OPINION: Governor Idris, Ignore Abubakar Malami’s Khadimiyyah At Your Perile
‘A debtor always thinks that tomorrow is far’ – Comrade Adams Oshiomole
The former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Hon. Abubakar Malami SAN, does not need introduction in the present-day Nigerian political spectrum. He played a key role in the formation of Buhari’s defunct Congress for Progressive Change and also served as its National Legal Adviser. In the days leading to the merging of political parties that formed the All Progressive Congress, Malami was part of the team that worked tirelessly for the legal instrument that gave birth to the APC. He was the longest-serving Attorney General and Minister of Justice. Malami is still a close confidant and a trusted associate of former president Muhammadu Buhari.
In 2014 Malami was a front-runner among the APC governorship candidates in Kebbi state, when the then national party leadership persuaded him to step down and support the candidature of Atiku Bagudu. Malami withdrew from the race and Atiku Bagudu won the election convincingly. In the last general elections, President Muhammadu Buhari did not approve the resignation of Malami, his Minister of Justice, to contest the governorship election of Kebbi state, despite his repeated attempts.
This led to a serious voter’s apathy that greatly affected the chances of APC in Kebbi State. Because at the end of the presidential elections, even the incumbent governor lost his senatorial bid to the PDP.
During the 2023 presidential elections, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won all three senatorial seats and almost all members of the federal House of Representatives in Kebbi state. Invariably, APC was defeated. Supporters of PDP have started celebrating and are waiting for the governorship election to seal their victory. That was the time Malami called his Khadimiyyah political family to come in for the rescue. The Khadimiyyah is a political foundation with more than one hundred associated supporters’ groups, with a combined membership of more than half a million registered voters across all the local government areas of Kebbi State.
Over the years, Malami used the Khadimmiyah Foundation to touch many lives in Kebbi state, through youth empowerment, skill acquisition, scholarship grants and employment opportunities for young graduates. The Khadimiyyah change the narratives of political support in the Kebbi state. Initially, the Khadimiyyah was canvassing to support Malami for Governor of Kebbi state. However, in his absence, the party settled with Nasir Idris as its flagbearer for the governorship election.
By the time APC lost the three senators to PDP, it was obvious that Nasir Idris did not have the support, preparation and influence required to win the election in the Land of Equity. The electorates have spoken. Let the truth be told, the people of Kebbi state were disappointed that Abubakar Malami was not their candidate. While Malami was busy building his political career over the years, Nasir Idris was an ordinary classroom teacher with no political background. Nevertheless, Malami came and assembled the entire Khadimiyyah supporters with their teeming foot soldiers and pleaded with them to come out and deliver Kebbi state to APC.
Within a week, Malami and leaders of the Khadhimiyah Foundation went around all the local government areas addressing political gatherings, making promises and assuaging the fears of the people. They succeeded in mobilizing enough people to come out and exercise their civic responsibility. The following week APC won the governorship election with a landslide victory, and Nasir Idris was declared the winner of that election.
Therefore, it is not exaggerating to say that without the support of Malami and his Khadimiyyah political foundation, Governor Nasir Idris would have been defeated just like his predecessor who lost his senatorial election to PDP. Nasir would have been confined to the dustbin of defeated gubernatorial candidates. By now he would still be leaking his wounds and counting his losses. I don’t know if the relationship between Governor Idris Nasir Idris and his biggest political supporter and financier Abubakar Malami is still cordial. But I am bold to say that the Governor’s relationship with Khadimiyyah’s political supporters is far from normal.
Successful politicians know the value of forming and maintaining political alliances. In 1981 President Shehu Shagari pardoned Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu of his treasonable felony and succeeded in allying with eastern Nigerian voters. Today other state governors are capitalizing on the strength of their alliances, in Kebbi state the reverse is the case.
Acting like a bull in the China shop, Governor Nasir Idris has been busy destroying all the political alliances that brought him to power without regard. If you add this to his shrinking political popularity and marginal record of performance, he is likely to be a one-term governor in Kebbi state. The political debt of the last general election has not been paid, yet another election is around the corner. It remains to be seen how the governor is going to navigate the murky waters of the Kebbi state political space with his excess luggage.
– Engr Aminu Ganda MNSE can be reached via [email protected]
Disclaimer: This article is entirely the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of The Whistler.
OPINION: Governor Idris, Ignore Abubakar Malami’s Khadimiyyah At Your Perile is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
