Party Defection: My Token Of Advice For Tambuwal

Way back in my university days, I used to be a “special adviser on political matters” for my fellow students who would want to vie for any political post in the students union government.

There was a time a “Tambuwally-inclined” student came to me for political counselling.

He was in the Student Representative Council, SRC and was contesting for Student’s Walfare Officer.

By constitution, he would have to resign from the SRC before he is qualified to contest for executive post.

Like Tambuwal, he wanted to eat his cake and have it, he wanted to retain his office at the SRC, just in case he lost in the election, and he wants to fall back to his “first love”.

The process is that he would have to tender a resignation letter to the council who would accent and forward to the executive council as a prerequisite to be legible to contest. Continue..

What I “advised” him to do was simple; write a letter but don’t sign on it, give the letter to the clerk of the house, let them tender the letter to electoral committee secretary which he would have to negotiate with to hold it back.

The secretary would not submit the letter until after the candidate wins the election. Should he lose, the electoral committee secretary would retrieve the letter on the ground that it was not recognised based on the fact that the subject did not sign on it.

Just like most Nigerians, the council was too happy to receive the letter without noticing that it was not a signed document. They hastily submit the letter and the expected happened at the election, my friend lost and he successfully fell back to his plan B.

The university setting, as a micro-society is a clear cut picture of what is obtainable in the real world politics. Leaders are greedy, they not only want to eat their cake and have it, they want to eat it and see it multiply too.

This has been our historical pastime in Nigeria as documents hold that some of our fore-front leaders had at one time left their position to contest for a higher realm of political office after which they lose and would fall back to where they used to belong, a practical example is the Awolowo/ Akintola conflict in 1963.

Honorable Tambuwal’s case is a bit different though, he just wanted to remain in the house till after the election. But what happens if he loses?

 Is there any need to go to court to remain in office if you really have your constituency at heart? Was he not the one who passed the law to remove any cross carpetters in the house?

A more reason why Senator David Mark refuses to accept the defection of Saraki and his allies, he refused to read their letters to save their respective heads. Even a primary school pupil knew that the people voted for the party and not the person. It took Honourable Tambuwal many months to consult, and this was the monumental error he resolved to?

Perhaps the constitution was not concise enough in Section 182(1) (g) and Section 318(1) of the 1999 “industrial waste” which should be relevant for that public servant/officer who needed to resign his appointment before he could declare his interest, campaign or contest in an election into political office.

The media had thought he out-smarted his former party, PDP executives by sending house members home till December. Funny enough, he did not only shoot himself in the foot, he has place a bomb in his boxer.

I just wonder at times if the so called political mathematicians don’t do their analysis at all while making some obviously erroneous decisions. Who would have thought General Buhari will ever utter that the “borrowed” to purchase his form (?), what was he thinking?

Why would Rotimi Amaechi in his right mind openly throw shades at Nollywood artists? Well, I never noticed when he is ever in his right mind anyway. I leave his case for another day.

The All progressive Party has routinely, consistently make fatal mistakes since the loss of Ekiti state that I am beginning to wonder if it can really handle defeat.

Tambuwal’s resignation at this material time will only add a feather to his political hat and will serve a point for the people of Sokoto that he has sacrificed is office to serve them, rather than giving out a plate of soup and refusing to let go.

Let him resign like the ministers did. Yes, they are not politically elected  but it is only ideal and reasonable to do so.