The race towards 2015 governorship race in Kogi State has started already though gladiators are aware that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is yet to roll out timetable and lift lid on campaigns.
One distinct politician, who I refer to as ‘Buhari of Kogi State’, Prince Abubakar Audu will surely be a major player in the build up to the elections and may also be a major actor in the election proper.
I call Prince Audu the ‘Buhari of Kogi State’ because they have one thing in common; both Buhari and Audu contested and lost in 2003, 2007 and 2011. These men alleged they lost the said elections to electoral fraud that characterized Nigerian electioneering process in the past. Both men have been consistent dogged fighters against the globally acknowledged mis-rule of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Buhari and Audu are undoubtedly heroes of democracy in Nigeria. Buhari remained committed to the cause of righting wrongs and he contested again this year and won with aplomb. The question some Kogi people are asking is, ‘can Audu repeat same feat in Kogi State this year’?
In 2003, 2007 and 2011, Prince Audu undoubtedly lost due to ‘Federal Might’ that PDP ingloriously wielded against opposition parties. Now that power has shifted to the All Progressive Congress (APC) where Audu is a leader, one can safely infer that 2015 governorship race in Kogi State is Audu’s best chance to win and re-model Kogi State.
Buhari is reputed for his uprightness and inclination to stick to rules. This disposition, many believe, will pave way for saner and fairer electoral process in Nigeria post May 29, 2015. The hope of a free and fair governorship election in Kogi state also cement the belief that this is Prince Audu’s best chance to test his true acceptance among Kogi electorates.
Audu still remain the best candidate in Kogi APC. Aside his unmatched performance while he held sway in Lugard House, Lokoja, Audu has a time-tested political structure across the 21 local governments that cannot be wished away. The recently conducted elections showed how important political structures are. Good candidates on weak political structures lost woefully in the elections.
Audu’s political structures delivered all the three senators in Kogi State, six out of nine house of representative seats in the state and also won a surprising eleven out of twenty five seats in the state house of assembly! The signs are ominous in Kogi state. Audu is from the same Kogi East senatorial district as the incumbent Governor Idris Wada but he has successfully dislodged PDP from Kogi East in all elections conducted so far. Unless APC want to field an Ebira or Okun man for governorship, Audu remains their best option.
This is undoubtedly Audu best chance to win Kogi governorship elections.
Can this also be Audu’s last chance to contest Kogi governorship elections? Audu is already 67 years old. If he fails to get it this time he might not be strong enough to contest ever again as he will be above 70 years by the next election in 2019!
Audu has just one more term of 4 years to serve if he becomes Kogi governor later this year going by the fact that he has been sworn in under the current constitution in 1999. This makes his candidature more acceptable. Those who have sworn never to like him will only have to cope with him for just 4 years. Also, at the expiration of his tenure in 2019, he can effectively actualise the much touted ‘power shift’ in Kogi State. Audu remains the main Igala politician who can successfully deliver the much anticipated ‘power shift’ in Kogi state. To those agitating that Audu should step aside for a candidate from another zone, the question I ask is, ‘can Audu deliver power shift as an opposition leader or as a sitting governor?’ The last state house of assembly election Kogi state shows that PDP is not dead in Kogi State. That PDP won fourteen seats is not a child’s play! It is a big signal to Kogi APC – field a weak candidate and get bashed!
If Audu step aside as some party men are suggesting or should he lose it he eventually stand for the election, this might just be his very last chance.
**Watch out for my next piece on ‘How Ibro and Wada Failed to Retire Audu From Politics’
Titi Balogun writes from Lokoja
