Who will Gombe people pick as Goje’s successor?

While the possibility of surprises cannot be ruled out between now and when the 2011 general elections would be held, the race towards the Gombe Government House has continued to gather great momentum in the state. Our correspondent Auwal Ahmad reports.

There are about nine persons from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who wish want to contest for the governorship but are yet to officially declared their interests. All of them are waiting for Governor Danjuma Goje to say ‘come and contest’ before they come out for the campaign.

On many occasions, however, Governor Goje has said he does not have any one as his candidate. The governor also emphasised on several occasions, that “any person that the people say they want, I want him too.”

Those that want to contest include the state Commissioner of Finance, Alhaji Muhammad Inuwa Yahya; Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Usman Bayero Nafada; Chairman of Hamsal Airline, Alhaji Audu Hamma Sale and the National President, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki Jalo.

Others are the Account-General of the Federation, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo; a former Gombe state PDP Youth Leader, and Abubakar Habu Mu’azu and a business tycoon and philantropist, Faruq Bamusa.

The question on the lips of many therefore is ‘Who among the many aspirants would toe the line of Governor Mohammed Danjuma Goje in terms of achievements, if given the opportunity?

AUDU HAMMA SALE

He is a successful Kaduna – based businessman who is loved and admired by many for his generosity, philanthropic spirit and humble disposition. That is probably the reason why he has for long been in the radial of pundits as the likely Governor of Gombe state after Goje.

His contributions to education and community development through life enhancing projects are second to none. Hamma Sale surely knows the cry of his people and has been very responsive to their yearnings, using his hard earned resources.

He may not have contested or held any political office, but he has been there underground and even makes political statements once in a while. However, majority in the PDP and other parties or those in the mainstream may be willing to teach him the ropes if it comes to the worse, because of his personality.

To his advantage also is Governor Goje’s penchant for a likely successor that would build on his legacies and thereby be an answer to the people’s prayers. A general and popular view is that Hamma Sale is eminently qualified to lead Gombe state to the Promised Land if opportuned, as his vision and aspiration for his people attest to. Whichever way it goes, Hamma Sale is one frontline candidate that seems ready for the battle for Gombe Government House in 2011.

Usman Bayero Nafada

Nafada was elected into the Gombe state House of Assembly in the 1999 election and became the speaker of the House. In 2003, he was also elected as a member of the House of Representatives on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). He decamped to the ruling PDP and became the Deputy Speaker of the House. Usman Bayero is a grassroots politician and very powerful as shown during his days as the speaker of the Gombe State House of Assembly and even now that he is the scond in command in the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly. He is known not to waste his opportunity at the miscalculations of others as well as making judicious use of his opportunities, even the limited ones.

In the governorship race however, he would need more than his usual opportunities to be in the Government House Gombe. One fact however remains, and that is that he seems to be an unstoppable aspirant who is waiting for his time to explode when the chips are down.

Unfortunately, he is in Abuja and may not be on ground to physically mobilise as other aspirants are already doing. As it is elsewhere, calling the shots from Abuja may not be easy for him, but with the support of the people and that of some influential elders of the state, his chances cannot be ignored.

Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo

This senior civil servant has allegedly been making a lot of underground moves by helping a lot of people and groups across the state from different backgrounds. One of the striking features of his moves is that his largesse cuts across various religious and cultural groups in the state and such gestures in this part of the country are always understood to mean a political ambition by the philanthropists.

It is no longer hidden that the recent public and private romance between the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Gombe state governor seems to give the impression that he is the anointed one. Dankwambo’s interest in becoming governor of the state where he was once Accountant-General is not in doubt, though his silence on the issue is by no means fooling watchers of events in the state.

If zoning the governorship seat out of the central zone to the Northern or Southern axis is anything to go by, since Goje is from the central axis, then it places Dankwambo at a very disadvantaged position. He has been a civil servant for all this while and whether he has what it takes to win an election of this magnitude is still a matter of debate and time.

Abubakar Habu Mu’azu

So far, out of all the perceived contenders in the fold of the PDP, Abubakar Habu Mu’azu is the only one that has publicly declared his ambition for 2011.

The former state PDP youth leader, who is still popularly referred to as “Abu Youth Leader” despite having left that position for quite some time now, will be gunning for his first ever elective position and he said he prefers to start with the governorship office. He is perceived to be young, strong, vibrant and dynamic. More importantly, he is believed to have learnt the ropes, having worked assiduously with Governor Goje to secure the first and second terms of office and it is believed that this experience may turn out to be an advantage for him.

That notwithstanding, the general belief in some quarters is that he is either fronting for somebody or making some noise just to sustain his popularity among the recalcitrant youths that do not even know the way to polling stations, not to talk of casting votes. He too has gone the way of others who choose to abandon their home fronts in the name of strategising and now among the frontline opposition of the mainstream PDP in the state.

Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya

Described by many as a gentleman, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya has been a commissioner since 2003 when Goje came on board. As the commissioner in charge of Finance since his first appointment in 2003 to date, he has demonstrated a degree of competence in leadership. Inuwa has a good chance to become Governor in the state in view of his principles, couple withhis influential background which he intends to deploy into the race.

Senator Abdullahi Idris

This never smiling senator who rose from his law chamber in Kano straight to the National Assembly as a member of the House of Representatives in 1999, got re-elected in 2003 and became a senator in 2007, is one of those doing all they could to conceal their interest but to no avail. His interest has long being speculated even before the 2007 general elections.

It still baffles many what makes this man tick, to the extent that he now guns for the political symbol of the state. For Barrister Idris however, the fact that there is no constituency project or any empowerment programme to his credit may count as a minus against him.

Apart from his miserly disposition could turn out to be a clog in his wheel, it is also feared that if the trend in Gombe where the bees buzz only around a flourishing flower is a determining factor, his chances, given a level playing ground, are quite slim.

Furthermore, if feelers that the PDP caucus is contemplating zoning the seat from the Central zone are true, it then means that he has been methodically and calculatively dislodged from contention under the PDP.

His other great undoing seems to be his quarrel with his people at home as he is only either seen on television or photographs. This may be a major factor why Goje may not bless his candidature. Above all, it is clear, and Goje has sounded it loud and clear, that he has not anointed any candidate but would only be happy to hand over power to a patriot who would continue with all the good things he has started and those he has established in Gombe state.

Ibrahim Dasuki Jalo-Waziri

This young and enterprising son of a former senator is presently the national President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).

However, Goje’s continued affirmation of not having an anointed candidate makes the likelihood of his candidature very doubtful even though he is from a family that is politically relevant. This family is believed to be very pivotal to his becoming the Chairman of Gombe Local Government in the first place.

Having been a Local Government Chief Executive for years, it would be a mistake to say he lacks the requisite credentials to run the state if given the chance. However, those against him have sworn that the PDP in the state would rather be drowned than to have Dasuki lead them.

Also, those against him do not admire the scenario of his youthfulness and his relationship with the incumbent governor, even though he, alongside his supporters, feel these problems are surmountable when the door is opened for political campaigns.