THE FACE OF OPPOSITION IN ZAMFARA

  Zamfara’s APC call for a state of emergency is unfortunate, writes Mustapha Saleh

In their usual manner, the Zamfara State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) recently shocked the entire world when it laughably called for the declaration of a state of emergency in Zamfara purportedly on the grounds of insecurity. This is unpatriotic and time wasting.

Though the APC’s barking at the record performance of Governor Dauda Lawal shouldn’t have been glorified with a response, the fear is that this hastily written, unprovoked call to declare martial law in Zamfara State is clearly a reflection of the panic that stems from the Dauda administration’s steady gains in all areas of governance. It is a measure of how the envious opposition would go in adopting all sorts of shenanigans to distract the governor and his rescue team. 

The APC’s call, therefore, may not be anything more than a desperate attempt to obscure the real reasons behind their panic, which basically comes down to Governor Dauda’s resolve to remove the lid on the looting of Zamfara’s treasury during the past administration of Dr. Bello Mohammed Matawalle. His recent television appearances where he made huge allegations of financial misappropriation may well be the trigger for the tactical manoeuvre to avoid the consequences for their long overdue comeuppance.

So, rather than deflecting attention with baseless accusations, the APC should have adopted a more patriotic approach by advocating for a probe into the alarming revelations of ₦70 billion allegedly siphoned under the last administration’s watch and stop beating about the bush by looking for how to scuttle a probe that has gotten the people of Zamfara excited and hopeful that their stolen patrimony is in the process of being recovered.

Ironically, the individual who once accused the APC, as a bandits’ party only to later join the same party, claiming that his decision was to have federal government support to fight insecurity, is now using the APC to drag Dauda Lawal in the mud as form of distraction and to apparently dodge being questioned by the anti-graft on the alleged misappropriation. After all, it is on record that the present administration has on several occasions accused the Matawalle administration of mismanagement of funds.

By the way, there is hardly anyone in Nigeria who doesn’t know that contrary to the APC’s desperate claim, insecurity was actually allowed to fester under Matawalle’s watch. This is what makes the desperate attempt to portray Matawalle as a champion of security dead on arrival. It is common knowledge that Zamfara was under siege during Matawalle’s tenure. In fact, the level of banditry and kidnappings escalated under his administration, making insecurity the hallmark of his governance.

If the Zamfara APC people were truly concerned about the state’s safety, the call for a state of emergency should have begun during Matawalle’s reign, when bandits operated with impunity, and communities were left at the mercy of criminals, some of which were even alleged to be harboured in the government house. For Dauda Lawal that inherited a state in disarray, his ongoing efforts to combat insecurity are steps in the right direction; it is aimed at restoring the peace that was lost during the Matawalle era.

It’s therefore important to urge the APC to come clean on the real reasons for their call for emergency declaration. It is disgusting that rather than addressing the serious accusations of financial mismanagement that continues to trail Matawalle’s tenure, the APC has, instead, chosen to mislead the public with conspiracy theories. If the party truly had the interest of Zamfara people at heart, it would support Governor Lawal’s quest for accountability by calling for a thorough investigation into the financial rot that the state suffered under its former leader.

It would certainly make more sense to the people of Zamfara than the APC’s ridiculous claim that Governor Lawal is sabotaging military operations in Zamfara – a claim that is nothing more than a figment of their imagination. The truth is that Lawal has achieved more in the fight against insecurity and in driving development in a little over one year than any of his predecessors, including Matawalle. His collaboration with federal authorities has led to tangible progress in curbing banditry, and the positive developmental strides under his administration are evident to the people of Zamfara. These efforts stand in stark contrast to the last administration, where security was politicised for personal gain and where the state treasury was allegedly looted with reckless abandon.

In any case, the most damning revelation of Matawalle’s pungent security failure comes not from Governor Lawal, but from the bandits themselves, who have exposed the former administration’s complicity in the rise of insecurity. The APC conveniently ignores the statements from bandit kingpin Bello Turji, who openly accused the former administration of harbouring criminals within the state government. This revelation, which has gone unchallenged by the APC, should be a wake-up call on the party. They should support efforts to hold Matawalle accountable for both his financial and security failures.

In a nutshell, the APC in Zamfara should bury itself in shame for attempting to mislead the public with its diversionary tactics. Instead of calling for a state of emergency, the party should have done the patriotic thing by demanding and insisting on an unbiased investigation into the looting spree that headlined Matawalle’s reign as well as his role in the state’s security collapse. Governor Dauda Lawal’s achievements in both curbing insecurity and driving development speak for themselves and no amount of political propaganda can erase the truth. In any case, we are very sure, no one would take the APC serious considering the rookie and watery opposition it has offered since Governor Lawal was sworn in.

Although, the 2027 election is still a bit far, but the desperation demonstrated by the APC as if elections will hold now, indicate that the party and its leadership have forgotten so quickly that the same people of Zamfara State who have rejected Matawalle in 2023 for his seeming and apparent failures, are the same people to decide the fate of whoever will fly the party’s ticket. The voting pattern where the APC won some national assembly seats and the presidential election speaks volume to the degree of disaffection they’ve for the APC.

Saleh writes from Abuja