The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa state has been agog with the path-breaking news of Senator Aishatu Ahmed Dahiru Binani’s success story of becoming the first female gubernatorial flag bearer of a major opposition party in Nigeria; and this coming after a keen contest.
Before now, political analysts not rate Binani among the top three aspirants for the obvious reason of her being the only woman among several henchmen in the race.
Given an understanding of the political intrigues and dynamism, if one goes by the party structure across the state, the governorship ticket will certainly go to Senator Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla Bindow, Adamawa’s immediate past governor and former senator from the Northern zone. If one’s permutation is who has an endorsement from the bigwigs of the party in the country, or support from the presidency, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, a former presidential aspirant on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN), pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and former gubernatorial candidate of PDP in 2015, will get the ticket.
Through campaigns, consultations, and grassroots mobilisation back-to-back, touch, and coverage on visits, the ticket will no doubt go to Abdulrazak Namdas Sa’ad, a two-term House of Representatives member for the federal constituency of Toungo, Ganye, Jada, and Mayo Belwa. Dominating the media space, Namdas started his campaign tour early and gave life back to the party as the main opposition in Adamawa state.
Checkmating the government of the day without fear or favour is Umar Mustapha (Otumba). Pharmacists Wafari Theman and Hajiya Aishatu Binani are the last two aspirants by the foregoing analysis.
The question is, what could have happened that Binani beat major opponents whose intimidating profiles should naturally make them secure the ticket? It was planned. She formulated a pragmatic and robust strategy over the years.
This woman of no mean repute started her political journey in the House of Representatives, representing Yola South, Yola North, and Girei federal constituency from 2011 to 2015 in the 7th National Assembly. Binani was believed to have come with people-oriented representation. Her four years were characterised by sponsoring bills and empowering the masses, especially those at the grassroots.
Since 2011, Binani has been working with a formidable structure, most of her lieutenants are always behind her, working behind the scenes even when she left government in 2015 to pursue her gubernatorial dream in the African Democratic Congress. Women and youths are the targets of Binani’s political goodwill. She built a system revolving around poverty eradication and changing the narrative of lack of job opportunities to job creation by making the people of Adamawa self-reliant.
Her life of selfless service to the people continues, a structure she worked through to win the Adamawa central senatorial seat in 2019. This is payback time. The people of the zone decided to compensate her. And they did that with all joy, irrespective of religious, political or tribal affiliation.
The APC primaries threw her up as the winner against the expectations of many people that the silent achiever used a simple strategy to win the title primarily. She targeted the two women APC included in the party’s modus operandi as delegates to vote for aspirants of their choices to be candidates of the party from each political ward. This woman engaged them by having a personal relationship with them, and they believed her because of her track records.
The two women from each of the 226 wards make up 452 delegates; Binani scored 430 votes to beat the other five aspirants. She was strategic and scientific to know, work, and go after the women from village to village noiselessly.
Binani, a female Muslim, won a House of Representatives seat despite the daunting challenges posed by our male-dominated environment, especially in North-east Nigeria where women are relegated to the backseat when it comes to leadership roles. She broke the jinx as she did in 2011 when many Islamic preachers kicked against her candidature.
Where I am concerned and worried is why despite the preaching of calumny against her House of Representatives, Senate aspirations by some Islamic clerics people still voted for her? To me, Adamawa is a secular state with a growing awareness by voters. I am not saying that clerics of Islam are not right in preaching the tenets of the religion as enshrined in the Holy Quran. They are right in that sense and in all ramifications. But the humanity in Aishatu Binani settled the matter.
Her philanthropy is the magic wand, and will still be the power to decide her destiny or fate in the 2023 gubernatorial election. The vote will be left in the hearts of Adamawa men and women with conscience to either vote for her or not based on religion. The argument about the religion of Binani not being good enough to fly the ticket is baseless and cannot hold water. She would not have been a representative, or a senator and be allowed to contest among the five bigwigs aspirants who are men.
Therefore if we are truly a religious people we should accept God’s will at any time, His will supersedes ours and makes ours subservient to His. Besides, God is not a partial God, He is full of wisdom in His acts to solve the problem of humanity. Who knows if He wants to give instant judgment to justify His power as a living God in the affairs of men? Binani in this scenario is an answer to prayer by God while to others it is the evil sent from the pit of hell to destroy some people’s political fate. Well, for me, Binani has the clue that all about God is humanity and humanity is God. Kaji soron mai tausayi da mai yin alheri ga alumma, Hausa proverb meaning, fear one is humane and provides for the people.
As it is, no APC candidate can give t
PDP a bloody nose other than Senator Binani. She has mastered the art of winning. She can displace the administration of Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri hands down. Judging from her records, the woman is a gladiator of winning the election, a little unifying support by party men will give APC a consolidated victory no matter the campaign of calumny against her.
My prayers are for the APC family to unite and lend this woman a helping hand. This is her time, and it certainly is. With support, I see victory for the APC despite the present campaign by disgruntled elements who are opposed to affirmative action and exposed Muslim women. It did not work against her before; it will not work now.
The party, as a matter of concern, should be wary of denying her this mandate. The ugly rumours about changing or repeating the primaries because of alleged over voting will bring the APC to ruin. She got the ticket neat and clear. It was an exercise done most transparently as I witnessed. No two ways about it. Binani won the primaries. Let party men and women support her candidature in the task to defeat the party in power.
I congratulate the Adamawa Central Advocacy Initiative on its struggle to get aspirants from the central zone. Before now, they signed a pact and agreed to support either of them that eventually wins the primaries. It is at this juncture that a high level of sportsmanship is expected from them. To make APC a strong and a winning party, in the interest of the party and Adamawa to work round the clock to achieve a collective goal, it may be just a matter of lending a helping hand and jettisoning their interest.
Garba, journalist, writesfrom Yola, Adamawa state via [email protected],
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