If you are an unbiased watcher of politics in Nigeria, you will admire some governors in spite of one of the worst political eras of our time. One such governor is that of Adamawa state, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, who won federal government’s award twice in an opposition.
Fintiri performed so well as an opposition PDP that most political analysts wondered why such a frontline governor, who was seen as Mr Fixer, could quit his party for a ruling party that he decimated in his state to oblivion.
Whether the governor got his arithmetic correct or not is the reason he is walking a tight rope today.
Sources explained that Fintiri, as a PDP governor, became a hero of his people and showed exceptional political skills, convoluting his support base in to a consolidated majority. One of the ways he achieved this was by releasing majority of tribal minorities from cultural bondage that they were subjected to for decades.
These minorities, as history shows, are actually the majority in terms numerical strength in the state but were suppressed for so long that the sudden freedom from the governor genuinely reawakened them like a whirlwind making them see him as a savior. However, this didn’t come without a price.
The price was a defining moment for the governor’s turn around as the people quickly owned him and demanded a very powerful political commitment from him to ensure one of theirs continues to sit on the powerful political stool of the state.
The commitment was for Fintiri to in turn enjoy unsolicited support as the leader of the majority who have continued to insist they’re the only indigenous peoples of the state. Facts show that these indigenous peoples are over 85 ethnic groups and had been living in what’s now called Adamawa since 1750.
In spite of this rollercoaster political clout that made his party, the PDP, to sweep all oppositions to the dustbin in the state, Governor Fintiri still moved the entire PDP party structure to the APC that was almost non-existent in his state.
It is this act that left pundits wondering what the calculation was. And while analysts were cracking their heads, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu himself welcomed Fintiri into the party as the leader of the party, shocking some APC chieftains from the state.
Did Governor Fintiri enter a trap? This question is relevant because today, the governor, no doubt, is caught between his enormous support base who are demanding he keeps his promise to give them the first position in the state as his successor while, on the other hand, a tiny but powerful clan that has for long entrenched itself in the corridors of Nigeria presidency, been manipulating to grab the governorship and consolidate their hold on the state. Yeah, this is politics you will not know when it turns sour.
For now, who will blink first? Will Fintiri succumb to the powers in the presidency or will he keep his word to his overwhelming supporters who are not ready to allow power to slip back into the hands of the few they have considered as their traducers?
If you watch carefully, tension has already started mounting over the primaries. The ethnic nationalities or groups are saying democracy is about the majority, it is not bought, it’s not about race, it’s not about primordial legacies, therefore, they are in the majority and enough is enough.
APC must exercise retraint because Adamawa has had its fair share of political misdemeanor that could explode uncontrollably. In 2023, there was an attempt to snatch power from the present incumbent by force. What the people fear most today is a repeat of this dastardly act during the primaries.
Already, there are whispers that the primaries have been fixed with the consent of Mr President. The president must dispel this rumour by insisting that the leader of the party in the state, who is not contesting governorship again, should ensure a level playing ground for all to test their popularity.
As it stands, it’s somehow gathering legitimacy and majority-minorities are on edge while the powerful small minority are flexing muscles and taunting!
