By Alhassan Adamu Hussaini.
Though it may seem too early to ask, yet it is pertinent and to begin the conversation early enough. It is also quite interesting to understand that a journey can only be fruitful when the different routes to be navigated are clearly understood.
Nasarawa State was created from the then Plateau State by the late General Sani Abacha with its capital in Lafia.
In May 1999, the state got its first democratically elected Governor in the person of H.E. Alh. Abdullahi Adamu, on the platform of the People's Democratic Party (PDP).
Governor Abdullahi Adamu is from Keffi Local Government in the western Senatorial District of the state.
Governor Adamu ran the state for eight years, serving his constitutionally permitted two terms.
He was succeeded by the late Alh. Aliyu Akwe Doma in a seamless transition in 2007. Governor Aliyu Doma was also of the PDP.
The late Governor Akwe Doma was from Doma LGA located in the Southern Senatorial District of the State. Governor Doma governed the state for a single term of four years.
He lost his re-election bid to the vivacious, oratorical and much-loved Alh. Umaru Tanko Almakura in 2011 who ran on the platform of a rather nascent political party, the CPC. He would be the party's lone governor across the country. Governor Almakura ran a smart campaign that came through as a wave, sweeping the entire state like never seen before and successfully taking over leadership from the ruling party's incumbent governor. He is from Lafia LGA, the same Southern Senatorial Zone like his immediate predecessor. He was to govern the state for two terms of eight years. His CPC later merged with other political parties to form the APC, making Almakura the first Governor in the state, on the platform of the APC. He was re-elected on the same platform in 2015.
Governor Almakura, an infrastructure-inclined personality, did not only transform the diverse infrastructural frameworks of the state, he took it to another level, human capital development and left the state ten times better than he met it, in all ramifications and indices of growth and development. Proving he was master of the craft of politics and governance, Almakura ensured he handed over the state to H.E. Engr. Abdullahi Sule of the same APC. Engr. Sule hails from Akwanga, Northern Senatorial District of the state. Governor Abdullahi Sule is presently presiding over the affairs of the State in his second term. Undoubtedly, he will be leaving power as governor in 2027.
The question therefore ordinarily arises: who shall succeed Governor Sule and from what political platform? This question is dicey because the electioneering of 2023 threw up very many surprises in the state's political landscape - the Labour Party/Peter Obi factor, the surge in strength of the PDP, the APC's dismal performance despite being the ruling party as evidenced by its loss of three Senate seats, two Reps. seats, many State Assembly seats, and the very tight gubernatorial race that was scarcely won.
There are those who would rather stay mute, leaving the answer to the above question entirely to providence. But providence in itself only works through human actions. Therefore, it is not only trite, it is pertinent for permutations by pundits and hopefuls to begin. This is because the inevitable can only be delayed but can never be avoided or circumvented and fortune has no room for the indolent.
The political directions and decisions in Nasarawa state are largely influenced by the dual factors of ethnicity and religion. Socio-political alignments, though primarily determined by personal interests, the twin factors earlier stated can never be wished away with the wave of the hand. There is also the argument of zoning which suggests a rotation of the seat of governor between the three Senatorial Districts of the state. In practice, the rotation is just a function of coincidence as each of the three Zones field gubernatorial candidates in every election season, from diverse political parties.
As it stands, the three Zones of the state have all produced governors who governed or would govern for a minimum of eight years each. Would the pseudo-zonal rotation which occurs by sheer coincidence continue all by itself? Would the stakeholders and political opinion moulders from across the three Zones of the state bring their heads together and chart an organized and gentlemanly course that would inform the state's political trajectory going forward or would they just stay put and allow "business as usual"? These and many questions are already agitating pundits and the politically savvy.
A few people from across the three Zones of the state have already started indicating interest with supporters beginning to make calls on their preferred candidates to begin mooting their intentions as regards the succession of Governor Sule in 2027.
Would the Governor anoint any candidate? This is indeed is a big question and a valuable pointer to the turn of events. Would the anointed candidate, if he did anoint one, be accepted?
Daredevils known to bare their minds open like Senator Ahmed Wadada of Keffi LGA, currently representing Nasarawa West under SDP, has since expressed his intention to succeed Sule. Is he going to the contest in SDP or is he coming back to APC where he was tactfully denied a senatorial ticket in 2023 leading him to defect to the SDP where he won with a landslide? ambition before he moved to SDP.
Dr. Faisal Shuaibu the immediate past executive secretary of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency who is also from the western part of the State is rumored to be harboring interest in the top job too. In fact, there are those who have hinted that he has since commenced clandestine consultations in that regard. Seen as a green-horn in political dynamics, would his far-reaching connections locally and internationally aid in bringing his rumored ambition into reality? There are voices from certain quarters that Dr. Faisal's brother-in-law, the current chairman of the National Population Commission is also secretly nursing the ambition of governing the state beyond 2027.
Professor M.S. Haruna, former NASENI Boss also from the western zone has also started making moves to contest the office of the Governor of the state.
Another silent movement is the information coming around the State Accountant General, Musa Ahmed Mohammed who is also putting efforts to take the seat of power in 2027. Former Speaker of the state, as PDP and now AG in APC administration. He might be a strong contender too because of his wide constituency of Former legislators and cross-political alignment of PDP/APC. Musa Ahmed Mohammed who is also from the western zone is seen as one stop person for APC because of his relationship with the Governor. However, time will define this if only it would work on that basis.
In a surprise development, it is quietly reported that Hon. Hassan Nalaraba Abubakar, a two-term member of the House of Representative from the Southern Zone of the state, precisely Keana LGA is also eyeing the No 1 seat in the state.
