BY RAYYANU BALA
Last week, the good people of Nasarawa state were thrown into ecstatic
mood following the news of the reconciliation of Governor Umaru Tanko
Al-makura and Senator Abdullahi Adamu. The news was pleasantly
surprising to citizens of the state in view of the extreme positions
taken by both of them as they each threatened fire and brimstone with
Al-makura pledging to retire Sen. Adamu from partisan politics and
Sen. Adamu describing the threat as not only nonsensical but bullshit
and insisting that he cannot be intimidated. The purported setting up
of a panel to investigate Sen. Adamu’s tenure particularly his role in
concessioning of state-owned hotels, the Farin –Ruwa hydro power plant
and the issue of Zimbabwe farmers heightened the tension between the
duo and forced many to conclude that a solution to the crisis was not
in sight. The meeting between them brokered by traditional rulers in
the state did not make appreciable impact either, as even after the
meeting, Aliyu Tijjani who was then contesting for Abdulahi Adamu’s
Nasarawa west senate seat under APC still continued with his campaign
unperturbed, an action that gave further credence to the insinuations
that the rift between Al-makura and Adamu was far from over.
A signal that a solution to the rift was in sight came barely a day
after the APC headquarters came up with a statement granting Sen.
Adamu automatic ticket to contest for the senate seat of Nasarawa west
and the suspension of further campaign by Aliyu Tijjani, followed
later, with a statement by Gov. Al-makura through the office of DG
media and strategic communications, Yakubu Lamme reaffirming the
position of Gov. Al-makura as a loyal member of the APC who would
never do anything to subvert the interest of the party nor the
interest of President Muhammadu Buhari. The final indication that the
disagreement between Al-makura and Adamu was over became apparent and
acknowledged by Al-makura himself after he returned from Abuja where
he was summoned to meet with President Buhari along with some other
APC state governors on lingering crisis bedeviling APC in their
respective states. A day after the return of Gov. Al-makura from
Abuja, Sen. Adamu visited him at his Jos road private residence in
Lafia where the final ‘burial’ of the differences between them was
officially and publicly celebrated to the delight of all those
present at the occasion including Aliyu Tijjani.
The end of the rift between Gov Al-makura and Sen. Adamu as witnessed
last week is what the good people of Nasarawa state were daily praying
for, since the beginning of the crisis. All lovers of peace in
Nasarawa state and in APC had expressed their displeasure over the
feud between Gov. Al-makura and Sen. Adamu. At least to my knowledge,
virtually all peace loving people of Nasarawa state had voiced out, in
public and at private discussions, their yearning for a quick end to
the conflict.
This writer has written severally on this wrangle between Gov.
Al-makura and Sen. Adamu. In one of the write-ups (Leadership
newspaper, September 25, 2018 under the title: ‘Reining in Al-makura,
Adamu to save Nasarawa APC’) and in another one entitled: ‘Gov.
Al-makura, Senator Adamu victims of blabbermouth?’ I attributed the
fight between Al-makura and Adamu to the work of gossip mongers and
the purveyors of disunity and I further blamed both of them (Al-makura
and Adamu) for allowing themselves to be manipulated by some
backbiters who derive mundane benefits and sometimes passion in
creating crisis and confusion believing that it is only through
creating such situations that their relevance and dominance can be
safeguarded.
I also stressed that the fight between the duo would do more harm than
good to the APC as a party and to the good people of Nasarawa state
because the fight reminds one of the time tested saying that ‘when
two elephants fight, the grass suffers’. I then urged the headquarters
of APC and President Buhari to intervene by bringing to an end the
scuffle between them as the ruling APC and the people of Nasarawa
state cannot afford a continuation of the crisis between them.
The coming together of Gov. Al-makura and Sen. Adamu again under one
roof, as we saw last week, was not only a good development for the APC
family and the people of Nasarawa state but was a further
demonstration of their patriotism which all the younger and upcoming
politicians in Nasarawa state must learn as they grow up.
Again this coming together of Gov.Al-makura and Sen. Adamu teaches us
to always guard against gossipers and backbiters who may come to us
with their products to set us apart. We must shun or rather stop
dining with these kinds of people for they are only purveyors of
mischief and disunity.
Finally we must commend both Gov. Al-makura and Sen. Adamu for
agreeing to bury their differences in the interest of APC and Nasarawa
state. We must also express appreciations to all those who in one way
or the other assisted in ensuring that the rift between Gov. Al-makura
and Sen. Adamu was resolved. Of particular mention is President
Muhammadu Buhari, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and other APC stakeholders
from across the country.
We must also thank our traditional rulers for rising up to the
occasion by bringing the two political gladiators to a roundtable.
They (traditional rulers) have shown us that they are truly custodians
of our cultures and our unity.