Today is the 8th day Senatorial election was billed to take place across Nigeria and this includes Kogi East where you featured as the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). You did not only featured as the candidate of the party but as the best man for the job for Kogi East as measured by all available standards.
Unfortunately for all of us, electoral coup happened and everyone who participated in the election except those in position were shortchanged. This is to the detriment of Kogi Eastern people that lost the chance of a vibrant representation at the Senate.
I am writing mainly to appreciate you for your commitments and believe in me and the many other youths you worked with to bring about the needed change to our polity.
I and many others were part of your campaign Team from the beginning. When you were yet to decide. I was one of the Ultimate THREE+YOU who made the ultimate decision for Senate and I am everly grateful for being trusted that much.
You are a special breed who focuses only on the electorates to win elections, your affinity with anyone either old or young was all geared towards playing the game within the rules of engagement and nothing more.
The journey started from the PDP, where the process was thwarted by Saraki for Aidoko. We went through a lot to engage the delegates of the party, we canvass through the crannies of our region to light the PDP campaign. We presented the party as the best alternative to the failing APC hoping they have learnt their lessons from defeat as a result of impunity and imposition of candidates.
To them, that notion was wrong, they remain their ever impunitive self. No change. All we asked for when we led delegation of youths and party faithfuls to the national secretariat of the party was to ask for free and fair primaries where every aspirants is given the chance to test her popularity, we wrote, we featured on national TV to protest, we met with leaders of the party including the BoTs all to no avail.
Saraki happened and Aidoko was granted an automatic ticket. That was when I gave up on the PDP, knowing they can never change as a party. More so, when Secondus told us “it is Kogi State that needs PDP and not the other way round”. Today, even Saraki is enjoying the spoils of his actions.
When this happened, I was completely devastated because of the efforts we put into the campaign for the delegate election. No sleep, no rest, not even eating well for days to make sure you are delivered at the primary. You noticed I was traumatized and encouraged me to get out of it giving inspirational messages to help me out of the trauma.
You told me all hope is not lost that the journey continues on another platform. That what we had was a movement that is positioned to survive on any platform.
What we did during the campaign in the PDP was to build a structure, a structure that is anchored on purposive representations and good governance in the spirit of Omu’ka and brotherhood and PDP was only a vehicle under which we would have carried it. When they failed, we moved the structure to another Party and move on with the message. It was that simple.
Today, the consequences of that action and arrogance of the party to go against the will of the people has caused them the return ticket to Power. They caused it themselves and it is all good.
I will remember this words from you to me;
1. “Maji Isah, you are a vibrant and determined young man with a bright future. I see you more like my student who should be mentored to achieve his potential and I will support you in anyway I can as we build this relationship beyond politics and elections”
2. ” God is the ultimate decider of faith. He is the decider of destiny and whatever he designed for you will never go pass you. Put your faith more in God than in any human being”
3. “This is the time to bring sanctity into the politics we play in Kogi East where people kill, main, destroy and manipulate to emerge leadership position, we must begin to see ourselves as brothers and the onus is on your to preach the message Maji”
4. “Any day I give you gun to destroy because of election, ask for my son, any day I ask you to destroy someone’s properties because of election, runaway from”
You never believed in any godfather to make you a Senator, you never believed in the system to make you one. You message has always been about the people and how the power resides with the people and how they must realize this and take the power back.
Your campaign and promises were all to the masses and not to the system and any godfather because you believe more in the masses than you believed in the system and the godfathers.
That is why we had it easy even when we moved to a New and an unpopular party that had no structure on ground.
It was a difficult task to pick a new political party less than 3 months to election and make any meaningful impact, but God made it easy for us.
The new song were taken to our villages and hamlets. You lead while we follow and the acceptance was huge and billed to win the election.
The system became afraid of us and had to employ crude way to thwarted the will of the people through selected few who has refused to learn. Same people you are trying to liberate from the grip of a crude system. It clearly shwowed that the greatest threat to freedom is a happy slave.
We did not fail, we actually won! While in PDP, they were afraid of us to come to the field and so planned a coup, at the general election even in an unpopular political party, they became afraid us and use guns instead of PVC. This is a confirmation that you are a force that moves with the people.
For us, it is a New song that just began, what we have started is a movement and they movement continues!
God continue to guide and guard your affairs sir, as I look forward to doing more exploit with you.
– Comrade Maji Isah faithfully penned
