By Hauwa Shuaibu Gombe.
An African proverb says “home is not where you live; home is where we belong’’ in the last three years or so, Gombe State is politically living in the All Progressives Congress (APC) but the reality on the ground is, Gombe State, politically belongs to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and it is in this regard that the PDP must not take any step that will make the state to live in the APC from 2023.
The words of Sun Tzu, a Chinese general, military strategist and author of the Art of War, which says “victorious warriors win first and then go to war while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win,’’ aptly captures the importance of internal victory before war and in this case the PDP must ensure that it wins within to win the 2023 general elections by putting out its best striker to score the winning goal and return Gombe State back to its home where it belongs.
X-raying the six aspirants of the PDP at a glance gives one a sketchy picture of how the PDP would fare in the upcoming elections. The truth is for some of the people of Gombe State who believe that the APC in the state has abysmally failed in administration, education, health, human capital investment, infrastructure and other areas of governance, the actions and inactions of the PDP will greatly affect their hopes in other words, PDP is the salvation party they are looking up to in order to be lifted out of the harsh grip of the APC-led administration in the state.
The six aspirants are Alhaji Jamil Isyaku Gwamna, former MD/CEO, Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), Alhaji Mohammed Jibrin Danbarde, former CEO, SunTrust Bank; Dr Babayo Ardo, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry for Niger Delta; AVM Shehu Adamu Fura (retd), Dr. Abubakar Ali Gombe, former minister of Health; and Alhaji Ya`u Gimba, former MD of First Mortgage Bank of Nigeria.
A closer look at the credentials of these aspirants will help stakeholders’ understanding of these aspirants and how not to make the mistake that may leave PDP defeated before the general elections.
In view of the need to highlight Dr Gwamna’s credentials and why PDP delegates and other stakeholders should consider him, I will like to spotlight to Alhaji Jamil Isyaku Gwamna, the former MD/CEO of Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) who has paid his due in all aspects of philanthropy as far as Gombe State is concerned.
He is well-educated-knowledge-seeking enthusiast and a de-tribalised indigene of Gombe State whose influential tentacles have impacted the lives of several youths in the state. His educational background is a blend of both local and foreign contents, having been educated at the Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria and London Metropolitan University for his MSc and PhD degrees.
Experience, it’s said is sacrosanct for any position both in public and private sectors and this experience is not a product that can be bought or acquired in a day, but from the accumulation of years of managing affairs in different quotas while garnering the needed insights to make an individual an asset and in this regard Dr Gwamna is not only an asset but a marketable one at that for the PDP.
In 2019, during the PDP primaries, Dr Gwamna emerged the first runner up making him one of the big-name politicians in the state with huge party structure in the PDP. Many have predicted that if Dr. Gwamna had won, he would have delivered the state to the PDP and save millions of Gombe State indigenes the hardship and maladministration that the present APC government had brought to the state in the last three years.
Without doubt Gwamna who holds the title of Sardauna of Gombe in Gombe Emirate; Jagaban Dadiya; Kan Giwan Tangale and Gamzakin Waja is a front line contender for the sole ticket of the PDP governorship seat.
In his recent tour of the 114 wards where he met with grassroots stakeholders of the party revealed that Gwamna hold sway at the grassroots as many of the PDP stakeholders were happy to receive him. From the tour, it was evident that the pulse of the common man in Gombe State was to see Gwamna become the next governor under their great party.
One shocking revelation as observed by some of the journalists that partook in the tour was the excitement of people who are not even PDP members coming to share sweet moments with the aspirant while assuring him of their support in spite of the party difference.
His popularity amongst the people is because of his listening ears and his unarguable reputation for impacting the lives of many youths in the State through employment opportunities in KEDCO and other choiced positions in government without considering religion, tribe or ethnicity.
The Sardauna of Gombe over the years has occupied the political space with sea-sand supporters across Gombe State and beyond.
Mr Charles Iliya the Chairman of Dr Gwamna’s Campaign Organisation steering committee recently described Dr Gwamna as an aspirant that would be easy to market to the good people of Gombe State.
Observers of the PDP’s activities have said that many Local Government Chairmen and cabinet members that are also delegates and served during Dr Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo’s tenure who is the party leader have expressed strong support for the Gwamna’s candidacy.
Some political critic have taken to the media to say that Gwamna played a major role during the 2019 general elections to bring the opposition APC in the state to power.
This further justifies the political strength of Gwamna to help the PDP retire the maladministration of APC in the state and secure freedom for the people of the state.
In fact, giving the Sardauna of Gombe the ticket will give Gwamna the opportunity to correct the mistake that brought the APC to power.
No doubt all other aspirants are qualified in view of their pedigrees as well as their achievements in their various fields but the matter for PDP should be a candidate that’s not just qualified but marketable in view of the PDP’s urgent need to exit the opposition status and rescue the state from impending total collapse and economic hardship.
An African adage says if you want to know the end look at the beginning, this should be the guiding principle for delegates and PDP executives as the party to prepare for the governorship primaries, so as to avoid any repeat of the 2019 political scenario that played against the party.
