By Rayyanu Bala

At the SDP National Convention in Abuja, former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, reportedly made a statement that should not be taken lightly. He said that nobody needs the APC in Nasarawa State and that the people are tired of the APC.
For me, that statement is not just another political comment. It is a direct challenge to one important political figure in Nasarawa State, and that figure is no other person than Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.
Even though what he said is a classic example of what a Hausa person may describe as: “Makaho ya rasa ido, ya ce ido na wari.” In other words, a blind man who has lost his sight turns around and complains that eyes smell. Nevertheless, what the former IGP said needs to be examined critically.
Let us be clear about what the former IGP actually said. He did not say that the people of Nasarawa are tired of Governor Abdullahi Sule. He did not say that they no longer want Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada. He did not say that the people have rejected the government of Governor Sule or the political leadership of Senator Wadada.
He said something much broader and more consequential: that the people do not want the APC and that they are tired of the APC.
What the former IGP said should concern Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.
This is because Senator Al-Makura is not just an ordinary member of the APC. He is, indeed, the Renewed Hope Coordinator for the North-Central states, a position that places him at the centre of the political responsibility of defending and advancing the Renewed Hope project in the region.
Therefore, when a former Inspector-General of Police comes out to say that the people of Nasarawa are tired of the APC, the statement should naturally attract Senator Al-Makura’s attention.
It is almost as if former IGP Adamu is saying: “Senator Al-Makura, you are the Renewed Hope Coordinator, working for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu under the platform of the APC, but the people of Nasarawa State do not want the APC and are tired of it.”
Yes, the APC is the platform through which President Tinubu governs the country. His administration is built around the Renewed Hope Agenda, and political acceptance of the APC inevitably has implications for the acceptance of the administration itself.
Therefore, saying that the people are tired of the APC is a calculated statement aimed at tarnishing the image and reputation of the APC and all APC members in the state.
The statement is, in effect, a challenge to the Renewed Hope project in Nasarawa State. Senator Al-Makura, therefore, has every reason to take former IGP Adamu’s statement seriously, not necessarily because it is true, but precisely because it was made publicly and emphatically.
And this is where I believe Senator Al-Makura has a particular responsibility to come out and debunk what former IGP Adamu said about the APC in Nasarawa State.