TheCable

BY ADNAN MUKHTAR TUNDUNWADA

The recent launch of The National Movement (TNM) led by its convener, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano state, has raised the political temperature of the country. Many see the Movement as the third force patriotic Nigerians have been advocating for, for years.

I am one of the advocates of a third force political arrangement since both the APC and the PDP have not really met the expectations of most Nigerians. Series of defections have been taking place in the polity and that says a lot about the lack of principle or any binding ideology within the political parties.

The convener of the National Movement is a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before he joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) after its formation in 2015. He was a two-term governor and also minister on the platform of the party he claimed has failed Nigerians.

Many questions are however begging for answers. Is the National Movement truly a third force that can solve the lingering problems of Nigeria or it is just a congregation of desperate power seekers who are out of reckoning?

What bothers me most is the endorsement by a female member of the movement from the southeast called Chinyere. When the lady took to the stage, she started her short speech by endorsing the convener as the only option for Nigerians, showering encomiums on him with reckless abandon. That was the same thing the representatives of the youth group and other personalities that spoke at the event said.

All the socio-economic problems bedeviling the nation actually call for a new political movement but not the kind I am seeing at the moment.

Apart from the convener who did remarkably well as the governor of Kano, tell me any other person with credibility and good leadership track record at the event.

Kwankwaso needs to understand that becoming the president of Nigeria is not something that will be decided by the people of Kano. Looking at the calibre of people at the event, the hall was almost entirely filled up by his Kwankwasiyya adherents who are mostly from Kano.

A third force can only be actualised under a political party and the convener is currently a member of the Peoples Democratic Party even though he’s at loggerheads with stakeholders of the party in his zone (northwest). Even at the national level, he is hardly seen in party functions.

The challenges this country is facing were not given utmost priority in the speech by the convener but rather his personal achievements were the focus.

Nigeria is currently battling with an insurgency in the northeast, banditry in the northwest, economic instability, ASUU strike, and the decay in the educational and health sector but such issues were not given priority but rather the presidential ambition of Kwankwaso.

His ally, Buba Galadima, has said in an interview that they came to rescue this country, and if the condition of contesting for the presidency warrants; they would not hesitate of taking a new political party.

The National Movement was not only an exaggeration but an embarrassment to a presidential aspirant. Most of the people invited shunned the event including Kwankwaso’s closest ally and chief of staff when he was governor, Yunusa Adamu Dangwani, and other people that served his administration including commissioners.

All the former governors invited during the event were not present as I observed only three former senators; Suleiman Hunkuyi, Grace Bent, and Muhammad Ubali Shittu. Idris Wada, Lucky Igbenedion, and Ibrahim Saminu Turaki were all absent at the event.

The big question is why is Kwankwaso still in PDP despite his statement that the party has failed? I doubt if he will make such a statement if he’s being carried along by other party stakeholders if the journey is going well.

Kwankwaso should have been brave enough to form a new party and test popularity, to see if he still has the crowd. Politics is a game of negotiation, alignment, and realignment but Kwankwaso has failed to negotiate and realign with the right people that will make his presidential dream a reality.

President Muhammadu Buhari has tried this many times, he did it under the All Nigeria Peoples Party that had governors and senators, he did it under Congress for Progressive Change but didn’t work until when he agreed to negotiate and align with the people he called looters.

You can’t achieve a presidential ambition when you are uncomfortable among your peers; when you’re autocratic by considering every of your decision right. Pat Utomi, Usman Bugaje, Najatu Muhammad, Khadija Okunnu Lamidi and other prominent technocrats invited into the movement are too big for political exploitation. These are independent-minded people with ambitious visions. They have attained professional success and financial stability.

The launch of the movement is a big embarrassment that has displayed clearly the political weakness of a presidential aspirant in search of a political platform. From the calibre of people at the launch, it is obvious that the new movement is lacking in the capacity to bring the desired change. Many of the stakeholders have served this country in one way or the other; some among them were the architects of the current mess Nigeria is facing today.

Apart from the convener who has done remarkably well as governor, who among them has the track record of taking this country to greater heights? Is it Lucky Igbenedion that has failed in Edo state, Saminu Turaki of Jigawa state, or Idris Wada from Kogi? I learnt that they are part of the prominent people invited even though they were absent.

The likes of Naja’atu Mohammed, Bugaje, Utomi, etc were all probably absent during the formal launch because it is never an avenue for patriots like them. The new movement is not only after serving the sole interest of its convener but an avenue and platform for achieving his presidential aspiration.

The majority of the guests are from Kano as I observed while watching from the solace of my room though they have been asked to remove their red caps. PDP leaders from Kano were also absent and that was strategically done to tell the world that the leader of the movement is on his way out of the party.

May Nigeria succeed.

Tudunwada is a media personality and can be reached at [email protected]. Note: This view is not attributable to any organisation I’m affiliated with