By Dahiru Maishanu
The current wave of defections of political heavyweights leaving the APC to the PDP in Sokoto has brought a lot of, hitherto hidden facts to the public domain.
A lot of commentaries have been made on the reasons likely responsible for the seemingly unstoppable Tsunami. Obviously, the party has been bruised already beyond recognition and needs more than miracles to recover.
The Tsunami however, though not directly the subject of this piece, is complicit. It serves as a catalyst for a nostalgic revisit of the political savvy of the political giant at the centre of the massive political upset the APC is witnessing in Sokoto and elsewhere in the country. Rt. Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is no doubt both the ‘bow’ and the ‘arrow’ of this “revolution”.
It all began on the first day of August 2018 when, against all serene comprehension, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal woke up and told everyone who cared to listen that he was leaving the Party that brought him to power and the Party at the centre, the APC to the PDP, a mere struggling opposition party. Of course, he must have made his own calculations before arriving at such a decision.
The journey had been tricky, tumultuous and akin to every relative adjective you can use to qualify it. The Governor took up the gauntlet, prepared well, braved the odds, reloaded his arsenals like never before and ventured into the war front with an uncommon bravado and an almost suicidal gallantry.
We all thought he was going berserk, astray and committing Broad day suicide for venturing into this journey of no return. We thought he would not survive the onslaught and would only be returned in a political casket through the services of an Undertaker, and despatched to the great beyond.
We left our friend in the wilderness, to carry his own cross but he proved us all wrong. Only the late Barrister Inuwa Abdulkadir believed him; but even him, pecked from a ‘safe’ distance. That was vintage Rt. Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal in his true elements.
At the declaration, he described the country’s democratic experience under the APC government as a ‘prison yard’ democracy . He subsequently covered all the fronts and fought the old war horse, Senator Aliyu Wamakko and his army of foot soldiers and brigades of area boys from head to toe.
He eventually emerged victorious against all predictions and booby traps set up for him. The Governor was later subjected to litigations at the electoral Tribunals which went all the way to the highest court of the land, the Supreme Court and still, he emerged victorious.
The present scenario therefore is no strange terrain to the former Speaker.
With the calibre of those politicians that have so far decamped to the PDP in Sokoto, all pointers are signifying a repeat of the 2019 episode with even more casualties for the APC come 2023.
Three former APC, gubernatorial candidates, two former Senators, two former Ambassadors, and many former commissioners with their hordes of supporters were amongst thousands of APC supporters who changed sides to the PDP in the latest count.
Finally, Tambuwal is again proving the master strategist that he is. He is stealthily gathering momentum as the countdown to the 2023 elections continues. From all indices, victory for Tambuwal seems a fait accompli.
Dahiru Maishanu
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