VICE PRESIDENT NAMADI SAMBO’S DISCLAIMER

The spokesman of the Vice President, Umar Sani says that the widely publicised launch of a campaign by his boss for the Presidency of Nigeria in 2015 is an act of mischief. He says the V-P has not asked anyone to promote his cause, and even the many vehicles with brands and posters heralding the campaign which caught everyone’s eyes at the PDP northwest zonal meeting were there to cause mischief and perpetrate falsehood. Umar Sani says the V-P’s enemies want to cause disaffection and blackmail him by implying that he is pursuing his own, rather than his and Jonathan’s transformation agenda.

          If the public was curious over the unnamed enemies which Umar Sani alleges are at work against the Vice President, another press release, this time from the Senior Special Assistant Media to Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, Mr Reuben Buhari, quickly put that curiosity to rest. Mr Buhari immediately repudiated allegations that the Governor is involved in the campaigns to link the V-P with a Presidential bid in 2015. Mr. Buhari asks how anyone but mischief makers, will link Governor Yakowa with the purported campaign, and asks how the Governor could possibly benefit from such stories over the ambitions and plans of the Vice President. He asks pointedly if those behind the insinuation that the Governor is behind the allegation believe that President Jonathan will punish his Vice President for his reported plans, and replace him with Governor Yakowa. Mr Buhari admits that there are plans to create frictions between Sambo and Yakowa, but asserts that they will fail.

          It is tempting to dismiss these manouvers which have produced two revealing press releases as typical Nigerian politics. This will be wrong, and dangerous. It will be wrong to dismiss a public event which links the V-P with campaigns for the Presidency in 2015 because whether they are the handiwork of his political detractors or not, they speak volumes of the current tendencies in Kaduna State and in the nation as a whole. If indeed the whole episode was engineered to embarrass the Vice President in his own State; a State where he was a Governor before Yakowa, it represents strong evidence that V-P Namadi Sambo has lost much ground in Kaduna State, the northwest zone and the nation. His detractors must have tremendous confidence and access; and a huge store of hostility towards him to enable them mount an embarrassing activity that is likely to pitch him against his President. If, on the other hand, there are people who want to make the case that the VP can and should run for the Presidency in 2015; and who decided that Nigerians should know this just barely six months into the life of the administration, the nation needs to ask questions over the VP’s control over his supporters. Of course there are others who would say that the VP was flying a kite to test the waters, so to speak, over the acceptability or otherwise of his candidature in 2015. Even this unlikely group will have to presume some rather pedestrian thinking on the part of the Vice President, because, clearly, no one will be impressed with a pitch for the Presidency in 2015 from a Vice President who is still trying to settle down.                

          What the statements from the two spokesmen do is to highlight the possibility of the existence of very sour relations between the Vice President and the Governor of his State, who was his deputy. In the context of the manner Nigerian politics is played, many people will say even this is nothing out of the ordinary, or to worry over. But they will be wrong.

          A major falling out between the Vice President and the Governor of Kaduna State will be dangerous for the State and the nation. Kaduna State has been the worst victim of the post-election violence, which produced both Yakowa and Namadi Sambo. At this moment, thousands of refugees from murder and organized pillage are at the mercy of the elements in temporary camps. Only a productive collaboration between the State and Federal Governments will provide the political will and the resources to find them permanent relief. There are fears of unrest around the relocation of the Kafanchan market for the purposes of reconstruction, and both Namadi Sambo and Yakowa are neck deep in the project, one as the initiator, the other as the implementer. There are dangerous gaps in relations between Muslim and Christian communities that will require the two key citizens to collaborate openly and sincerely to reduce. There are massive economic and social problems in the State which are feeding the deplorable security situation that will require both leaders to work together and find solutions to.

          Both VP Sambo and Governor Yakowa are still facing robust challenges in court over their elections. They are also facing huge challenges to make impact on the lives of citizens. Governor Yakowa has not moved beyond dealing with immediate security issues to roll out major policies that will address poverty and sustainable peace. Right now, his administration is being accused of removing thousands of workers from their jobs to enable the State Government pay the N18, 000 minimum wage. The Vice President himself is holding firm to an office even though his political base appears to have been lost with the April 2011 elections. What he can offer President Jonathan is his personal qualities and capacity for loyalty. If his principal does not put much store in these, his position will be that much more uncomfortable. The experience of a former Vice President who was made utterly redundant and miserable by his principal is still fresh in everyone’s mind.

          Neither the V-P nor Governor can afford a war of attrition in a State like Kaduna. If they have a handle on what is going on, they should call their foot soldiers to order. If they don’t, they must worse politicians than the people of Kaduna State and Nigeria are entitled to expect. They occupy elective offices to lead governments to make a real difference in the lives of citizens. If they do not close ranks, and improve their personal and official relationships, they will both be losers. With a Vice President and a Governor who wants to make a difference in place, people of Kaduna State have a huge asset which they must not lose because political opportunists have the upper hand over elected leaders.