KEBBI AND POLITICS OF OPPOSITION

 Abdullahi Yusuf urges the PDP to engage in meaningful conversations about governance

In Kebbi State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), still wallowing in the trauma of the 2023 defeat, has since April of this year, been releasing a series of highly hypocritical statements purportedly in pursuit of opposition even at a time Governor Nasir Idris is discharging serious governance in the state. First were the rash of press releases following the governor’s remarks at the immediate past Eid-il Fitr Sallah Durbar, a glaring display of political opportunism masked as concern for governance. In that blatant attempt to score cheap political points, PDP once again trivialised important issues, veiling its criticism in religious rhetoric, while conveniently ignoring its own track record of hypocrisy and double standards.

It is quite telling that instead of engaging in constructive opposition, the PDP seems more interested in exploiting sensitive religious sentiments or issues it lacked information about to whip up emotions among Kebbi citizens. The press statement twists the governor’s remarks into an attack on clerics, diverting attention from the real issues at hand. The reality is that the PDP is using religion to curry cheap popularity, a tactic they have repeatedly employed to gain sympathy without offering any real solutions. This is a disservice to the people of Kebbi, who deserve a robust debate on governance, not political theatre.

In fact, rather than attempt to paint the Kebbi State governor, Nasir Idris as being hostile towards clerics, one would expect the PDP to address the very issues those clerics raised, which the governor has taken steps to respond to. How is it that a party that claims to care about the plight of the people is silent on the menace of out-of-school children and unemployment, but chooses to focus on alleged “outbursts” from the governor? Specifically, what did PDP do to arrest these ever-present issues while they held sway? The PDP’s reluctance to engage in meaningful discourse on these critical issues demonstrates their lack of seriousness in addressing the real concerns of the people of Kebbi State.

Instead of suggesting ideas towards collectively addressing the growing number of Almajirai and out-of-school children, PDP sees an opportunity to grandstand about religious freedoms. This is nothing more than a smokescreen to mask their own failure to provide meaningful leadership when they were in power. Their selective outrage and eagerness to stir up religious sentiments only further exposes their penchant for double standards.

For a party that claims to champion freedom of expression, the PDP’s history of harsh muscling of free speech says otherwise. It, therefore, becomes ironic that PDP is accusing the current administration of “gagging” critics, when their own reign in office was marked by cases of attempts to stifle dissent. It is laughable that they would accuse the governor of undemocratic behaviour when they themselves failed to uphold democratic principles during their time in power. No wonder they always fail in elections in Kebbi State.

Moreover, the PDP’s statement conveniently ignores that political freedom also includes the right of any administration to hold individuals accountable for actions that seek to destabilise governance. If religious leaders are to play a role in governance, they must also be held to account when their criticisms cross the line into political agitation. This is why the governor’s remarks on maintaining order and addressing false religious narratives are in fact a defence of good governance, not an attack on religious freedom. But, PDP only sees the blind side where their rookie opposition gains some oxygen.

Worse is the absurdity in PDP’s claim that Governor Nasir Idris is neglecting the “majority” of Kebbi citizens. This is not only misleading, but also an attempt to deflect the real issues. No part of that press statement is more ridiculous than PDP’s citing of election numbers to argue that the governor only represents a fraction of the population, conveniently ignoring that the majority of Kebbi citizens exercised their democratic rights and chose the current administration. To suggest that the governor is only serving his party’s supporters is not only outrageous, but also a dishonest attempt to delegitimise the will of the people.

Instead of focusing on these baseless accusations, PDP should take a long, hard look at their own failings in Kebbi. Where was their commitment to “equity” when they were in power? Why were issues of unemployment, education and sanitation not adequately addressed during their reign? Why are they always losing elections in the state? Their sudden concern for these issues now reeks of pungent opportunism which the people of Kebbi do not need right now.

The press statements issued by PDP on June 4 calling for oversight on NG-cares funds and distribution of fertilisers further confirm the party’s poor know-how of opposition politics. Together, these ill-advised statements have revealed the PDP’s penchant for double standards and religious manipulation which does more harm than good to our dear Kebbi State. Where was the PDP when Governor Nasir Idris was procuring and distributing fertilizers to the good people of Kebbi? The claim by PDP that NG-CARES fund disbursements are being shrouded in secrecy is not only preposterous, it is reminiscent of how the party has handled such issues in the past hence the belief that everyone would be tempted to re-enact their days of magical governance where the more people saw, the less they understood. 

Kebbi PDP’s attempt to trivialise the governor’s genuine efforts at governance by turning it into a religious issue is a testament of their desperation to remain relevant. Kebbi State deserves better. We deserve a political discourse focused on development, not one hijacked by religious and political grandstanding.

It is disappointing that in these days of widespread hardship which the government of Nasir Idris is working assiduously to confront, PDP finds nothing to fantasise about but issues that bear no real relevance on the lives of the people. It is about time the PDP stopped pursuing cheap popularity and started engaging in meaningful conversations about governance. The people of Kebbi deserve serious opposition, not one that resorts to hypocrisy and emotional manipulation to score points.

It’s important to note that even before the coming of Governor Idris, Kebbi State has been a APC State and with what he has achieved in just a little more than a year, the people of the state have now got a strong commitment and affiliation with the party given the outcome of the recent local government election where the APC swept all the chairmanship and councillorship positions in all the 21 local government areas of the state.

 Yusuf writes from Abuja