By Abdulkareem Hassan, Lafia
I do not understand why the All Progressives Congress (APC), the ruling party in Nasarawa State, and the state government have become so jittery over the recent defections rocking the party.
The truth is simple: what is happening today in Nasarawa state is a direct consequence of the choices Govenor Abdullahi Sule and his co-travelers made during the recent primary elections
At a critical moment, a respected stakeholder advised the Governor Sule and the Nasarawa APC on the need to conduct transparent, inclusive, and credible primaries that would strengthen party cohesion and produce candidates acceptable to the majority of party members.
Rather than listen to wise counsel, the response he received was ridicule, insults, and accusations that he was only advocating for “free, fair, and credible” primaries because he supposedly had a preferred candidate.
Instead of embracing internal democracy, the Governor Sule and his ci-travelers chose the path of manipulation and impunity. What took place in the name of party primaries was widely perceived by many loyal party faithful as a charade, an exercise marred by open manipulation, predetermined outcomes, and questionable results.
Naturally, many committed members felt cheated, sidelined, and betrayed after years of loyalty and sacrifice to the party.
Those who left the party did not do so overnight or without reason. They simply decided to seek another political platform where they could test the true popularity of the candidates and validate whether the “written results” announced during the APC primaries genuinely reflected the wishes of party members and the ordinary people of Nasarawa state .
Ironically, since that wave of resignations and defections began, the same individuals who ignored calls for fairness have been running helter-skelter; organizing media outings, issuing press statements, and desperately looking for scapegoats to blame.
Yet, the very person they are trying to vilify today was the one who consistently advocated for peace, fairness, unity, and credible elections within the party.
You cannot destroy what a man painstakingly built through years of sacrifice, political consultations, grassroots mobilization, and consensus-building among both the masses and the elite, and then turn around to blame him for the cracks your actions created.
If Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura ; a founding pillar of the APC in Nasarawa State and the political leader who played a central role in the emergence of Governor Abdullahi Sule, cannot advise the governor on how to properly manage party affairs and political strategy, what then makes anyone believe he can dictate to former Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu (Walin Lafia), on how to pursue his political ambition?
Political leadership is built on consultation, respect, inclusion, and trust, not intimidation, imposition, or manufactured outcomes. The current turmoil within the APC in Nasarawa State is not the fault of those speaking out; it is the inevitable outcome of poor political decisions and avoidable mistakes.
The reality is harsh, but it must be faced.You made your bed; now you must lie on it.
