The just-concluded primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that led to the choice of Prince Abubakar Audu, former governor of Kogi State, as the standard-bearer of the party for the forth-coming gubernatorial election, has elicited mixed reactions from political analysts in the state. A cross-section of people believes that the emergence of Prince Audu as the APC candidate is not in any way different from Capt Wada, the gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Their reservations are that while the incumbent Governor Wada is found wanting in leadership qualities, the likes of Audu is corrupt-ridden. The state cannot afford to have his type as governor again, since he was fond of making state resources look like his personal assets.

Those who held this view decried the manner in which the prince named most public institutions in the state after himself, when he served as governor of the state. Also, they believe that Audu presently has corruption cases with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on his neck, and morality demands a person of such character should not be projected to public office again. With the above reservations, the Kogi people are in a dilemma on the choice of candidate between Prince Audu and Capt Wada, as the next governor. They noted that the duo had contributed to underdevelopment of the state and, as a result, their candidacies are likened to making a choice between two devils. Those totally opposed to their candidacies canvassed for credible and untainted candidates in another party. This was how the idea of rooting for the choice of Yahaya Bello, popularly known as Fair-Plus, the second runner-up in the just-concluded APC primary election, to seek the mandate of his people under the Social Democratic Party (SDP) came to be. Those pushing for his candidacy in SDP are majorly power-shift advocates, and those who have their mind made up that power must shift from Igalla axis to either Kogi Central or Kogi West. They maintained that Igalla axis has been producing the governors of the state since its creation, noting that even if Prince Audu is considered good in some ways, they cannot tolerate person from the eastern axis as the governor of the state anymore. Thus, the current Kogi political drama has triggered the call for Bello’s defection to the SDP. Bello’s defection has also dominated the political scene to the extent that it divided those clamouring for power-shift. Some supported it while others against it. Those who kicked against it believe that it will amount to political suicide for Bello, first political-timer to defect to another party, thus advising him remain with the APC, no matter what goes wrong.

Those opposed to his defection maintained that the former deputy governor, Dr Philips Salawu, had secured Labour Party’s ticket. As a result, it will amount to dividing of votes in Kogi Central, if he too goes ahead to secure SDP’s ticket as planned. Also, those who supported Bello’s defection have shoved Dr Salawu aside, saying he is a political under-dog. They averred that he has no good political structure in the state that would enable him garner large votes of the people. Therefore, the choice of Yahaya Bello is still the right option. Also, Bello’s defection advocates likened his plan to President Muhammadu Buhari’s who had to jump from one political party to another, in order to actualise his political dream; and, today, it came successful. The political pundits on the side of Bello’s defection have also cited present Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko’s political experience. He, too, had to dump PDP to seek the mandate of his people under Labour Party, and he later won the election. Furthermore, Bello’s defection advocates are quick to use the case of the present Governor of Adamawa State, Jibrila Bindow, who dumped both PDP and APC to seek the mandate of his people under the umbrella of an unpopular party, the Social Democratic Party, and came out victorious during the last general election.

The foregoing divergent views expressed by the various schools of thought formed the subject matter of my article. It is intended to educate and enlighten the populace on the issue of power-shift, which yours truly equally believe in. To start with, I must first of all commend the doggedness of Mr Bello in the just concluded APC primary. He had really made Ebira youths proud and has, indeed, shown to Kogi State in general that positive result awaits us if we keep to our dream. On his planned defection, I must, therefore, say that we need to tell ourselves the truth: Mr Bello is not ripe for it now. This is his first time of coming into politics and it will be very bad to start politics with defection, since he had no single political structure in Kogi State, unlike President Buhari, Mimiko and Jibrila with whom people were comparing him. Yes, it is on record that these people had defected and came out victorious at the election, but their political life is not the same way with Bello. I want to remind readers that what makes many to queue behind Buhari at every election was because of his anti-corruption posture and good records in the time past. President Buhari has made good records for himself in the different political positions he has held as incorruptible and untainted leader. We shall get it wrong today if we liken Bello to him. Let me reiterate that many other qualities people had vouched Buhari for is not seen in Mr Bello, if we want go by that. He has not been tested and proven to be ant-corruption crusader or not wealth- driven, unlike Buhari, if given the opportunity to serve. It will be very wrong to relate Buhari’s political life to Bello’s in this regard as the duo do not possess the same attributes. What is even the sellable point of Yahaya Bello, if I must ask, other than promises: making education better, construct good roads and look into the yearnings of youths if elected, just like an average politician?

I want to reiterate that national politics is different from state politics. What people look for in the choice of a person for the President of Nigeria are mostly not the same for a state governor. There are many factors that come to play in state politics which are mostly not considered at the national level.

To buttress my point, before Dr Mimiko dumped PDP to seek the mandate of his people under Labour Party, he was not a political under-dog. He was a politician to reckon with in Ondo State given his past political life. He commanded large following before he finally defected. My Kogi readers should understand that before Mimiko defected, he was one time past commissioner and Secretary to the State Government. After holding these positions, he was later nominated as Minister for Housing and Development under President Olusegun Obasanjo. He had used these political positions to build political structure for himself. That accounted for his strong political structure in Ondo when he finally dumped the PDP to seek mandate of his people under Labour Party platform. So, those comparing Mimiko and Bello on defection should better take a look at this instance, as the two are incomparable, in view of what I have stated earlier.

Bringing current Governor of Adamawa State, Jibrilla and Bello for study also raises some questions. Before he sought the mandate of his people under SDP and won, Jibrilla was a tested and experienced politician. He had tested his political might in two PDP primary elections, and always had strong showing, if not manipulated. In the 2011 PDP primary election, it was rumoured that he actually defeated erstwhile governor Muritala Nyako, if not the power-that-be from above that upturned the outcome of the election. The man, Alhaji Jibrilla had commanded large following to the extent that even when he finally defected to another party, his cultic supporters followed him. That accounts for why he came out victorious when he finally opted for the SDP instead of the APC and PDP in the last general election. Jibrila’s success was borne out of the fact that he is grassroots-oriented politician. He was a man that dines with the common man in the street and knows how to meet their demand anytime. He is a man that makes himself available to the people at home without carving a cage around himself. He is a man that average people in the street can easily knock on his door and the door will be opened without restriction any day. He is a humanitarian and people-oriented person. And, he must have been doing this before he made his political interest known to his people. Thus, bringing Bello (Fair-plus) here, his defection advocates should not make that costly mistake of citing the case of the Adamawa governor to back. Jibrila was far ahead of him in terms of one-on-one contact with the people before seeking their mandate. Against the foregoing background, Mr Bello, doesn’t fit into the mould as Jibrila, who won the governorship election with the ticket of a relatively unknown political party, the SDP. I would advise that Bello should use the next four years to build a good political structure in APC, and not to be cowed by people deceiving him to dump his party for the SDP. If he does, it will be counter-productive. He should use time between now and 2019 to correct his mistakes and re-strategise for the next Kogi election. He is not too late to be governor of the state. I am saying this because there is no assurance now that he can single-handedly bring down the present PDP and APC to their knees without massive support of the people. He should not be deceived by large number of Facebook followers. If he is very popular, he would have won the primary election, no matter the divide of votes from Kogi Central, of which many had complained.

On the issue of power-shift, I want to say that all is not lost. We still have hope. Contrary to the general belief that Dr Salawu, candidate of the Labour Party, is an under-dog in politics. He is not. This is a person that had served the state as deputy governor for eight good years. There are many people who have benefitted from him in one way or the other. Such people remain his followers, even if he stands for the gubernatorial election tomorrow. If we are resolute in our power-shift, we can afford to support Salawu instead of asking Bello to defect to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

•Mr Ojate, a journalist and public affairs commentator, sent this piece from Abuja. He could be reached on 08052666344 or 08102658380. Photo shows Yahaya Bello a.k.a Fair-Plus.