Daily Trust

Why Bauchi political feud must end — Maigamo

- By Hamza Idris

Alhaji Garba Aliyu Maigamo is the ‘Dattuwa Mangan Wuntin Gumau’ in Toro LGA of Bauchi State. In this interview, he expressed reservatio­ns over the lingering feud within the ruling APC in the state, saying neutral stakeholde­rs in the Bauchi Developmen­t Project must reconcile the warring factions ahead of 2019 elections.

Why do you think you can reconcile aggrieved members of Bauchi APC, especially Governor Mohammed Abubakar and members of the National Assembly?

The mission is in the interest of our dear state and not for any personal gain. If the feud persists, it is the progress of the state that will suffer. Those aggrieved should see reason and sheath their swords. I was convinced with the sincerity of the governor. He has severally said that his doors are open for reconcilia­tion with those aggrieved. The state executive committee of the ruling party had made several interventi­on moves, including the national secretaria­t of the party, but it appears some of the aggrieved remain adamant.

As a stakeholde­r that relates well with majority of people in the state across party divide, without consulting the governor, I made up my mind to try my luck to reconcile the warring personalit­ies in the interest of our dear state and democracy.

What of the game and lost and confidence in governor? blame trust the

That is not the case. If you carefully study the genesis of the feud, you will agree with me that the whole scenario was created by mischief makers and their co-travelers in desperatio­n for selfish interests. The beauty of it all is that some of those aggrieved have been secretly visiting the governor in need of one form of assistance or the other, which he readily gives as a compassion­ate leader. So, what is the basis of the feud? Why should we be hypocritic­al? The governor was massively voted into office and few of those who assisted in the campaigns are now trying to destroy what they collective­ly voted.

There is no basis for the feud at all. They should forget and forgive as the governor has forgotten and forgiven. Let them reunite and forge ahead.

But you must understand the causes of the feud before you can wade in to resolve the crisis…

Well, I’m not a politician but from my understand­ing of the causes of the feud, it started like a child’s play and before the party could intervene, it snowballed into what it is today. The party called several meetings to listen to both sides and it was only the governor that honoured the invitation. Majority of those invited refused to attend while few offered flimsy excuses to avoid blame. While efforts were in top gear to broker truce, as usual, mischief makers took it upon themselves to create a very unpleasant scenario to possibly sustain the feud.

Therefore, if one is to be a neutral judge in such a case, one does not need to start apportioni­ng blames since all we want is the immediate return of confidence, love and trust within the ruling party. No need to revisit the causes if we are to succeed in our mission of confidence building.

Is it because 2019 is fast approachin­g that you want the feud to end?

Oh no! It is not because of the forthcomin­g elections; but because we yearn for dividends of democracy. We want the governor to be supported from all fronts to provide the requiremen­ts expected from him. We hate his attention to be diverted to trivial issues. We want those aggrieved to close ranks and rally round the governor to collective­ly justify their mandate to the people. We are not talking of 2019 elections; we are talking of peace and tranquilit­y in the state to be able to hold the elections with pride.

Do you think the governor and Speaker Yakubu Dogora would agree to come to a round table?

From my understand­ing of their positions, both are not interested in the feud. They want to reconcile and serve the state to their best. But the problem is with those interested in the continuati­on of the feud and what they stand to benefit from such an ugly scenario remains a mystery. There are those that may be gaining some relevance from the feud and are not ready for any reconcilia­tion.

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 ??  ?? Alhaji Garba Maigamo
Alhaji Garba Maigamo

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