By
Anas Sani Anka
The social media space in Zamfara has recently been washed with arguments and counterarguments as regard to the possible defection of Governor of Zamfara Dauda Lawal from his party, the PDP, to the opposition APC.
The current Minister of State for Defense Bello Matawalle recently while addressing crowds of APC supporters at his country home of Maradaun accused Governor Dauda Laawal of playing hide and seek game even as he concluded plans to join the APC.
Matawalle in his usual political manners of speaking before a political gathering welcomed Dauda Lawal to the APC even as he reminded him of numerous allegations he raised against the party.
Earlier than now, when the rumor of Governor Lawal defection to the APC hits the air, he made a public statement denying the move q circumstance that led the matter to rest.
But Minister Bello Matawalle brought the matter to the public limelight again when he insisted that Governor Dauda Lawal is planning to defect to the APC.
Now that the political atmosphere has been under serious tension even as supporters of the two political actors begin to cast aspersions against another, one needs to ask who is fooling who.
For me, as a student of power and politics, I believe one of the two political actors is right and that time will be the only judge in this political confusion.
If one is to believe with Minister Matawalle he might assume a political hypothesis of what we called “buying time” in political decisions making, especially by the Nigerian politicians who always deny certain decisions and later make it public with no apology to their supporters.
I could remember when Matawalle wanted to defect to the APC from PDP, he initially denied the move but later on came back to genuinely pursue the decision in a well contested move.
So it may be true the Governor may likely want to defect, but maybe he is buying time or working to perfect certain conditions that he extended to him.
More or less looking at the crisis rocking the PDP at the national level and also the rumors that he has already promised to defect alongside other PDP Governors who have arrangements with President Tinubu.
But the question is, if truly he is defecting what assurance does he have that he can win election for the second term in the APC Looking at how people became densely aggrieved with the socio-economic politicians of the APC which made living in Nigeria very hard for now.
And again, if it is true, can we say that Governor Dauda did not learn lesson from the experience of Matawalle who abandoned his party, the PDP for the fear of defeat and eventually got defeated right within the APC?
This question only time can answer it that is if he opted to defect from his party the PDP.
As for Minister Matawalle I believed if he has made this statement due to the fear of the rumor of the Governor’s planned defection then he has set up a dangerous precedent for his supporters because the propaganda will simply be interpreted against the simple background that he has become scared losing his political relevance if the Governor joined the party.
Again his utterances against the possibility of him recontesting for Governorship has already sent an alarming signal that he has either lost hope in securing a second term ticket if Governor Dauda joins the APC Nor even up losing political relevance at the national because of the presence of the seating Governor who will naturally become the party leader in the state.
The pronouncement by the Minister has already weakened the hope of his supporters as they became skeptical on what the Minister’s message of likelihood of not contesting meant to his supporters.
The reaction by the political supporters of Minister Bello Matawalle has really there is a confusion because they are being put in the dark room.
Supporters of Governor Dauda are also left in a confusion as some of them began to provide self-explanatory defense as to probe that Governor Dauda is not defecting.
At least I have watched the interview by Shatiman Rijiya and Pharm. Isiyaka Anka is enough to tell someone that the recent pronouncement by Matawalle has caused friction from within the ruling PDP in Zamfara State.
Now for peace to reign, Governor of Zamfara need to provide corporate defense as to the allegations of defections labelled against him by Minister Bello Matawalle because the explanation by Shatiman Rijiya and his likes are not enough because they do not constitute part of the political think tank or decisions makers.
Unless this is done, the political confusion will remain as to who is fooling who between the two political gladiators.
