Questions, questions and more questions. I received more questions in the last 24 hours than greetings. Why would Governor Matawalle leave the Peoples Democratic Party for the ruling All Progressives Congress? Indeed, this primary question was asked much earlier by those who heard the rumour of the impending decision by His Excellency, Governor Bello Mohammed.
I have always maintained that democracy is premised upon freedom to take personal decisions in relation to general good, but within the frames of justice and fairness which is the backbone of Political Parties themselves. The decision to be in one political party and not the other largely lies with the person involved, a political office holder or not, elected or appointed.
Some months earlier, when the PDP Governors, mostly of the Southern apart of Nigeria were bullying Governor Matawalle in the media over the issue of distorted information on mineral resources extraction in Zamfara state, I had cause to speak to the media to complain on his behalf. That was around the time when the Ebonyi state Governor defected to the APC and my Principal congratulated him. That time my Governor said, everyone naturally feels comfortable in a house where one is welcomed.
The PDP did not treat His Excellency as one of its own. It instead, ignore his travails, abdicated its role as the front runner for the opposition and in that stead, seem to have some of ots major actors in the name of South-South Governors bully his administration. This was coming at a time when the state needed the total support of the Party to fight for the kind of support and privileges other troubled states are benefitting as a direct means of ending security crises bedeviling them as well as developmental projects as a fallout. The Zamfara state Governor was left alone to fight as a one man Army for his people with little result.
Meanwhile, the APC Federal Government (courtesy of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari) was giving him the support that it could, even as an opposition. But then, it must not escape our memory however, that Governor Matawalle was a founding member of the APC in 1998 where he also served as the first Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs as well as a two term National Assembly member all from 1999 to 2007. Hence, his return to APC is a home coming rather than the entrance of a stranger.
A significant reason unknown to many however, is that Zamfara people are more comfortable with APC than any other Political Party in Nigeria. This is not to say that His Excellency cannot win election under any Political party in Zamfara state. He has demonstrated more than once that he could. For instance, in 2007 when he was denied a third term ticket to bid for the National Assembly under a Party he helped to form, he defected to the PDP (which marked his leave of absence in the APC) and contested the same position and won. His infectious popularity and the love he has in Zamfara State transcends Party affiliations.
Hence, the love for APC and the comfort the people feel in that Party makes it imperative and a fulfillment of the peoples desire for Governor Matawalle to take the final decision to return home and finally unite the Political class in the state so that we can collectively approach the menace of growing insecurity and speed up infrastructure for the benefit of our troubled state.
Governor Matawalle has said it over and again in the last few days that his decision has nothing to do with personal aggrandizement other than the interest of all Zamfarans. There will be skepticism, yes. There will be even some mild resistance and lots of political battle scores. But the fact remains that what His Excellency has done is in the test interest of the state and that in a very short period of time to come, the benefits of this hard decision start to manifest. We shall once again, be on the path of a united and more prosperous Zamfara state.
Bappa is the Media adviser to Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle of Zamfara State
