Inuwa Aiming to Succeed Masari in 2023

As Secretary to the Katsina State Government for both the first and second terms of Governor Aminu Bello Masari, Dr. Mustapha Inuwa is eminently qualified to be his successor in 2023, writes Francis Sardauna

Politicking has commenced in Katsina State and many political gladiators in the state have started realigning ahead of the 2023 election. The beginning of this year has witnessed a higher tempo in the conversations among political elites in the state over who should be the next governor of the historic home state of President Muhammadu Buhari. Thus, new faces aspiring to succeed Masari are popping up day by day. Unarguably, the first to formally notify the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party in the state of his ambition to vie for the position of the number one citizen of the Home of Heritage and Hospitality is the incumbent Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Mustapha Muhammed Inuwa.

Investigation revealed that Inuwa so far has the backing of at least 18 out of the 34 members of the State House of Assembly and 24 aspiring chairmen with their councillors in the forthcoming April 11, 2022 local government elections, to be the next eligible person to succeed Governor Masari in 2023. The lawmakers and the party’s candidates for the council polls were among the rousing crowd of APC supporters that accompanied the SSG to the state APC headquarters.

While at the party’s secretariat, Inuwa presented an official letter to the Chairman of the party, Sani Aliyu. The letter partly read: “I write this letter to express my intent as gubernatorial aspirant of our great party APC in the forthcoming state governorship election. I have been an active member both at the local government, state and national levels since I joined our great party.

“I was one time the state chairman of the party and subsequently became the Secretary to the State Government for two consecutive tenures of the APC administration in the state. I have been engaged in a number of national assignments.

“I therefore, humbly believe that I have gathered enough administrative and political capabilities to enable me impact positively on the socio-economic development of our state.”

Undoubtedly, the letter of intent sign-tunes the readiness and commitment of the man whom political observers described as the brain behind the success of the Masari-led government

Born in 1957 in Danmusa, Inuwa obtained his first school leaving certificate in 1970 at Runka Primary School in Runka, Grade Two Teachers certificate at School for Arabic Studies, Kano in 1977, B. A. (Hons) History in Bayero University, Kano in 1983 as well as M.A (History) from the University of Ibadan in 1987.

The ‘engine-room’ of the Masari’s APC government, who ventured into politics in 1993, was elected as treasurer of the defunct APP and later the interim chairman of the party. In a bid to advance his political career, he dumped the APP and joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where he served as the sole administrator of Danmusa Local Government between 2002 to 2003, and General Manager, Katsina State Transport Authority within the period under review.

He was also appointed commissioner for education under the later Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administration in the state from 2003 to 2006. He was later appointed as the secretary to the state government (SSG) under the same administration where he served from 2006 to 2007. In view of his quest for a liberal and all-inclusive party that will provide the required leadership to Nigerians, Inuwa decamped from PDP to the APC where he was elected as the state chairman of the party in 2013.

As chairman of the party, Inuwa, worked assiduously with other APC bigwigs and brought in his current principal (Masari) into power in 2015 after dislodging the then ruling PDP that managed the affairs of the state for 16 years. Having won the 2015 governorship polls, Masari appointed Inuwa as SSG. He equally served as the 2019 Chairman of Masari Campaign Council which gave the APC a landmark victory that ushered in Masari as the second term governor of the state with about 1.3 million votes for the first time in the political history of the state. Considering his significant role in the life-changing policies and programmes of the Masari’s government in the first tenure of his administration, the governor re-appointed Inuwa as SSG.

As a seasoned and grassroot politician who is not into a ‘do or die politics’, Dr. Inuwa has been warning his teaming supporters and political groups in the forthcoming state governorship election to shun any act capable of disrupting socio-political order in the state.

Despite having over 300 political groups across the 361 political wards of the state that are solemnly behind his candidature, the political emancipator believes that leadership comes from God and He alone can determine the next governor of the state, thus, he insisted that his supporters must embrace peace, shun political thuggery and other forms of crisis, before, during and after the polls.

Accordingly, Inuwa’s message to any political gathering is that “politics is not a do or die game” and whoever God has destined to be governor of the state, he will accept him in good faith hence the need for his supporters to embrace the tenets of political dynamism and root out every factor contributing to the democracy deficit in Nigeria, such as voter apathy, looting, arson, among others.

In his words: “Our supporters must be law-abiding and understand the tenets of democracy. If you support one person you should also appreciate that another person has every right and reason to support another person. So, I urged them to be law-abiding and to conduct whatever they want to do in this regard peacefully without any problem.”

Set to unravel his political manifesto soon, Inuwa’s ambition is to sustain and improve on the achievements of the current Masari-led government by ensuring that there is sustenance of peace, progress, economic development and youths empowerment if elected as governor of the state in 2023.

In his spirit of sportsmanship and rule of law, the former lecturer of the Usman Danfodio University has since informed Masari, his Deputy, Mannir Yakubu, APC stakeholders, including those who have indicated their interest to join the governorship race of his intent to vie for the governorship election.

He told journalists at a press conference in Katsina: “We will continue with the consultation and like I say we have one party called APC and we want the APC to succeed. So, what we are going to do is not a do or die issue but we will ensure that we go through the process, abide by the rules and regulations. And we will make sure that Katsina gets the best because Katsina deserved the best”.

The clarion calls by the electorates in Katsina state for the SSG to contest the governorship election in 2023 apparently is not unconnected with his blueprints, antecedents and worth of political and leadership experience as well as the capacity to provide the leadership that the state need.

Ordinarily, Inuwa has enjoyed a special relationship with Masari, first, as the Chairman of the latter’s successful governorship campaign Council and as well as the SSG for both the first and second terms. Hence, even from a perspective of payback, Masari owes him some form of gratitude.