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Democracy is about a government that comes into being through the consent of the
electorate. The people of Borno succeeded in asserting their will through the
ballots when they overwhelmingly voted for an opposition gubernatorial candidate
of the All Nigeria Peoples Party Alhaji Kashim Shettima. Not only did they vote
for him, they also gave his party almost all the membership of the state
legislature which clearly indicates the strength and acceptance of the ruling
ANPP in the state.
The rejection of the former ANPP governor Ali Modu Sheriff as a person impacted
the party’s victory somewhat, where the PDP was able to make little gains
through winning seats by default and not by choice in some areas. PDP was
however effectively checked. As a
result of this outcome the PDP thought they can use that opportunity to take
over the state from the ANPP which proved abortive.
It is noteworthy that the people of Borno state are always suspicious of the
PDP, whose membership were drawn from amongst people who are perceived to have
self-serving interest only, i.e. preserving their personal greed and
aggrandisement. These are people who are suspected to have denied opportunities
to less privileged citizens in the past and their vulgar and control freak
posture is always detested by the people who have never trusted them with their
governance in the state.
Having realised their disastrous outward perception and rejection by the Borno
electorate they cleverly drafted former governor Goni to give them a semblance
of credibility. Through the process of campaigning, the people later came to
realise that Goni is just a figure whose appearance would not make any
difference and that as usual these self seeking politicians were bent on
capturing power through the back door. Yet again the people of Borno state gave
them another pulsating beating at the last governorship election.
The bare appearance of former governor Goni gave some gullible voters a false
semblance of cheer that was not to last long. The silent apparition of the
ashen-coloured sheep (wolves clothed in sheep’s skin) was put to the rout by the
ever so politically savvy capacity of the Borno people who can easily
differentiate the wheat from the chaff and are yearning for good governance
which they saw in the ANPP candidate.
Not satisfied by the people’s verdict these political nincompoops resorted to
making false claims as to the validity of the genuine votes of the electorate
and sought to upturn it through foul means. By vehemently calling on the federal
government to initiate a state of emergency in the state due to the problems of
security some of which were believed to be politically motivated, their evil
character was exposed and it became apparent that they do not mean well so long
as they have not achieved their desire by hoodwinking the public and obtaining
power by mischief. Again they failed woefully in their attempt to instigate the
federal government to get them to power through the back door.
Worried about their failure to persuade their leaders to seize power on their
behalf they rushed to the courts even though they are well aware that they had
no case since they were beaten fair and square at the polls by the ANPP.
Believing that they can use their links with the top echelon of the judiciary to
do their bidding, they kept hopes of their gullible supporters alive by
spreading falsehood and claiming that they have had the membership panel of the
tribunal under their control.
As event went on and sensing defeat at the tribunal, they again resorted to
spreading malicious propaganda against the members of the election tribunal
handling the case for refusing to be compromised. In their restless bid to get
power through the backdoor the Borno PDP members rushed to file an appeal with
the aim of seeking an injunction to stop the tribunal from passing its verdict.
Even though the injunction has nothing to do with the substantive suit before
the tribunal, the PDP supporters are twisting the whole matter by
misrepresenting its outcome.
Again the Borno PDP went to town bragging that they had the listening ears of
the nation’s judicial officers who they claimed would soon reconstitute the
panel of tribunal members hearing their case in the state just as Justice Salami
was removed in order to pave way for their own success. Knowing that the Borno
PDP members have the habit of always twisting events and situations to suit
their interpretation of events the citizens of Borno are not bothered about
their ranting knowing that it is hardly possible to hear anything good coming
from those who they knew have formed the habit of spreading falsehood.
The truth of the matter is that the PDP will continue to fail in their entire
plot to unseat the legitimate government of Borno under the tutelage of the ANPP
governor Alhaji Kashim Shettima. The people of have spoken and are proud to have
made a good choice. Undoubtedly, the quality of
the governor’s leadership as exhibited by his sincerity, honesty of
character and purpose in running the state of affairs of Borno state since
assuming office illustrates some of the real features of his dynamic leadership.
In light of this therefore, it is time to have a reality check, avoiding the
caricature of petty crookedness by some of the discontented politicians whose
failure to achieve electoral success is blamed on subterfuge reasons rather than
their personal standing in society. Borno needs to move on and has no time for
time wasters and political shenanigans.
(c) The Optimist Voice. All Rights Reserved.
