Nasarawa 2027: Should Wadada reap where he didn’t sow?

BY OLUFOLAMI BITRUS

The idea behind the title of this article as indicated above came to yours truly as I made a horse of recall going back in time to one of the nursery rhymes learnt during our prep school years, if my memory serves me right. Yes, I remember all the lyrics of the song, “You shall reap whatever you sow.”

As you would expect, in my naivete, I don’t ever remember understanding the import or otherwise about the lessons derived from the lyrics apart from chanting them during the early morning assembly or at other occasions.

But with the benefit of hindsight, I can wager that the oneliner: “You shall reap whatever you sow” is as didactic as it’s dialectic. So much for the stylistic analysis of the thematic preoccupation of this piece.

Paired into specifics, would it be right to say that Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, the senator representing Nasarawa West zone is bound to reap bountifully from the seed he has sown in his political journey thus far, whether rightly or wrongly?

But who is Senator Wadada? Indeed, Wadada has an enviable if not rich resume as a political officeholder. He is a serving senator and former house of reps member known for his grassroots engagement and philanthropy.

Not a neophyte in the politics of the state, Wadada had represented Keffi, Karu, Kokona federal constituency between 2003-2011, as such he is someone who’s well entrenched in grassroots politics.

As to be expected, his strengths include but are not limited to his strong legislative record, wide popularity, development-focused agenda, strong youth appeal and growing influence in Nasarawa West.

No doubt, Senator Wadada, who contested the last election and won on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), is today the most popular politician in the state and can defeat any candidate in both primaries and general elections in a free and fair contest.

But like all humans he has his own frailties. For instance, as far as the current political calculus is concerned, in the core Nasarawa politics as it is known today, he is considered an outsider and if you add this to the crisis of identity and intra-party rivalries, Senator Wadada sure has some landmines to navigate as he walks the Shadam Road to Government House, in Lafia come 2027.

It also gets a little murkier as Senator Wadada’s comeback bid to return to the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the year ends, may not be as easy as he thinks.

Though Wadada is seen as one of the most popular politicians in Nasarawa state today, his strong grassroots base, articulate representation in the senate, and outsider status after defecting from APC to SDP may have given him a unique appeal in 2023, but the same thing may not happen this time because this surely will be a make or break adventure for him as there is so much at stake for him, head or tail.

As one of the strongest members of the SDP coalition, if he abandons the party for the APC today, chances are that such a move would be seen as a betrayal of trust by his core supporters who voted for a break from the political status quo. Whether Wadada betrays his current base or delivers a fresh political narrative remains to be seen.

Certainly, either way the realignments and betrayals play out ahead of the 2027 governorship race in Nasarawa, political gladiators like Wadada are sure going to get their comeuppance one way or the other, so he’s going to be literally walking on eggshells as the political hustings begin.

What the elders of the APC are also not comfortable with is the fact that Wadada, who by virtue of being a member of the SDP would most certainly be answerable to Nasir el-Rufai, himself a recent decampee from the APC.

Allowing Wadada, especially his newfound romance with the coalition led by persons clearly not in harmony with the people at the corridors of power, may spell doom for the APC as a party in the state which ordinarily wasn’t a easy ride for Governor Abdullahi Sule during the last election.

The question of the hour is would the APC be looking the other way as an outsider takes the biggest pie in the plate and leave others like IGP (rtd) Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, AIG (rtd) Abdul Yari Lafia, Barrister Hassan Liman, Prof. Kana Abdulkarim, Arch. Shehu Tukur, who are already invested in the party to pick up the leftover crumbs? That would be the day!

The odds clearly are heavily stacked against Wadada as he takes the toughest if not most difficult decision in his life, the outcome of which can lead to his political oblivion.

Well, whatever area the pendulum swings, the reverberating echoes of mutinous songs is not good music in the ears of Senator Wadada.

Britus, a public affairs commentator, writes from Akwanga