Mohammed Aliyu
The Niger State gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Muhammed Umar Bago, is focused on victory in next year’s election. To ensure that his APC house is in order, he has been holding a series of meetings with aggrieved members of the party across the state. Bago wants to go into the election with a united house. He is wooing all those that contested against him for the ticket.
Bago is one of the longest serving members of the House of Representatives from the state, having spent two terms and about ending his third now. He is quite popular among the people, especially the downtrodden whose needs he meets on a regular basis. Bago is one of the few House members from Niger State who visits his constituency every other week, except when he is out of the country.
Outside that, Bago’s contact phone number is displayed publicly. Unlike the conventional traits of politicians, Bago picks his phone himself. The ease with which his people have unfettered access to him is one of the things that counted for him when it mattered most. This, perhaps, explained why he is the favourite among the populace, irrespective of party affiliation.
During the APC gubernatorial primary, against all expectations, Bago, who represents Chanchaga Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, polled 540 votes to get the ticket. In his acceptance speech, Bago acknowledged the God factor in his victory. He said: “We are not yet there; we still have work to do ahead. It is my prayer that APC forms the next government in the state.”
Unknown to his teeming supporters, what he actually meant was that there were a lot of frayed nerves that needed to be calmed, a lot of disaffection that needed to be assured and quite a sizeable number of major stakeholders that he needed to reach a compromise with.
Against the backdrop of his speech, he has completely relocated to Minna for the past two months, crisscrossing the entire state, looking and seeking forgiveness, compromise, assurance, support, encouragement and prayers, not only for himself, but also for the party and the state in general.
The Secretary General of the APC Supporters Network Nigeria, Captain Yusuf Abdullahi (Maikudi), and fellow Nupe like Bago, says he is not surprised that the governorship candidate is touring the state even before the campaign started proper. He said Bago is a very sensitive person, who understands the political dynamics of the state. Maikudi adds: “When God says it is your turn, it is. Remember that he has been in the National Assembly for about 12 years now. He has garnered experience as a result of his exposure over the years. He is probably one of the few Niger State members of the National Assembly who is hardly heard despite his enormous support to his constituency.“He doesn’t want his works in the media. He would tell you that once his constituency is happy with his performance, he is happy as the constituency is his report card. He prefers that the constituency talks about his performance instead of highlighting it in the media. That is one of the reasons my organisation is set up; to drum up support and canvass votes for him. We will continue to canvas support for him and the party. Our membership cuts across the state.”
The last two months has seen Bago touring Bida, Katcha and Edati local government areas, where he met the party loyalists, stakeholders, kings and traditional title holders, to seek their support in the task not only to retain APC but also to make the state more secure and economically viable. Fortunately, he has been widely received with tens of thousands of the people, across board, pledging their support to work for him and the party.
At all the local government areas visited, Bago reiterated his earlier commitment to make Niger State economically viable, stable security wise and also to be the first among equals. It appears the people, going by their confession, believe in Bago’s ability to deliver.
A businessman and indigene of Bida Local Government Area, Alhaji Abubakar Shettima, says that if God makes Bago the governor, the state would be better managed, at least given the background of the candidate: “He has a finance background. He has worked with two banks, with sound records and performance trailing him. I strongly believe that if he becomes the governor, his experience and exposure would be handy. I truly share his optimism and prayers for the state. At the moment, I am yet to see a better candidate among the other parties. He is shoulder high above other candidates. I think this is the best time to be an indigene.”
For Hajia Fatimah Muhammed, a trader in Edati Local Government Area, going by what the APC governorship candidate said so far, she believes the state would return to its past glory. She said: “This is actually the first time I am seeing him one on one. I have seen him on television and in the pages of newspapers, but this is the first time I am seeing him talking. I am impressed by what he is offering to the state. What he is trying to do, to bring everybody together, is also worth mentioning. It shows that he knows it is the people that make the party and the government which he wants to preside over. We need conversation like this. More importantly, we need a listening leader. Throughout the event, he allowed everyone to talk, even when some were saying the question time should be stopped, he said we should continue. It was after many people had expressed themselves that he spoke. That is the kind of listening leader I want and the state needs. I pray he goes on like this even after he wins the election.”
For Kabir Abubakar, 32, banker, Bago’s youthfulness is what stands him out: “There is energy that comes with being youthful. The job of supervising a state isn’t a child’s play. It requires quite a lot. Apart from the experience, education, right contacts, the energy to be able to carry out his function which is 24 hours job, is crucial.”
On the chances of the APC continuing from where Governor Abubakar Bello stopped in 2023, Maikudi said: “Given what has happened so far, there is no doubt that the APC will return to the Government House. Check his antecedence; his track record, what he has done and still doing if he will not do better. That is actually the joy of every mentor, parents or boss that their mentee or subordinate should be better than them. That is what is called leadership.
“Take Lagos State as an example, every governor that has succeeded Asiwaju Tinubu is always better than the previous one. That is why Lagos is miles ahead of other states. I have no doubt that Umar Bago will make the state proud. As to whether the APC can win the general election, the acceptance by the ordinary people which culminated in his victory during the primary election is a very big pointer to the fact that the people will rally round him to push and vote him into the Government House.”
