The Odds That Nailed PDP’s Kano Outing

THE Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) poor outing in the just concluded governorship and state assembly elections can be attributed to many political variables at play before the conduct of the exercise.

One factor was the lackadaisical political behaviour of major players in the party. PDP was too weak as an opposition party in Kano before the former governor of the state, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, who is presently the Minister of Education, joined its ranks. It was Shekarau who raised the hopes of the hitherto dying party after the exit of the incumbent governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, from the party.

Another cause of the injury to PDP in the state was the way the federal government handled the issue of insecurity in the country, especially in the North East region. Kano is one of the states receiving a high percentage of refugees from the North East axis. Narratives about happenings in Borno, Yobe and Damaturu were made to Kano people first hand. The agony was palpable and all fingers pointed at the government in power.

At a special sermon during Friday prayer, on the eve of the election, the Emir of Kano, Mallam Muhammadu Sanusi II, preached on the need for the electorate to vote for people who could protect their lives, a sermon that was understood by thousands of worshippers at the Central Mosque to mean departing from the status quo.

Another factor responsible for PDP’s defeat was poor distribution of ‘party logistics’ shortly before election day. It was alleged that when the ‘thing’ arrived Kano from Abuja, people at the forefront of marketing the party collected a paltry N9,000. Also, it was alleged that on the eve of the election, only Shekarau ‘greased the elbow’ of contestants and other party members. This reportedly made many supporters disinterested.

‘Hurricane Buhari’ also contributed immensely in downsizing PDP in the state, especially after General Muhammadu Buhari’s was declared winner of the presidential election. Evidently, the morale of PDP supporters was shot down mercilessly. Two weeks was not time enough for the PDP to regain consciousness, when suddenly came the governorship election.

APC was wise enough to buy airtimes at local radio stations that relayed Buhari’s voice, calling on his supporters to vote for the party’s candidates at the gubernatorial and state assembly elections. Generally speaking, the APC was more strategic at media campaigns than the PDP.

And while PDP could only boast of Shekarau, the APC, on the other hand, had Buhari, Kwankwaso and other stalwarts needed to take the party to greater heights.