For a man whose political career was propelled by other peoples deaths much more dramatically than that of perhaps any other politician in the country (except the President of course), it is somewhat ironic that it is the same cold hands of death that brought his career to an abrupt, shocking, and sad end. Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa (fondly called “Na Kowa”), died in a helicopter accident at the weekend as Kaduna State governor. He became governor after the death of President Umaru Yaradua and the subsequent elevation of the then Governor Namadi Sambo to the Vice Presidency. Prior to this, late Sir Yakowa was the deputy Governor of Kaduna State a position that was thrust onto him after the death of the erstwhile deputy governor Stephen Shekari. And much earlier than all of that, it was still death (of General Sani Abacha) that in fact brought him to national political limelight when he was appointed a Minister by General Abdulsalami Abubakar.

Like the death of Yaradua before him, the passing of Yakowa is a major political game changer in the State. The extent to which the game would change cannot be fully appreciated in these early days but some things are already apparent even for non-political observers like myself. Below I outline some of them….

Let’s start with the most apparent. Power has shifted back to Northern Kaduna. This in itself has several implications. First, it means that barring any cataclysmic game-changing event like the one that brought Yakowa to power, power is likely to remain in the northern parts of the State (Kaduna North and Kaduna Central Senatorial Zones). This simply is because democracy is a game of numbers and in Kaduna State it is played by ethno-religious rules. Going by the voter registration figures of 2011, the chances of a candidate from the southern part of the State winning the governorship elections is as slim as the chances of a Hausa winning in Plateau State or a Muslim winning the Chairmanship of Zangon Kataf LG. Of course everything changes if the significance given to ethnicity and religion by both sides (there are sides) in the politics of the State is reduced. But don’t hold your breath because it’s a long long way coming, if ever. If you want to know why, go to any tertiary institution in the State and look around. You are bound to find several notices of meetings by Student Associations of different States. But when it comes to Kaduna you are likely to find two notices; one from the Zazzau forum (meant loosely to represent students from the North of the State) and another from the student wing of SOKAPU (Southern Kaduna Peoples Union). In other words even the younger generation (the future leaders) have adopted the existing fault-lines. So when the future eventually comes and it’s their turn to play the politics in the state, chances are both camps (there are camps too) will play the game by the same rules as did their forebears because those rules are the only ones they know.

Secondly, a shift of the governorship position from the south to the north means that the internal zoning arrangement (unwritten of course like all other zoning arrangements) will have to be adjusted to reflect current realities. The position of the secretary to the state government for instance, currently held by Lawal Samaila Yakawada (form Giwa LG in Northern Kaduna), will have to be given to someone from Southern Kaduna. Same with the PDP Chairmanship currently held by Nuhu Bajoga (from Southern Kaduna) will have to move to the North. And if there is a shakeup at the Federal cabinet, a minister like Hadiza Mailafiya is not likely to return for not being from Southern Kaduna which normally gets the ministerial slot.



http://gainaako./2012/12/21/another-political-game-changer-in-kaduna/