For everything under the sun, there’s a time and a season. For electorates and politicians alike, the year 2022 is that time and season of politics and politicking in preparation for the 2023 general election. For the good people of southern Kaduna, it is that season when the performances of political leaders are subjected to scrutiny with questions asked of those who aspire to challenge for leadership positions. And for Distinguished Senator Danjumma Laah, it might just be the time to bow out or be eased out of office.
For so many reasons, the 2023 senatorial election in southern Kaduna is likely to be one in town. This is in view of the quality of persons who have so far indicated interest or are rumored to be interested in the two major political parties of PDP and APC. In the PDP in particular, there is going to be a fierce battle for the party’s ticket given the party’s outlook as near religion for the people of the area as well as the calibre of persons interested or rumored to be interested in giving the incumbent a run for his money. They include, Hon. Barr. Sunday Marshall Katung whose combined experience from years of exposure in both private and public sectors makes him a very tough nut to crack, as far as the 2022 PDP Senatorial primary election is concerned; Rt. Hon. Nicolas Garba Sarkin-noma, a serving three-term member of the House of Representatives representing Jema’a and Sanga Federal Constituency; Hon. Samson Dikko, a serving member of the Kaduna State House of Assembly with reasonable record of humanitarian service; Mr. Zakaria Suleiman, a retired seasoned administrator with the NNPC and also Author of many books; and Rt. Hon. Jagaba Adams Jagaba, who contested against the incumbent in 2018, to mention but these.
So, what will be the Distinguished Senator Laah’s fate come 2022, given the array of high profile persons challenging for his seat? Who will eventually pick the party’s ticket? The facts have always been that, primary elections the world over are an elitist affair, and so, whoever the majority of PDP elites conspire to support will likely emerge victorious. But for distinguished Senator Danjuma Laah, as things stand, his fate will be akin to the proverbial dog who did not listen to the whistling of his master because it is destined for destruction. For keen political watchers, Laah’s failure to provide leadership for the party, especially at the zone, his role in the last congresses of the party, inability to keep some of his promises and his demonstration of nepotism in appointments, and worst still, his deafening refusal to make a detour, three years into his second term, have combined to put him on a collision course with majority of the party stakeholders in the zone.
But it is not only among the PDP elites that the Senator has lost some of his goodwill. Even among the masses, there’s a growing sense of frustration about the Senator’s lack of capacity to effectively present the issues bedevelling the region on the floor of the senate. His poor oratory skill coupled with his poor understanding of the official language of communication in the house have always seen him struggling to drive home his points. The region is in desperate situation but this situation either is not aware or is not able to make that case on the floor of the Senate for the good of the region.
There is also the group which is disappointed by the Senator’s failure to treat the entire zone as one Constituency in matters of appointments and job placements. His preference for his tribesmen over the rest has cost him so many of his staunch followers across the 8 LGAs that make up the senatorial zone.
Among the army of comrades committed to the struggle against the southern Kaduna genocide, there are many who have also grown frustrated by the Senator’s obvious lack of focus and many unforced goofs which are becoming detrimental to the struggle. The recent Luka Binniyat-Samuel Aruwan saga in which Mr. Binniyat has been illegally detained in prison custody for over a month now and for which the Senator is complicit is a case in hand.
Mr. Binniyat had in a report published by the Epoch Times in October, 2021 quoted the Senator as saying “the government of Kaduna State is using Samuel Aruwan, a Christian to cause confusion, to cover up the genocide going on in Christian Southern Kaduna, by describing the massacre as a clash;” “if it were a clash, of the 38 persons killed in Madamai, how many of the victims were fulani?” But the Senator has since denied making such statements to Binniyat and instead, described Samuel Aruwan, as a “younger brother he holds in high esteem,” and against whom he will never make such remarks. To this group, the Senator’s action or lack of it as far as this matter is concerned, clearly suggests he no longer believes that the killings in SK are actually acts of attempted genocide, but a clash as those in government quarters would want us to believe.
It would therefore be quite appropriate to suspect that the Senator’s fierce disposition against the killings in SK hitherto was no more than a gimmick to build political capital for himself and for winning elections. If not, besides the several press statements which are mostly written without the senator’s input or violent rhetorics at funeral services of maimed victims, what evidence is there to show that the senator has used his exalted office to attract any help for the region or the thousands of IDPs that have resulted from the countless mindless and unprovoked killings in the area?
More so, there have been billions of naira in aids and grants pumped into the northeast from both national and international sources for rehabilitation of communities ravaged by conflict. What has Senator Danjuma Laah done to access those grants or position his region for consideration for such aids/grants from 2015 to date? How has he also used his quarterly Constituency Allowances to address the humanitarian crisis brewing in the region? Why did he commit over Three Hundred Million Naira of our Constituency Allowances into a Police Secondary School he sited in his Village of Tum, as if the region is in short supply of secondary schools? This is clearly a misplacement of priority, and is at best a waste of our collective resources. An investment into rebuilding some of the ravaged communities or rehabilitating the survivors of the many attacks in the region using those funds would have represented a great service to the people.
Similarly, it is now widely circulated across social media platforms the Senator’s offer to sponsor prospective students that will be interested in enrolling into the Kaduna State University’s School of Basic and Remedial Studies, Kafanchan, at a time hundreds of poor students from the zone (some in their final year) are at the verge of dropping out of school + and some have indeed dropped out – because they cannot afford the senseless increment of tuition fees across all state-owned tertiary institutions by the Kaduna State Government.
In the final analysis, distinguished Senator Danjuma Laah, like all his predecessors, is not perfect but certainly has some projects to his name. He was able to sponsor a bill for the establishment of a Federal University of Technology, attracted some borehole projects, and bought a few vehicles and torchlights for our local vigilantes to fight bandits, among others. He has also secured several employment opportunities for the region, even though majority of the beneficiaries were his kith and kin from his Atyap ethnic group. He has surely done his best but for a region of about 3 million people, with very little state and federal presence, this his best is far below the irreducible minimum.
Therefore, it is now time to inject a new blood, with fresh ideas; one who will make up for Sen. Laah’s inadequacies. The new Senator must be one with the requisite blend of skill and political cloud to position himself and the zone for greater things. The new man/woman must be one who will see the entire SK as his/her Constituency and not just members of his/her ethnic group. The days of misplacement of priority, building of secondary schools or providing boreholes or torchlights as Constituency Projects should be consigned to our dark past, for it is, without being immodest, an insult to us as a people. We have to make a decision and the time to make that decision is now, and one cannot help, but GET INVOLVED.
Edward John Auta Pama is a Historian and Public Affairs Analyst from Zango Kataf LGA of Kaduna State.
For everything under the sun, there’s a time and a season. For electorates and politicians alike, the year 2022 is that time and season of politics and politicking in preparation for the 2023 general election. For the good people of southern Kaduna, it is that season when the performances of political leaders are subjected to scrutiny with questions asked of those who aspire to challenge for leadership positions. And for Distinguished Senator Danjumma Laah, it might just be the time to bow out or be eased out of office.
For so many reasons, the 2023 senatorial election in southern Kaduna is likely to be one in town. This is in view of the quality of persons who have so far indicated interest or are rumored to be interested in the two major political parties of PDP and APC. In the PDP in particular, there is going to be a fierce battle for the party’s ticket given the party’s outlook as near religion for the people of the area as well as the calibre of persons interested or rumored to be interested in giving the incumbent a run for his money. They include, Hon. Barr. Sunday Marshall Katung whose combined experience from years of exposure in both private and public sectors makes him a very tough nut to crack, as far as the 2022 PDP Senatorial primary election is concerned; Rt. Hon. Nicolas Garba Sarkin-noma, a serving three-term member of the House of Representatives representing Jema’a and Sanga Federal Constituency; Hon. Samson Dikko, a serving member of the Kaduna State House of Assembly with reasonable record of humanitarian service; Mr. Zakaria Suleiman, a retired seasoned administrator with the NNPC and also Author of many books; and Rt. Hon. Jagaba Adams Jagaba, who contested against the incumbent in 2018, to mention but these.
So, what will be the Distinguished Senator Laah’s fate come 2022, given the array of high profile persons challenging for his seat? Who will eventually pick the party’s ticket? The facts have always been that, primary elections the world over are an elitist affair, and so, whoever the majority of PDP elites conspire to support will likely emerge victorious. But for distinguished Senator Danjuma Laah, as things stand, his fate will be akin to the proverbial dog who did not listen to the whistling of his master because it is destined for destruction. For keen political watchers, Laah’s failure to provide leadership for the party, especially at the zone, his role in the last congresses of the party, inability to keep some of his promises and his demonstration of nepotism in appointments, and worst still, his deafening refusal to make a detour, three years into his second term, have combined to put him on a collision course with majority of the party stakeholders in the zone.
But it is not only among the PDP elites that the Senator has lost some of his goodwill. Even among the masses, there’s a growing sense of frustration about the Senator’s lack of capacity to effectively present the issues bedevelling the region on the floor of the senate. His poor oratory skill coupled with his poor understanding of the official language of communication in the house have always seen him struggling to drive home his points. The region is in desperate situation but this situation either is not aware or is not able to make that case on the floor of the Senate for the good of the region.
There is also the group which is disappointed by the Senator’s failure to treat the entire zone as one Constituency in matters of appointments and job placements. His preference for his tribesmen over the rest has cost him so many of his staunch followers across the 8 LGAs that make up the senatorial zone.
Among the army of comrades committed to the struggle against the southern Kaduna genocide, there are many who have also grown frustrated by the Senator’s obvious lack of focus and many unforced goofs which are becoming detrimental to the struggle. The recent Luka Binniyat-Samuel Aruwan saga in which Mr. Binniyat has been illegally detained in prison custody for over a month now and for which the Senator is complicit is a case in hand.
Mr. Binniyat had in a report published by the Epoch Times in October, 2021 quoted the Senator as saying “the government of Kaduna State is using Samuel Aruwan, a Christian to cause confusion, to cover up the genocide going on in Christian Southern Kaduna, by describing the massacre as a clash;” “if it were a clash, of the 38 persons killed in Madamai, how many of the victims were fulani?” But the Senator has since denied making such statements to Binniyat and instead, described Samuel Aruwan, as a “younger brother he holds in high esteem,” and against whom he will never make such remarks. To this group, the Senator’s action or lack of it as far as this matter is concerned, clearly suggests he no longer believes that the killings in SK are actually acts of attempted genocide, but a clash as those in government quarters would want us to believe.
It would therefore be quite appropriate to suspect that the Senator’s fierce disposition against the killings in SK hitherto was no more than a gimmick to build political capital for himself and for winning elections. If not, besides the several press statements which are mostly written without the senator’s input or violent rhetorics at funeral services of maimed victims, what evidence is there to show that the senator has used his exalted office to attract any help for the region or the thousands of IDPs that have resulted from the countless mindless and unprovoked killings in the area?
More so, there have been billions of naira in aids and grants pumped into the northeast from both national and international sources for rehabilitation of communities ravaged by conflict. What has Senator Danjuma Laah done to access those grants or position his region for consideration for such aids/grants from 2015 to date? How has he also used his quarterly Constituency Allowances to address the humanitarian crisis brewing in the region? Why did he commit over Three Hundred Million Naira of our Constituency Allowances into a Police Secondary School he sited in his Village of Tum, as if the region is in short supply of secondary schools? This is clearly a misplacement of priority, and is at best a waste of our collective resources. An investment into rebuilding some of the ravaged communities or rehabilitating the survivors of the many attacks in the region using those funds would have represented a great service to the people.
Similarly, it is now widely circulated across social media platforms the Senator’s offer to sponsor prospective students that will be interested in enrolling into the Kaduna State University’s School of Basic and Remedial Studies, Kafanchan, at a time hundreds of poor students from the zone (some in their final year) are at the verge of dropping out of school + and some have indeed dropped out – because they cannot afford the senseless increment of tuition fees across all state-owned tertiary institutions by the Kaduna State Government.
In the final analysis, distinguished Senator Danjuma Laah, like all his predecessors, is not perfect but certainly has some projects to his name. He was able to sponsor a bill for the establishment of a Federal University of Technology, attracted some borehole projects, and bought a few vehicles and torchlights for our local vigilantes to fight bandits, among others. He has also secured several employment opportunities for the region, even though majority of the beneficiaries were his kith and kin from his Atyap ethnic group. He has surely done his best but for a region of about 3 million people, with very little state and federal presence, this his best is far below the irreducible minimum.
Therefore, it is now time to inject a new blood, with fresh ideas; one who will make up for Sen. Laah’s inadequacies. The new Senator must be one with the requisite blend of skill and political cloud to position himself and the zone for greater things. The new man/woman must be one who will see the entire SK as his/her Constituency and not just members of his/her ethnic group. The days of misplacement of priority, building of secondary schools or providing boreholes or torchlights as Constituency Projects should be consigned to our dark past, for it is, without being immodest, an insult to us as a people. We have to make a decision and the time to make that decision is now, and one cannot help, but GET INVOLVED.
Edward John Auta Pama is a Historian and Public Affairs Analyst from Zango Kataf LGA of Kaduna State.
