Bafarawa’s Political Somersault

It makes me laugh anytime Attahiru Bafarawa tries to defend and justify his decamping of political parties, which has become as constant as the movement of the hand of a clock. Those of us who know Bafarawa well from the beginning know that the All Progressives Party (APC) is not his political platform. He was just playing along, waiting for the flimsiest excuse to leave. As far as we are concerned, Bafarawa and Ibrahim Shekarau are not bona fide members of APC because they are not duly registered members. The great differences and giant strides between the governments of Bafarawa and Shekarau on the one hand and that of Wamakko and Rabiu Kwankwaso on the other are clear. The scores of massive and monumental achievements enjoyed by indigenes of Kano and Sokoto states are indeed a source of worry to both Bafarawa and Shekarau who each spent eight years without doing one-tenth of the physical and any sort of development for their states. The actions of Bafarawa and Shekarau therefore did not come as a surprise because many had alleged that they were sponsored to disorganise, destabilise and discredit APC for their selfish interest. Other reasons that necessitate Bafarawa leaving APC which is unknown to many people was that he offended all the key actors of the party and he knows that if some of them forgive him their supporters may teach him a political lesson that may be difficult for him to forget for the rest of his life. During the countdown to the 2003 elections, Bafarawa was appointed acting national chairman of the ANPP. At that time, Gen. Buhari had indicated his interest to contest for the presidential election under the platform of ANPP ditto Chief Rochas Okorocha. As the acting national chairman of the party, Bafarawa called for a stakeholders meeting in Sokoto. I believe Gen. Buhari will never forget the nasty experience he suffered at the hands of Bafarawa at the meeting. Apart from being excluded in the seating arrangement, the preference to Rochas than to Gen. Buhari was glaring. Even in the accommodation arrangement Bafarawa refused to give a befitting accommodation to Gen. Buhari, a former head of state. To complete the assault on Buhari, Bafarawa was alleged to have directed all the campaign posters of Gen. Buhari that were posted along the streets of Sokoto be removed, but those of others were left untouched. Listeners of the BBC Hausa Service could remember the comment of one Hajiya Naja’atu Mohammed, a veteran politician denouncing the attitude of the government of Sokoto State against Gen. Buhari. After delivering a lecture in Arewa House in the run-up of the 2003 election, detailing the anti-North politics against Obasanjo, Bafarawa believed his action transformed him into a reputable Arewa leader, paving way to square it up with Atiku. Many political analysts believe that some action Bafarawa took against the late Sultan Muhammad Maccido particularly stopping him from attending the 50th annivesary of Lamido Adamawa on the throne was to spite Atiku Abubakar. Bafarawa was alleged to have made many mischievous moves against Atiku, which Atiku is fully aware of. We have to revisit the act of disrespect Bafarawa meted to Gen. Buhari not only because Buhari is a respected person but because he was former head of state. After the 2003 general elections, Bafarawa was on BBC saying Buhari was an ordinary card carrying member of the ANPP. According to Bafarawa, Buhari was just privileged to have been given the party ticket and now (then) that he contested election and lost he was a common member of the party. – Abu Abuja wrote from 32, Gado Nasko Street, Kubwa, Abuja