Sen. Bala Moh’d had been sworn in as Bauchi state governor to succeed a defeated incumbent Barr. M.A Abubakar in a tender election battle.
2019’s Bauchi gubernatorial election has come and gone with so many things that are first of their kind; for the good, the bad and for the worse to remember. Defeating an incumbent governor – and of a ruling party – was never expected to be possible or easy, at least if history was a thing to go by.
Strong party stakeholders defected the party just when it needed them most: National Deputy Chairman Babayo Garba Gamawa, Kaulaha Aliyu, among others. These defections were expected to add salt to a paining wound and all hopes to conquer the incumbency started evaporating. No one knew what the future holds. Now that PDP wins and they are out of the party, it’s time they have to watch regretfully in tears and pain.
The election result that took the PDP to the throne has been reportedly controversial, as there were allegations of over voting in some polling units and electoral rigging in other polling units, all against an incumbent M.A. Abubakar & his ruling party: the APC.
To make matters worse, there have been early scares from the PDP also – when the election result was declared inconclusive, until some run ups are carried out in some affected polling units across some LGAs where there were reports of electoral irregularities.
A sigh of relief came to PDP when the earlier rejected result of T/Balewa was reinstated and PDP was leading with about 10,000 votes. To add up to the earlier 4,000 votes lead, the future looks brighter, and there was more calm and hope.
APC looks hopeless and helpless -because they never thought it could be this critical,as M.A was reported saying. But that is politics, and with this kind of 2019’s elections, things might have been worse.
Bauchi people were precisely tired and fed up with M.A’s administration,and all clarion calls to make things better felt on deaf ears, perhaps because the power of voters’ votes were underrated -now can be seen how this concept have been misunderstood. Its time they may have to review where they got it all wrong.
With PDP back to the helm after shambolic four years of APC, it remains to be seen how things will be in the coming four years.
Weather or not PDP may learn the lesson of what failed APC after just four years in office,is an answer that could well be answered in some time – hopefully as soon as possible before it is too late.
Whatever happens in the meantime, governments have been taught to never play with people’s minds because they remains the catalyst of making or breaking every administration!
However, if lessons are not learnt by PDP before 2023, Bauchi people would be to Bala & PDP what they have been to Barr. M.A. & APC.
Muhd Nasir Yakub wrote in from Bauchi and can be reached via: 08063212474 or
nasiryakub990@gmail.com
