By Rayyanu Bala
Many supporters of former IGP Mohammed Abubakar Adamu believe that their principal has become a source of fear for many politicians, including Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu and Governor Abdullahi Sule. They have even gone as far as saying that the former IGP has become their “nightmare.” They cite the euphoria surrounding the Supreme Court judgment as one out of the many evidences of what they describe as the fearfulness of Wadada’s supporters toward the former IGP.
But they seem to forget that any serious politician do not look down on their opponents. In politics, an opponent is an opponent, and anything that works to the disadvantage of an opponent will be celebrated. Those who are new to the game may not understand this. However, when it comes to Senator Ahmed Wadada Aliyu, it would be difficult to reasonably argue that he is the kind of politician who is easily intimidated by political opponents or personalities.
Wadada has travelled a long political road. He has experienced the ups and downs that come with politics. He has contested elections, won some and lost some. He has seen political alliances come and go, and he understands, perhaps more than many politicians, that politics is rarely a straight road.
So, when I hear some supporters of former IGP Adamu repeatedly say that their man has become a “nightmare” for Senator Wadada, the APC and Governor Abdullahi Sule, I am left wondering: what exactly is the basis for this claim?
There is a tendency in Nigerian politics to create an image of political strength around a particular individual by portraying everybody else as being afraid of him. The louder the claim, the bigger the politician is made to appear.
But politics is not a movie where one person’s arrival automatically frightens everyone else.
Both Senator Wadada and Governor Abdullahi Sule are not newcomers to politics. They have been around long enough to understand the nature of political competition. They have witnessed political battles, alliances, betrayals, victories and defeats.
The former IGP, on the other hand, is new to partisan politics. His career in the police may have given him considerable experience in public service, but politics is a different terrain altogether. It has its own rules, pressures and, most importantly, lessons.
I made a similar point in one of my earlier articles titled “Of Dubious Politicians and the Costly Mistakes of Two Former IGPs.” In that article, I drew attention to the experience of former IGP Mike Okiro and suggested that his political journey offers useful lessons for anyone coming into partisan politics.
The lesson is simple: be careful about the people who suddenly surround you when you enter politics.
Politics attracts people for different reasons. Some come because they genuinely believe in your vision, while the majority come because they see opportunities for themselves. The challenge for any politician is knowing the difference between these two categories of people.
Some of those who surround you today may disappear tomorrow when the benefits they expect are no longer available.
That is why I laugh at the repeated description of former IGP Adamu as a “nightmare” to Senator Wadada or Governor Sule.
All the noise about the “nightmare” was designed to create an impression of momentum and importance.
If some politicians and supporters keep telling a candidate that everybody is afraid of him, then he has to be careful with them; otherwise, it could become a costly mistake in his political career.
I have seen this kind of politics before.
In Lafia, particularly, there are historical examples of political contests in which individuals were presented as unstoppable forces, only for political realities to prove them wrong. The 2003 gubernatorial contest involving former Governor Abdullahi Adamu and the late Senator Haruna Abubakar remains an experience that people who understand Lafia’s political history can reflect upon.
The scenario surrounding the former IGP’s momentum in Lafia was a reflection of what happened during the time of the late Senator Haruna Abubakar. All the support and momentum were concentrated within Lafia.
Many of us who supported the late Haruna Abubakar believed that our intimidating political structure extended across the entire state at the time. Just as supporters former IGP described him today as a political “nightmare,” we also described the late Haruna Abubakar as Abdullahi Adamu’s “nightmare.”
We did not fully understand the game until after the votes had been cast and counted. It was only then that we realised that the political game was far more complex than we had been led to believe.
So, today, those who loudly declare that former IGP Adamu has become a “nightmare” are either daydreaming or simply looking for what they can gain from the situation.
That is why politicians should be careful about confusing noise with strength.
Senator Wadada has been in the political arena long enough to know that. Governor Sule has also been around politics long enough to understand that political contests are not won simply because people say an opponent is powerful.
And for former IGP Adamu, the most valuable thing for him is to face the realities of the situation and stop listening to people who constantly tell him that everyone is afraid of him. He should, by now, start learning the difference between genuine political loyalty and temporary political convenience.
The strength of any politician is not determined by how loudly his supporters describe him. His strength lies with the people at the grassroots.
In politics, therefore, calling someone a “nightmare” does not make him one.
It is simply a way of making a politician look bigger than he really is, as well as a means of keeping the cash flowing.
