NDUME AGAIN?

NDUME AGAIN?

By: Inuwa Bwala

At the early stage of the contest between incumbent Senator, Mohammed Ali Ndume, Mohammed Tumala, Idris Mamman Durkwa and Aliyu Lawan Buba, the permutations were that, it could be anybody’s game. 

Recent events however indicate that, the odds are tilting towards a clear winner and losers, even before the blow of the whistle.

Each of the four aspirants were banking on the support of the Government and the top echelon of the party, knowing that, they each have  wide enough  financial war chest to pick their bills and possibly woo or  compromise delegates during the primaries; now rescheduled for the 27th of May.

But ahead of the rescheduled primaries, there were unconfirmed reports that all three aspirants have been disqualified by a panel that screened the aspirants for sundry reasons, leaving only one, to contest against himself.

Whether true or not, a  close study of the body language of the party hierarchy points to  outspoken Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, as the preferred aspirant, given his experiences, his track record of performance and ostensibly his connections to the powers that be.

Ndume has since launched his campaign to fly the flag of the party, nothing seems to be on his way to getting it.

Like most people, I have been in the virtual dark about goings on in the party, and nobody has invited me to seek my imputes into what may shape the race, even as a stakeholder. I was quick to accept Mohammed Ali Ndume’s invitation to join his campaign tour of the senatorial district.

I was initially surprised and reluctant, but I considered it an honour to be asked to be part of a team, at a time all others seemed to have shunned me. 

Although in the same party as Ndume, and even as a fellow intellectual, we have never been on the same page politically. But after discussing with him on his new vision towards redefining the politics of Southern Borno, and to give our people a sense of belonging, I accepted to stand and be counted.

I have also studied the dispositions of our leaders in Borno, which favours Ndume’s continuity: which was why I was asked to tarry in my own political quest, while another person who wanted to contest against Ndume was asked to step back to take up where I wanted to go.

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It was against this background that I joined the Senator on his tour on Wednesday, and I have no regrets I did, even when I had to reschedule my medical trip to Egypt just to do so.

From Bayo through Kwaya-Kusar to Shani, Hawul and Biu Local Government Areas, the moods are ominous that the people still love the Senator.

Not only were the crowd ecstasic and tumultuous, but also smooth and successful, in what was supposed to be a consultation with delegates to the primaries.

While securing the endorsement of the delegates at every stop, Ndume was quick to remind the electorates that he came to renew his bond, with the Senate as his bride and the delegates as the guardians. 

In what seemed to be a renewal of their confidence in his leadership, Ndume sought for forgiveness where he might have wronged his people at every stop and extracted commitment from that, to the effect that if there is going to be primaries, he will be the man to beat.

What impressed me most in all that Ndume said or did was his concentration on issues as the basis for his campaigns, where he gave a rundown of his achievements in his legislative functions and the infrastructural support to communities and individuals in his constituency.

I was surprised reading reports from some quarters that there was a clash during Ndume’s tour of Biu. As an eye witness to everything, that clash perhaps existed in the mischievous mind of the authors of the report.

It was obviously a hatchet job, but that will neither take the shine off him nor change the course of things.

I leave the details of what he has done for his 12 years in the Senate to his handlers to tell the world, but I must not fail to mention the fact that, at a point, Ndume was rated as having moved the highest number of motions in the Senate and sponsored the highest number of bills.

Ndume’s return to the Senate puts him in a very good stead to lead the Senate, as much at it makes him the longest serving Senator in the history of Borno State. What becomes of him in the days ahead is in the belly of time

NDUME AGAIN?