By Rayyanu Bala

The attack on the wife of Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu, Hajiya Maryam Wadada in Lafia yesterday is yet another disturbing reminder of how deeply political violence has taken root in Lafia.
The attack from all the angles we look at was politically sponsored which must be condemned without hesitation. No political ambition, no disagreement and no electoral contest is worth attacking an innocent person.
Undoubtedly, some elements within the opposition camp in Lafia were behind this latest incident carried out with the intention of creating the false impression that Governor Abdullahi Sule has imposed an unpopular candidate and, at the same time, intimidating Senator Wadada and his supporters.
But the sponsors have chosen the wrong person.
Wadada is not a newcomer to politics. He has been around long enough to understand the tricks, pressures and dangers that often accompany political contests. He is not someone who will easily be frightened into abandoning his political ambition.
No amount of sponsored violence should distract him from his political objective. If anything, such acts have strengthen his resolve to remain focused.
And this brings me to a warning I sounded in an earlier article titled “Lafia: One Violence Too Many,” published by Nasarawa Eye on 30 July 2026.
In that article, I drew attention to the increasingly unruly behaviour of some elements in Lafia, particularly those encouraged or emboldened by political leaders who were defeated during the APC governorship primaries in Nasarawa State.
Sadly, the situation appears to have become worse.
At the time, I raised concerns about the failure of the security agencies to decisively address acts of political violence. One of the incidents referenced was the killing of a supporter of Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu at Tudun Kwandara.
When perpetrators of political violence are not arrested, investigated and brought to justice, a dangerous message is sent to others: that they can do whatever they like and get away with it.
That is how impunity grows. That is how people begin to take the law into their own hands. And that is how a town gradually becomes accustomed to violence.
Today, Lafia is increasingly acquiring an unfortunate reputation as an epicentre of political brigandage, unrestrained violence and an increasingly disturbing style of politics in which political opponents are treated as enemies rather than fellow citizens.
This is not the Lafia we should want.
But perhaps the biggest question is this: Who is benefiting from the violence?
The young men who are on the streets fighting, attacking and destroying property are certainly not the beneficiaries.
The ordinary citizens who are caught in the middle are not the beneficiaries either.
The people whose businesses are disrupted, whose homes become unsafe and whose children are frightened by political violence are certainly not the beneficiaries.
So who benefits?
The political sponsors are the beneficiaries.
This is where we must be courageous enough to tell ourselves the truth.
Thugs and miscreants do not ordinarily wake up one morning and decide to unleash violence on their neighbours or political opponents for no reason. In many cases, they are encouraged, facilitated and sometimes financed by political actors who see them as useful instruments for achieving selfish political objectives.
The tragedy is that the same politicians who mobilise these young people for violence would never allow their own children to become political thugs.
Here is a question those sponsoring political violence  in Lafia should answer.
If political thuggery is such a noble enterprise, why are their own children not involved in it?
Why are their  children  in schools, universities and professional institutions? while the children of poor families are recruited to fight their political battles?
Why are some of our youths being given peanuts to risk their lives while those who send them into the streets remain safely behind the scenes?
This is the real exploitation of our youth.
While young people in other communities elsewhere are concentrating on education, acquiring skills, pursuing higher degrees and competing for opportunities in government and the private sector, many of our own youths in Lafia are being turned into cannon fodder for political contests.
The political leaders who have benefited from education know very well what education can do for a young person.
Education gave many of them the opportunity to rise.
Education gave them access to the government.
Education gave them professional networks and social status.
Education gave them the capacity to participate meaningfully in society.
Yet, instead of helping the next generation follow the same path, some of them are investing in the opposite direction.
They are investing in political thuggery.
They are investing in street violence.
They are investing in young people who have been denied the education, skills and opportunities that could have transformed their lives.
What happens to these young men after the election?
Nothing.
Whether their political candidate wins or loses, they usually gain very little of lasting value.
They are given small amounts of money, perhaps food or other temporary rewards, and sent into the streets to fight.
Then the election is over.
The politicians return to their offices, businesses and comfortable homes.
The young men return to the same poverty.
The same unemployment.
The same frustration.
The same hopelessness.
And then, years later, another election arrives and the cycle begins again.
This is why I believe the problem of political violence in Lafia must be looked into.
It is fundamentally a leadership problem in Lafia. It is a failure of community leadership and, unfortunately, a failure of our collective responsibility to protect our young people from exploitation.
The security agencies also have a critical responsibility.
When political violence occurs and nobody is held accountable, perpetrators become emboldened. The absence of consequences creates the impression that violence is an acceptable political tool.
The authorities must investigate every credible allegation of political violence, identify those responsible and ensure that the law takes its course, regardless of whose political interest is involved.
There must be no sacred cows.
Political disagreements must be settled through debate, persuasion, elections and the courts, not through weapons and hired street fighters.
The political class must understand something very important: the youths they are using today will eventually understand that they have been used.
A young man who has been denied education and meaningful employment but repeatedly mobilised to fight political battles will eventually ask himself what he has gained from all the violence.
Perhaps that is the conversation Lafia needs to begin having now.
We need to ask ourselves what kind of town we want to leave for the next generation.
Do we want a Lafia where young people are known for violence, thuggery and political intimidation?
Or do we want a Lafia where young people are known for academic excellence, entrepreneurship, professionalism and responsible citizenship?
Our political leaders must stop treating the youths of Lafia as disposable political weapons.
They must invest in their education.
They must support skills acquisition.
They must create opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship.
They must encourage them to participate in politics through ideas, debates and peaceful mobilisation.
And, above all, they must stop rewarding violence.
As for Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu, the latest violence against his wife will not derail his political journey. He remained focused, calm and committed to the democratic process.
While Wadada is busy selling his agenda pursuing his ambitions, Lafia must not be made to become a ground for settling scores with him.
There can be disagreements in politics.
There can be fierce competition.
There can be winners and losers.
But there must never be a justification for violence against innocent citizens.
Lafia has had enough.
Indeed, one violence is one too many.
The time has come for our leaders to put an end to the use of young people as instruments of destruction and begin investing in them as the future of Lafia.
Because when the political season is over, the politicians will still have their lives, their families, their education and their businesses.
The young men they send into the streets must also have a future.