Gombe still upset by Gwamna’s exit, Nafada swap

The confusion caused by the outgoing governor of Gombe State, Dr. Ibrahim Dankwambo’s decision to swap elective positions with Senator Bayero Nafada on Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is yet to settle.

Although Dr. Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna hurriedly defected to All Progressives Congress (APC) from which Senator Nafada moved out to join PDP, the reverberations of the sudden exit of the Managing Director Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), who was generally believed to be the man to beat for the PDP ticket is still causing ripples among chieftains of the party.

Spokesperson of Governor Dankwambo, Sule Junaidu, released a statement describing Gwamna as a desperate politician who did not make consultations before jumping out of PDP to APC, stressing that the former PDP governorship aspirant’s action will not affect the stature of PDP.

Junaidu also claimed that the fact that no prominent politician in Gombe joined Gwamna to defect to APC shows that he lacks popularity and followership, saying that the KEDCO boss was desperate for power.

But while responding to the tirade from Dankwambo’s spokesman, the media adviser to Gwamna, Mallam Ibrahim Shawai, described it as an attempt to bury the truth in the name of public information.Quoting Wilson Tozer, a popular American editor, Shawai declared: “Of all forms of deception, self-deception is the deadliest and of all deceived persons the self-deceived are the least likely to discover the fraud.’’

He decried using public office to tell lies or deny the obvious truth, saying it is nothing but a representation of the era of poor leadership or error of public service as demonstrated by the naivety of those trying to defend the undemocratic acts of Dankwambo and his partner in political unjustness.

According to Shawai that effort puts paid to the saying that “he who pays the piper that dictates the tune,’’ adding that the level of ignorance or pretence showcased by paid associates of Dankwambo and Senator Nafada, who think the truth would never come out has made them more worrisome threat to the entrenchment of democratic norms in Gombe State.

While commending the decision of Gwamna to quit after noticing the shenanigans of Dankwambo and Nafada, Shawai said: “Notwithstanding, time may not change a sincere leader’s heart, but injustice and political deceits can change a million feelings in no time. Hence, as for Gwamna his feelings only changed when the PDP tiptoed into a party where the emblem of justice and truth is de-emphasised. If Governor Dankwambo, whose feelings you have rightly said had remained the same with time justify good governance, I vehemently disagree.

“That probably gives a clue as to why Gombe State has remained the same within the last seven years without any revolution in infrastructure, a revamp of the agricultural sector and total collapse of the state structures that were bequeathed to him by our symbol of good governance Senator Danjuma Goje.”

As the two leaders continue to trade words, the issue of performance and acceptability crept into the confrontation. Gwamna’s aide regretted that “the structures that made Gombe State a true jewel in the savannah have been in comatose for years since the governor’s poor governance and issues that concern his people had remained unchanged with time while meaningful developments had eluded our state.”

Shawai, alluding to the recent PDP presidential primary, said it was obvious that Dankwambo could not give what he doesn’t have, which is meaningful change, adding, “Little wonder, the N4 billion Gombe Conference Centre remains comatose and become a beautifying monument of no returns on investments.”

He stated: “It was also reported sometimes in June that over N4.4 billion hospital equipment and consumables were lying waste at Gombe State Medical Store for over four years while many inherited general and cottage hospitals, primary health and other health centres were in need of these facilities. This government has proven to be more efficient in wasting the resources of the good people of the state than providing purposeful vision as well as the need-of-the-people oriented projects. The big question is, why?

“In attempt to defend his boss, Junaidu alluded that the governor has done well by paying salaries and I ask, when have payment of salary become a manifesto or should the workers not get what they deserved having worked to earn their pay or is the money not the resource of the state? Why then has the governor refused to pay the pensioners for years or is that not worth mentioning too?”

On the issue of prominent politicians that decamped with Gwamna, Shawai said it was what makes Gwamna a unique personality, stressing, “he stands for the truth and follows it even when it seems he will end up being the lone voice of the voiceless PDP members.”

Gwamna’s aide stated that a number of top PDP chieftains have been calling on “Gwamna to commend his courage to challenge the injustice done to some members of the party. Most PDP members are nothing but APC at heart and voters.”

While insisting that nothing is more frustrating than trying to hide the truth that keeps re-surfacing with time, Shawai declared: “This should be the concern of those who hope to pass the baton of leadership. As for the numbers of followers that Gwamna decamp with, I will crave your indulgence to wait till the campaigns when the waves of unified APC supporters will echo the statistics of Gwamna’s supporters who decamped with him.”

As regards to Gwamna not consulting any stakeholder or PDP chieftains before he decamped to APC, he said it was part of the scripted plans of Dankwambo and Senator Nafada that Gwamna would come for consultation and be persuaded to stay so they could leverage on his supporters to win the elections.

“All these Gwamna is well aware, because there are chieftains, who leaked some of their plans and today Gwamna is being crucified in the media as the expression of the PDP political pains and loss of Gwamna’s unstoppable moves to the APC, which has become already spilt milk for PDP.”