As battle for Kaduna Central Senatorial seat heats up
The three are not relenting in their bid to win the seat as each is pushing quite hard to win the hearts of the populace. A lot is bound to happen between now and the election, but even at this stage, it is evident the contest is not only going to be toug
Officially, there are 24 candidates parties vying for the Kaduna Central senatorial seat on an equal number of platforms.
The Kaduna Central zone is strategic given its largely cosmopolitan setting and the fact that, that is where the state capital is located.
It comprises local governments such as Kaduna North, Kaduna South, Kajuru, Igabi, Chikun, Giwa and Birnin Gwari.
Since the return to democracy in 1999, the zone has been represented by such notable politicians in the state like Mukhtar Mohammed Aruwan, Kabiru Jibril and General Sani Saleh, before the current senator, Shehu Sani.
Candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and now the All Progressives Congress (APC) have had their turns on the seat.
Given the high number of political parties and their candidates that have indicated interest in the seat, the election should be among the most keenly contested in the country.
But going by the activities generated by the candidates, it appears the race would be remarkably more about the calibre of persons contesting the seat than by the sheer number of those in the race.
So far, the space seems to have been dominated by three candidates, Uba Sani, of the APC, Shehu Sani, of the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP and Lawan Adamu of the PDP.
The fight between Shehu Sani and Uba Sani preceded the current dispensation. They have had rough scuffles right from when both of them were in the APC over who will get the party’s ticket.
Uba had the support of the state governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai while Shehu Sani tried to use his connection at the national level to retain the ticket of the party.
Sani almost succeeded when the national secretariat of the party disqualified every other aspirant for the ticket and recognized only him. Uba then went to court to challenge that decision, but later withdrew the matter and fought from within the party until it decided that there should be a primary which held and he won.
Shehu Sani then went to the PRP and the party handed him the ticket of the party to contest in the general elections.
For Adamu, the PDP candidate, the journey too has not been smooth.
He was in the APC and had wanted to contest in the local government elections, when he was denied the chance he moved to the PDP and scaled up his ambition to becoming a senator and won the ticket of the party.
Analysts said all eyes are on the Kaduna Central senatorial zone because the three contestants are quite popular and have certain factors working for and against them.
Those in the Uba Sani camp say his chances are bright because he has experience in public service and that he has built goodwill among the voters of Kaduna Central by assisting the unemployed with jobs, the poor and aged.
His spokesman, Nasir Danbatta says Uba Sani enjoys the respect of the community and opinion leaders and the clerics in the zone which he says is evident in the string of donations of campaign offices and vehicles made to him by various individuals in the state.
He added that Uba Sani is popular among women and has the advantage of being covered by ‘Kaduna State APC Campaign Council’ that will work jointly for the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Nasir Elrufai in 2019.
Danbatta said, “his media visibility is largely on the mainstream platforms, unlike his rivals who make ample use of fringe online media platforms”.
Those in the camp of Senator Shehu Sani on the other hand believe his strength lies in the category of people “easily taken for granted in the society”.
His political adviser, Suleiman Ahmed, said this include “the downtrodden, the masses, the vulnerable, the humiliated civil servants, the humiliated market men and women, the unjustly treated people who are in one way or another jailed by government in power and journalists.”
Ahmed, “as you know Senator Shehu Sani has been at the forefront of defending the common man irrespective of wherever the person comes from. It has been his belief and that was what made him to serve different prison terms from his school days to the time of the military governments of IBB and Abacha.”
He maintained that the senator has never derailed in championing the cause of the masses. The Director Media and Publicity of Lawan Adamu popularly known as ‘Mr LA’ campaign, Abdul-Azeez Suleman, on his part said Adamu has so many things working for him because “he understands that politics involves give and take, and the ability to find common ground”.
“He always listens very carefully to those on the other side, especially to learn how far he can move them and how far he has to be moved in order to reach consensus. In this way he has been able to build bridges across party, across religion, ethnicity, gender and age”.
He said the candidate is trusted “because he has never betrayed the people”.
“He has made it a point of duty to identify with the masses, to remain loyal to his supporters, and to have an abiding faith in playing the power game with decency, intelligence and patriotism.”
Those who know him say he is also down-to-earth and comfortable in the midst of all kinds of people irrespective of religious or ethnic persuasions.
Suleman added, “as at the last count, he has sponsored hundreds of children of indigent families to various levels of education, set up a foundation that has empowered more than 3000 women and young people by providing them with skills and take off grants”.
He said Mr LA has also unveiled a comprehensive plan on how he would give his constituents quality and value driven representation.
But while supporters of the candidates only point to what would work in their favour, there are certain factors that may affect their chances at the general election.
Uba Sani is seen as leaning heavily on the state governor to achieve his ambition. Before he emerged candidate of the APC, it was obvious that he was the one favoured by the government and that cast him in the shadow of an overlord who is using his position and contact in government to bulldoze his way.
Many have expressed fears that he would be loyal only to the forces he believes enabled him to achieve his goal.
Initially seen as the underdog in the fight between him and Uba Sani, the inability of Shehu Sani to read the political climate on time to take a quick decision about a platform has greatly reduced his popularity. Many had expected him to move when the other aggrieved APC members in the National Assembly were defecting to other parties. His reluctance to leave the party and subsequent loss of the ticket coupled with the fact that he bragged about his ability to dribble and get the ticket exposed his claim to adroitness in political dribbles as over-exaggerated while his boast also whittled down the sympathy of victimhood.
For Adamu, who is popularly known as Mr. LA, his major problem stems from the fact his two opponents have through their fights sustained visibility on the minds of the people that many tend to believe the two Sanis are the only ones gunning for the seat.
He is also relatively new in such a contest.
But the three are not relenting in their bid to win the seat as each is pushing quite hard to win the hearts of the populace.
A lot is bound to happen between now and the election, but even at this stage, it is evident the contest is not only going to be tough but full of intrigues.