2nd Response To Lawan A.Kazaure Bravado
By Habibu Muhammad
In my first response to Lawan A. Kazaure last week, i made a promise to engage him on any future misguided article being authored by him. Below represent continuous attempt to balance record for posterity.
It is often said that when facts become inconvenient, desperate politicians resort to propaganda, emotional blackmail and deliberate distortion of history in order to deceive unsuspecting followers. The recent write-up by Lawan A. Kazaure concerning the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Jigawa State is nothing but a clear exhibition of political panic, bitterness and selfish interest disguised as political analysis.
Ordinarily, political engagement should be guided by decency, facts and respect for democratic values. Unfortunately, the writer abandoned all these principles and instead chose the path of insults, baseless accusations and divisive narratives simply because certain individuals refused to surrender the destiny of the party to one political camp.It is laughable for anyone to claim ownership of ADC in Jigawa State merely because they joined earlier or spent money. Political parties are not private companies inherited by individuals or families. ADC belongs to every registered member equally, and leadership positions or candidacies cannot be determined by intimidation, propaganda or self-glorification. Democracy is about popular acceptance, competence and credibility — not noise making or political entitlement.
The repeated attempt to portray some members as “Johnny Just Dropped” is both insulting and hypocritical. Many of those now being attacked have paid their dues politically, contributed immensely to opposition politics and possess stronger electoral value than those arrogantly claiming superiority today. Politics is dynamic; coalitions are built on collective interests, mutual respect and inclusion — not on dictatorship or winner-takes-all mentality.
More disturbing however, is the reckless attempt to drag respected national figures such as Chief Peter Obi, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Atiku Abubakar into unnecessary conspiracy theories without evidence. Such careless political narratives only expose the desperation of those seeking relevance through controversy. Nigerians are already tired of politicians who substitute personal attacks for meaningful ideas.
The writer also attempted to reduce the political strength of Malam Aminu Ringim through selective interpretation of election results while conveniently ignoring the realities surrounding those elections. Elections are influenced by multiple factors including party structure, federal might, incumbency powers and prevailing political climate. Therefore, reducing political value strictly to election figures is intellectually dishonest. Ironically, the same article admitted that both Matawalle and Aminu Ringim came third in separate gubernatorial contests. This alone destroys the exaggerated claims of overwhelming superiority being pushed by the writer. If both politicians recorded similar electoral outcomes under different political circumstances, then fairness demands equal respect for both sides rather than unnecessary political arrogance.
Furthermore, true leadership is not measured by access to money, self-praise or endless media attacks against opponents. Leadership is measured by maturity, ability to unite people, tolerance of opposing views and commitment to democratic principles. Sadly, the entire article reflected intolerance, bitterness and fear of internal democracy. ADC in Jigawa State must avoid the dangerous politics of exclusion and personality cultism. No individual is bigger than the party, and no ambition should override fairness, justice and collective interest. Attempts to impose candidates, silence dissenting voices or intimidate stakeholders will only weaken the party and destroy the credibility of the coalition movement before the people of Jigawa State.
The future of ADC should be built on consultation, internal democracy, equal opportunity and mutual respect not propaganda wars and political blackmail. History has repeatedly shown that parties destroyed by internal greed and arrogance rarely recover. Those genuinely interested in rescuing Jigawa State must therefore rise above selfish ambitions and allow democracy, not desperation, to prevail.
Habibu Muhammad is a political rights advocate based in Dutse, Jigawa State