By John Amana, PhD
Mr Phrank Shaibu on Friday left his normal schedule of activities as Special Assistant on Public Communications to Atiku Abubakar to make what is now being regarded as a putrid intervention into the affairs of our state, Kogi.
In his piece, titled “Kogi 2023: Why Yahaya Bello will below in agony” he went on huffing and puffing on why the governor should not have a say in who should fly the banner of the All Progressives Congress in Kogi State in the governorship election and then dovetails to governance issues including matters of investment before expectedly concluding on why the Igala should produce the next governor of the state.
Mr Shaibu, perhaps to shield himself from the deserved comeuppance of the unbiased reading public, he hid his well-known identity as a canvasser for the PDP in his voyage of illogicality on the affairs of the APC. If the APC as he suggests had erred in navigating toward Ahmed Ododo should it not have elicited euphoria in the camp of the PDP?
In fact, the first question any rational mind would ask is why is the PDP operative bothered by what he considers as the faux pas of the APC? Why?
Rather, the disgruntlement he conveys appears to show disharmony in the camp of the opposition in the state over what appears to be another victory for the APC in Kogi State. It is understandable for Shaibu to be in such a state of distemper given his present grief after the defeat of his main principal, Atiku in the February 25, presidential election.
It is distressing that Shaibu without making any serious point attempts to shade Governor Bello over his recent attempts at recovering the patrimony of the state from entrepreneurs who took our common endowments for granted.
It is shocking that Shaibu criticized Governor Bello over issues that have won him adulation from across the political divide. Indeed where PDP leaders are not applauding, they have been left speechless over how the governor’s quest for equitable returns for the state has endeared him to the populace.
Is it that the writer desires the continuation of the exploitation of our people and our resources for nothing? Those issues are in court and should not be discussed in detail here.
However, since Shaibu appears to be sympathetic to those external interests, one can appeal to him to tell his friends to make the products they harvest from Kogi to sell at the same price they sell in places like Kano.
Without any scintilla of proof, Shaibu accused Governor Yahaya Bello of foisting another Ebira man as his successor without bringing into play the permutations that played within the camp of the governor that brought about the decision.
Suffice it to say that the governor’s inner circle comprising political leaders from across the three Senatorial Districts united with the governor on the matter of succession. That fact was well conveyed by the summary withdrawal of the major contenders for the APC ticket from the Igala, Okun and Ebira tribes. So, why are you bothered Mr Shaibu?
It is indeed shocking that Shaibu appears to be canvassing zoning the office of governor to his ethnic Igala population which until the emergence of Governor Bello had held the position for a straight 18 years. Where is the sense of justice, fairness or equity?
Even more, the writer buries the fact that the Igala have consistently participated in all past contests for the governorship. So what is the basis of any other tribe conceding the office to the Igala as if it were a birthright?
But more shocking is the fact that Shaibu who with Atiku took the slot of the South in the PDP presidential primaries without caring a hoot for the cries of power shift is now the one canvassing zoning in Kogi State! Is it not shocking that he is putting forth different narratives to suit his interests in Abuja and in Kogi?
As his well-known unrefined collaborator, Dino Melaye said recently of one of his critics, Phrank Shaibu should stay on his lane and continue to fly his sorties for Atiku. In Kogi, his intervention makes no sense as it is rather distasteful, irrational, and incomprehensible.
John Amana, a biochemist, writes from Dekina, Kogi State
