Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) have intensified their campaigns. But, according to observers, only the PDP and the APC are regarded as serious contenders by the people. Thus, eyes were on the two parties as they held their primaries.
The APC adopted the open ballot voting during its shadow poll. It was free and fair, according to security agents and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). APC delegates from the Central Senatorial District elected former Senator, M. S Ohiare, as their candidate in a keenly contested primary between the two former lawmakers, Sen. M. S Ohiare and Sen. Salihu Ohize.
In PDP, the party elected Ahmed Ogembe as its candidate after defeating the incumbent Sen. Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, Dr Moses Wokili and others.
MPPP picked Bashir Sani Omolori as its candidate through consensus. The same method produced Kabiru Onimisi Atta of the Labour Party (LP).
Incumbent Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman is a very brave man. However, he is on a self-destructive path of attaining a record as the most insensitive, greedy and egocentric politician in recent political history.
I got to know with disgust the news that Sen. Nurudeen dumped PDP for PPA to contest the forthcoming Senate election in Kogi Central. Though it is within his constitutional right to aspire and contest, it is also within the constitutional right of the electorates to reject him.
Admittedly, during the 2011 elections, Nurudeen had enormous support from the masses of Kogi Central who were and are still very tired of the atrocities and sins of the past senators.
However, a lot has changed between then and now. One issue that will always haunt Nurudeen’s political journey is his contempt for differing views and ingratitude to followership.
A man with an almost incurable penchant for abandoning supporters after elections should never be entrusted with power. Politics is about the people. Those who risked their precious lives for Nurudeen in 2011
had long been abandoned by him. At least, I have personally engaged some of them and their stories is most pathetic.
Do not get me wrong, I am not saying he should have enlisted them in his payroll or fed them daily. The fact is that he just neglected and relegated his supporters as if there would be no tomorrow. Also, there is this very hotly
debated issue about his fidelity with resources, especially monetary.
His aspiration to contest the 2015 Senate election in Kogi Central on the platform of the PPA after losing out in the PDP primaries is very insatiable and has clearly shown that he does not have modicum understanding of the dynamics of opposition politics.
The Nurudeen of 2011 who had a cult-like followership is so different from the Nurudeen of today that can hardly command a little crowd. The problem with Nurudeen is that he thinks so much of himself, he has an over-bloated ego which might degenerate into acute messianic delusion if he presses on with his ambition. This is the reason why he cannot see that Kogi Central people have rejected him. He does not command the kind of support and acceptability that he had in 2011 anymore.
Another instance, Dr. Moses Wokili defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) after losing out in the PDP primaries too. Wokili is a politician I think is without foresight. However, he may have influence in the five local government areas in the Central, but, the story may be different when it comes to mobilizing electorates to vote for him. This may not work for him…. [To Be Continued…]
Written by Abdoolwahab
