It is no longer news that the perennial political traveller, Senator Hunkuyi, has left the PDP yet again; this time, to a yet to be disclosed destination.
For those who have been around or following the politics of Kaduna State since 1999, Sen. Othman Suleiman Hunkuyi is a household name in the Kaduna political landscape. In fact, he was active during the formative years of the PDP and contributed in the emergence of His Execellency, (Sen.) Ahmed Muhammed Makarfi as the Governor of Kaduna State in 1999. But his ambition to become governor in Kaduna State, and the treacherous, brazen and audacious manner in which he has pursued it, have combined to not only give him a bad name, but wane his influence.
Before 2015, Sen. Hunkuyi had only been the Chairman of Kudan LGA and Commissioner of Finance, Kaduna State, and has therefore only been a fair-weather politician.
His gift of oratory, cunning skills, and sometimes controversial stance are the factors that have combined to create the false posture of a prolific politician in the eye of the ordinary citizen. But beneath these qualities are a man who is never patient enough to wait for his turn but wherever he is, once he fails to impose his will or be in charge of others, he leaves to where he can be in charge. This is a bad profile for a Political.
After linking up with strange political bed-fellows that formed the APC in 2013, Sen. Hunkuyi was afforded another opportunity to pursue his governorship ambition. However, his influence had not gone to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari; and the propaganda machinery and war chest of Mal. Nasiru El-Rufa’i saw him relegated to contesting the Senetorial seat. It is absolutely clear that he won the senatorial election NOT on the weight of his profile but on the back of the now infamous, inglorious Buhari syndrome or what is generally referred to as the Buharian wind (Guguwan Buhari) that took all kinds of people to political offices, especially in the northern half of Nigeria.
As a sitting Senator, his knack and penchant for creating crises to further his political ambition soon burst in the APC, setting the stage for crises with Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai whose grip on the APC in Kaduna State was (and still is) total. Not unexpectedly, he left the APC and returned to the PDP and immediately went his usual way of forcing himself to contest the gubernatorial seat. After being roundly beaten by Hon. Isah Ashiru in the primaries, the party bent over backwards by offering him the Senatorial ticket. Note that at that stage Hon. Nuhu Ibrahim Kayarda had already won that seat but he agreed to let go the ticket to Hunkuyi. This was done in the belief that Hunkuyi, the “fighter,” would give the APC a good fight and possibly win. However, once more, he succumbed to the superior fire power of Mal. Nasiru El-Rufa’i and his candidate. He couldn’t even garner as many votes as Ashiru did (in the gubernatorial election) in his native Kudan LG or the Zone. He was simply overpowered, beaten and bashed “MURUS” as the APC apologists would love to put it.
It is also alleged that Hunkuyi did not want Isah Ashiru to win the gubernatorial election, a calculation he believed – and still believes – would pave way for his 2023 gubernatorial ambition.
Consequently, by the year 2020, Hunkuyi quickly launched a scheme to hijack and dictate the tone and outcome of the state congresses. He wanted consensus, and not election, particularly for all state offices of the party.
Unfortunately, his political myth was broken and laid bare. Having found out that he couldn’t install even the officials of his Ward or those of the State Working Committee of the party, he then recruited some surrogates from zone 1 and 3 to fight his dirty fight against the Hassan Hyat-led SWC. He sponsored people in the media to cast aspersion on the process, sponsored those who went to court, and co-authored two petitions against the ward congresses and SWC of the party. Thankfully, but not surprisingly, he has lost almost every of the cases he sponsored, and was suspended and later recalled to the party following the intervention of top party echelons within and outside the state. Hunkuyi has remained very quiet and distant from the party, ever since.
From the fore-going, it is crystal clear that Sen. Hunkuyi is not only overambitious but also highly overrated. He has left the PDP thrice and returned thrice. He has contested the gubernatorial seat four times and lost four times. As it is, he is already planning which platform next to contest on. Just watch out for his next move – it is a matter of when, not if. It is my considered opinion that his withdrawal of his membership from the PDP, this time, is simply good riddance to bad rubbish.
~Edward John Auta is member of the PDP from Zonkwa War, Zango Kataf LGA of Kaduna State.
