By Rayyanu Bala
There is an important lesson the people of Lafia can learn from the unfolding political drama in Adamawa State, where Abba Abubakar, son of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has openly declared his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election, despite his father’s presidential ambition.
The message Abba Abubakar is sending is that politics is a matter of personal conviction, not intimidation.
If a son can respectfully disagree with his father’s political choice without turning it into a family war, why should politics in Lafia be reduced to intimidation, hostility and the policing of people’s political decisions?
Sadly, what is happening in Lafia raises serious questions about the kind of political culture some people are trying to establish.
It is becoming increasingly disturbing that some supporters of the former Inspector-General of Police are insisting that nobody should support Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada in Lafia simply because former IGP Mohammed Abubakar Adamu is also in the race. This is evident in their daily aggression towards Wadada’s supporters.
But the question to ask is: When did supporting one politician become an offence against another person or group of people?
When did political loyalty become compulsory? When did democracy in Lafia become the private estate of someone who must be obeyed?
People in Lafia have the right to admire the former IGP, support his political ambition and mobilise for his success. That is their constitutional and democratic right. But that same right belongs to those who believe in Wadada and those who support other candidates.
You cannot demand political freedom for yourself while denying it to others.
If supporters of the former IGP believe in his leadership qualities, they should sell his ideas, present his achievements, engage the people and convince voters why he deserves their support.
That is what politics should be about: persuasion and performance. To target anyone who does not believe in your candidate is undemocratic and goes against their fundamental rights.
Not threats. Not name-calling. Not political gatekeeping. And certainly not the attempt to silence people simply because their candidate is different from yours.
The example of Abba Abubakar should remind everyone that political differences do not have to destroy relationships. People can belong to different political camps and still share the same compound, respect one another and work together for the development of their people.
The people of Lafia deserve an environment where anyone can openly express support for Wadada or any other candidate without being treated as an enemy by supporters of another candidate.
Supporting Wadada does not automatically make someone an enemy of the former IGP. Equally, supporting the former IGP does not make anyone an enemy of Wadada.
If your candidate is truly popular, there should be no fear of competition, no anxiety about alternative opinions and no need to intimidate those who think differently.
The ballot paper, not political intimidation, should determine who enjoys the people’s mandate.
My position regarding how we should play politics is simple: Let the former IGP’s supporters campaign for their candidate. Let Wadada’s supporters do the same. Let other political interests have their voices heard.
Let the people debate, compare, disagree and make their choices freely.
We must stop confusing political loyalty with political ownership.
Lafia is bigger than any individual, any political camp or any ambition.
The politics we need is one where people compete without becoming enemies, disagree without being threatened and support different candidates without losing their sense of brotherhood.
In Lafia, nobody should need anybody’s permission to exercise their democratic right to support Senator Ahmed Aliyu Wadada or any other candidate of their choice.
That is democracy. That is political maturity. And that is the kind of politics Lafia deserves.
