|
Northern
governors’ threat on Dariye
With each passing
day, embattled Governor Joshua Dariye must be wondering at the kind of dish
life has served him .It was not only his lot to be a guinea pig of political
high-handedness under the current dispensation, but he has to contend with the
congregated opposition within his party, his state and even among fellow
governors who seem bent on rooting him out of the Government House.
The imposition of
emergency rule in Plateau was bad enough but the raw aversion from certain
indigenes against his come- back bid gives food for thought.
Arguably, having
stepped on rather sensitive and unforgiving toes, it remains a wonder that the
governor is still being prepared for the axe almost six months after the May
18 bombshell.
The reported
revelation that five state governors were part of the clandestine drive to
impose a state of emergency with the attendant suspension of democratic
structures goes to show that the threat to democracy is really from the
politicians themselves who are ready to upset somebody’s apple cart for
whatever ulterior reason.
How could
Dariye incur the blind anger of certain powerful interests in his home state,
have a probe of his financial dealings dangling on his uneasy head and at the
same time become a pariah within the Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF)?
While it can be
said that political differences could have largely contributed to the first two
posers, how does one rationalize the polarization within the NGF to the extent
that fellow governors would sacrifice one of their own? It is really
instructive to analyse the statement credited to the Jigawa State governor and
Chairman of the NGF, Saminu Turaki that some governors actually canvassed for
the state of emergency in Plateau, pretending that the kind of civil unrests
witnessed in the state was entirely strange.
That aside, why
would the same group unite again to ensure that the governor does not return?
Though it has been suggested that those spearheading the impending ouster are
in the minority, it is not unlikely that they can navigate opinions within NGF
to the desired conclusion.
Turaki wants us
to believe that he sympathises with Dariye, but says that others may not be so
favourably disposed.
“ I
don’t want to express my personal view. But some of my colleagues said at
a meeting that they are against him coming back. Four spoke against him coming
back, but they are not the majority”.
Certainly, Dariye
now knows those he is up against. And he needs a lot of political sagacity to
overcome this clear and present danger.
|
