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Sunday, 06 March 2011

Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), General Muhammadu Buhari appears to be losing grip of the political elite of the North West, most of whom are said to be confused as to what the man stands for.

Investigations by Sunday Tribune confirmed at the weekend that there is a lot of ambiguity surrounding the candidature of Buhari among leaders of the North West.

Sources revealed that recent meetings among some political leaders of the zone, especially those in the vanguard of the actualisation of zoning in April, indicated a lack of clarity as to what Buhari stands for in the run-up to the next general election.

Sources confirmed that the leaders of the zone are wary of the usual character sketch of Buhari, which has been flaunted over the years, adding that the zone expects the CPC candidate to directly communicate with the leaders and that Buhari has not been forthcoming.

So far, leaders of the Arewa Consultative Forum(ACF), the Unity Forum(UF) and the youth groups, who wanted to sound Buhari out on his plans for the general election have been shunned by the General.

A source said that a recent meeting between leaders of the CPC and the UF pleaded with Buhari to consider meeting the political leaders of the North West to afford them the opportunity of x-raying his programmes.

It was gathered that so far, Buhari’s men are relying on religion as the main campaign weapon to prosecute the election in parts of the North.

“Some religious leaders were being recruited to continually highlight religious differences as an issue in the coming election and most of them singing the Buhari song,” a source said at the weekend.

Beside Buhari’s failure to meet with key stakeholders in the region, he has also distanced himself from the agitations of the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF) headed by Alhaji Adamu Ciroma.

The NPLF led a stiff battle against President Goodluck Jonathan before the primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in January.

It was gathered that while Jonathan has met with leaders of the North including Ciroma and has stated clearly that he would not run for office in 2015, Buhari is relying on the street campaign and sentiments to win.

A source said that the Neighbour to Neighbour campaign of the Jonathan Organization and the resolve of the northern leaders to name him “Mainasara,” which translates to the winner, are also paying off positively for Jonathan.

It was also gathered that key supporters of Buhari in the zone including Senator Adamu Aliero, Dr. Tanimu Yakubu and Dr. Sauyyadi Abba Ruma are recruiting the crowd heavily to pass a message of popularity whenever Buhari campaigns anywhere in the North.

But Buhari’s association with the likes of Aliero and Ruma is also said to be courting him some displeasure among the discerning public, especially in view of the roles played by many of them during the prolonged illness of the late president Umaru Yar’Adua.

“Quite unlike what many people outside the North are being told, the Buhari popularity is more on paper for now. The determinants of elections vary from state to state and he is not earning the confidence of the leaders,” a top political leader in the north said, adding that so far Buhari remains a dreaded politician because he doesn’t give much away.

It was learnt that the coming election would be influenced by region and religion, those working for Jonathan in Kaduna and states of the North West are unrelenting. They have continued to traverse the nooks and crannies of the state to sell and project his candidature. They are also meeting with Islamic clerics to convince them on the need to vote for Jonathan and the incumbent state governor, Patrick Yakowa, who they claimed, were good friends of the Muslims and have a lot in stock for them once they emerge successful in the elections.

Another source said that Buhari’s claim to probity is becoming suspect in view of his romance with some of those who are being investigated for corruption, such persons have now used their money to hijack the CPC machinery, a source said.

The CPC governorship candidate in Katsina State, Senator Yakubu Lado Danmarke has been arrested by the police.

Danmarke was apprehended early Saturday at about 3.00am at Liyafa Hotel situated along the ring road linking Katsina-Mani road in the state capital.

Investigation by Sunday Tribune revealed that, the Senator is being detained at the State Police Headquarters along Daura road.

The state Police Command PPRO, ASP Abubakar Ibrahim, when contacted confirmed the arrest of the serving senator, saying that the arrest was based on a petition received by the command.

However, it was gathered that the arrest may not be unconnected with the recent clash between the state governor’s convoy and that of the CPC governorship candidate at Makaurachi village in Batagarawa Local government area of the state last week.

In a related development, the CPC supporters in the state have taken to the streets to protest the arrest of their governorship candidate, Senator Yakubu Lado.

The protesters, who are mainly youths and motorcyclists were heard saying, “Bamu yar’da ba, sai an saki Lado” meaning “we will not agree, release Lado now.”

Even though there was no casualty during the protest, the Police in Katsina have beefed up security in the state capital to wade-off any breach of the law.

When our correspondent went round the metropolis, police patrol teams were seen moving round the town to ensure that everyone was allowed to go about their normal activities.