Political science students in Africa will attest to this that to dislodge and demystify a ruling party, strategies is the most important aspect one needs to map out and arm himself with.
Examples as shown in Africa on how to pull a seat from a comfortable ruling party’s bombom as is been called on the street, especially a party that has impoverished his people close to a decade, where social, economic right of the people has been taken and relegated to the bottom of priority list, where the revenue and spoon feeding monthly allocation can not measure up with the said development acclaimed to be on ground.
To worsen it all, the candidate of the said ruling party now boast of deep pocket with enough hard and local currency in his well starched Agbada and in the safe of the state treasurer and accountant.
Oppositions who found themselves at such bus stop on their way to the government house needs the wisdom of Solomon and heart David to tear apart leopard and lion trying to take the little lamb, coupled with the Unity of Trinity to be victorious.
President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, who ran under United Party for National Development in Zambia has been a serial and known face on the ballot in Zambia, after contesting more than 5th time until 6th term before he was able to clinch the seat. It takes a collective political alliance of the main opposition in Zambia to put and end to the reign of President Edga Lungu of Patriot Party in August 2021.
In Malawi, it takes opposition leaders of the Malawi Congress Party and United Transformation Movement before they could make meaningful impact.
The November 11 journey to Lugard House is set and main opposition candidates must form a strong political alliance and understanding among themselves, not with the candidates alone but the electorate that has the mandate in their hand.
A bulwark of unperturbed front must be put in place, considering the ruling party that is hell bent in foisting their own lap dog and unpopular anoited candidate against the general wish of the electorate, in a multi-ethnic society like Kogi state, formation of alliance becomes inevitable where appeals for ethnics sentiment are most predominant.
Serious opposition must come with strong alliance, if they must achieve meaningful result, as going into the election as a disintegrated entity might not augur well and may result in them sustaining fatal political defeat.
Sen Dino Melaye, Mubarak Saliu, Hon Leke Abejide, Murtala Yakubu, Admiral Usman Jibrin and the rest must put heads together for the possibility of presenting a common front, as the saying that two good head are better than one.
Hon Leke Abejide holding the flag of ADC has the firm grip of Okun politics, having won his way into the heart of the people of Yagba and also been able to extend the reach to Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu, the base of Dino Melaye as ADC defeated the incubment party and the ruling party candidate.
Muri Yakubu whose candidacy almost suffered setback if not for his resilience, perseverance and doggedness that brought him back to clinch the ticket of SDP as he once promised his supporters that his name will be on the ballot.
Mubarak Musa Saliu who is now the beautiful bride of the lgala’s with support and endorsement from nooks and crannies of Kogi State having paid his due to his people couple with his people’s oriented political manifesto which has further boosted his chances that as now make him one of the most serious contender in this race to Lugard house.
Not forgetting the Accord Party candididate a top brass gentle Naval officer, Admiral Usman Jibrin Oyibe who has staged a comeback after his aborted 2019 governorship by the power that be. Information suggest that he his in the race to win as he has set his oiled political machinery in motion to deliver on the plans he intends to execute for Kogi State.
The journey ahead to Lugard House come November 11th as in Nigeria contemporary politics where money plays a role, but this time money might be the last resort as strategies, selling realistic political manifesto that guarantee a new thinking, ideas that can take us from unfulfilled political bus stop to our final political fulfilment journey through the path Paul Kagame of Rwanda took, and disembark on this journey to Zimbabwe.
The Participatory opposition party has a lot of lessons to draw from the just concluded Presidential election where PDP went into the elections divided, like the break up of Soviet Union where Ukraine, Azebarjan and Georgia came out from, that lead to giving part to Kwankwaso, Peter Obi, G5/ Wike leaving Atiku with the shredded remaining vote to harvest, squandering their good and prosperous fortune of 2019.
Usman Jibrin, Abejide, Mubarak, Dino, Muri and the rest all has something to bring on the table at this critical time in our history in Kogi State, their individual ego, self oriented and ethic agenda must be dropped. Doing this will help reverse economic retrogression and stipend take home pay that has bedeviled the state.
I would have love to write this piece in three major languages dialect in Kogi State which would have been able to convey the message that will speak into their subconsciousness.
Kogi State needs a man that will priotise people-oriented agenda.
People of Kogi want a state we can be proud to tell the story of how we where able to shake off the shackles of backwardness from our neck, a state that guarantee and prepare a better future for the unborn generation, where all ties with poverty is broken.
The major opposition parties must rise to the occasion and look themselves in the eyes and speak the truth to each other and work for common unity of purpose to confront our common and collective enemy which is hunger and low standard of living.
I want to see an lgala man that will priotise an infrastructure development at lsanlu, where Okun man will priotise the development in Okehi, where an Ebira man will bear the pain of the people in Abejukolo not minding if he or she is not of the same tribe with him.
As we move closer to November 11th, l want to see opposition parties coming together, stronger with a solid resolution by queuing behind one their own irrespective where he/she comes from.
– Bright Olushina writes from Abuja.
southnetwork2627@gmail.com
