPP’s supporters claiming support from Goje, Danbarde turned to Dankwambo for rescue, who is also battling a more acceptable candidate in Gombe north, Alhaji Saidu Alkali of the APC.
In all these crises, the beneficiary remains Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya, who for the past 3 months was working for the victory of APC candidates in Saturday’s election and its Presidential candidate, Alhaji Asiwju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The incumbent is also sailing to victory in two weeks from now, when Gombawa cast their votes on 11th March, 2023. We have every reason to believe that APC is going to win the elections. First of all, the candidates presented by the APC, except of course Senator Danjuma Goje, are working assiduously for the victory of the party and all its candidates in the coming elections on 25th February and 11th March, 2023. While the opposition are in disarray cancelling each other during the campaigns, with the false assumption that they have the support of Senator Danjuma Goje, Governor Inuwa is focused on consolidating his 4-year achievements and designing a roadmap for his second tenure.
On the other hand, the confused opposition are now de-marketing their candidates, the way the NNPP candidate was doing in Kumo, Pindiga and Kashere just to please Goje. Or he (Goje), working very hard to discredit his Governorship candidate and the Akko Federal Constituency candidate of the APC. Is this not a futile exercise?
