The problem with APC ‘sak’

In 2007,  Muhammadu Buhari as the flag bearer of the All Nigeria Peoples Party  uttered this phrase “ANPP SAK” at his Daura country home after casting his vote. Literally, the Kastina born general was simply sending a message to his teeming supporters to vote only for the party’s candidates from the presidential, governorship, National and state houses of assembly. Though he did not win, many governors and lawmakers in the North rode to victory on this slogan. Ever since, the phrase became popular throughout Northern Nigeria among his supporters.

The “Sak” syndrome otherwise known as the ‘’Buhari hurricane’’ spread like wildfire in the 2015 general elections across Nigeria, because he  came out of  his shell by rebranding himself as a Nigerian presidential material and  not a Northern hero for the first time. This he did by reaching out to Bola Tinubu, Rotimi Amaechi and other political stakeholders. As a result, he had a wider appeal in the elections cutting across religious, ethnic and professional divide. Virtually, all torchbearers of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had their pictures beside Buhari’s on their posters signifying they were with him. Every governorship candidate in Northern Nigeria on the party’s ticket  urged his supporters to vote APC “SAK”.  The people voted ‘SAK’ not because they knew them or their ability to deliver, but because they ‘’belonged’’ to the APC platform.

Even some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates in the far North, had Buhari’s picture on their posters knowing  well that Goodluck Jonathan will not sell among their people as they  were angry over his handling of the Boko Haram insurgency. His wife’s negative comments about their way of life also did not help matters. This group were referred to as ‘’waake da shinkafa’’ meaning Rice and beans in Hausa. Their thinking was that they would vote Buhari as president and vote their party’s candidates in the state,national assembly and governorship elections. Many of them did not scale through as the Buhari hurricane swept them away.

In fact, there was this story of an old woman in Kwara state who went to vote, but, could not read nor write. She then requested help from the polling clerk who asked her whom she wanted  to vote and she said ‘’Baba Buhari’s people’’ In this way, most of the APC members in the state and national assembly, as well as well governors won their elections on Buhari’s goodwill. Due to lack of political ideology in our politics, no attempt was made to enquire if these APC candidates were people who could deliver, but, their mere printing of Buhari’s posters with theirs became the yardstick for electing them. The people forgot that the mere fact that you put groundnut cake (kulikuli) in the oven does not turn them into biscuits. In other words, being in the same party with Muhammadu Buhari does not mean one shared his ideals. It is just like concluding that all Buhari’s children will share his views about living a Spartan life which has to be backed up by empirical evidence.

With the elections over, the consequences of “SAK” started manifesting at the National Assembly with crisis over choice of leadership, wardrobe allowance, Immunity clause,life pension and missing budget instead of legislating for the good of the people. Some of the APC governors did not fare better either.

To worsen matters ,the show of shame currently playing out in the House of Representatives between Speaker,Yakubu Dogara and erstwhile chairman of Appropriation committee, AbdulMuminu Jibrin further ridiculed the electorate who defied the scorching sun and late arrival of election materials at polling stations to vote APC candidates.  Jibrin shocked  Nigerians to the bone marrow  when he narrated how some lawmakers turned the 2016 budget into their wife’s pot of soup that they could take as much as they wanted. The revelations from the ‘’padding gate’’ scandal between the duo can best be compared to an estranged house wife trying to pull down her ex husband by spilling the beans on all the dirty things they did together. Many of us find this puzzling because both chambers of the National Assembly are by controlled by APC, yet they have not shown any remarkable difference between them the PDP.

The first signs of disappointment emanated from Katsina, home state of President Buhari  in August 2015, where Governor Aminu Bello Masari allegedly attempted to get  Eleven billion Naira bailout funds from the federal government under the guise that Ibrahim Shema owed  two  month salary arrears. However, the bubble burst as some members of the state house of assembly aborted the move and wrote the federal government. The president apparently miffed by the incident started dinning with Masari with a long spoon. Many felt disappointed that considering Masari’s age,political experience and how he made three attempts before clinching victory the fourth time should make him be above board.  He fired another bad shot last week when he purchased 4,500 goats under a women empowerment scheme that mocks poverty alleviation.

While Nigerians were yet to get over the Masari case, another consequence of ‘’SAK’’ reared its ugly in the home state of the President’s wife, Adamawa. Governor Jibrilla Bindow in December 2015 gave his people another bitter pill to swallow by saying his loyalty was to Atiku Abubakar who funded his campaigns. “  I shifted loyalty  to former Vice-President  Atiku Abubakar because of the Five hundred million naira  he gave me to support my governorship campaigns’’ Bindow, rode to Government house,Yola on the crest of  the Buhari hurricane beating a better and more credible candidate,Nuhu Ribadu of the PDP due to bad political calculations. He later denied it, but the damage had been done. Earlier, he had nominated Atiku’s daughter as commissioner and she was screened and confirmed by the lawmakers in absentia, a thing which infuriated the people.

Among the North eastern states, Adamawa has not been lucky with governors since 1999. Boni Haruna who took over after Atiku was chosen as Obasanjo’s running mate could not perform as he was tied to the apron of his godfather. Murtala Nyako was worse as he promoted Fulani hegemony and corruption,owed civil servants for several months, this accounted for why the lawmakers could impeach him easily. Bindow according to political observers is a glorified version of a political buffoon because of his lack of public speaking etiquette.

From Adamawa to Zamfara, it is the same sordid story of disappointment with Governor Abdul’aziz Yari, who also doubles as chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF). He has earned a gold medal as an absentee governor who is always globetrotting in search of non- existent investors, while armed bandits kill his people in their hundreds.  When the state lawmakers threatened to impeach him over this and other sundry allegations, he got the principal officers of the house arrested by the State Security Services.Yari added salt to injury when he was quoted by newsmen at the Sokoto Airport that’ his alleged frequent trips were not crippling government activities as he can run the state from anywhere, even in the air’’. For God’s sake, how will a governor popularly elected and a beneficiary of the ‘’SAK’’ hurricane talk to his people in such a rude manner. Following the intervention of stakeholders, the impeachment plot has been shelved and truce reached at least for now.

The disaster emanating from the ‘’SAK’’ hurricane is not limited to governors, senators and representatives, but also members of the state house of assembly. In Plateau state,Baba Hassan a.k.a (Babs), former deputy speaker at the state house of assembly 2011-2015 had re-contested the Jos North state constituency seat on the APC platform.The Council of Ulamas in Jos North who have assigned themselves the role of choosing  who the people vote since 2001 when the state started experiencing ethno religious conflicts believed he should not return due to alleged poor performance. They urged the people to vote for the candidate of the Labour party.

The Jama’atu Izalatul Bidi’ah Wa Ikamatis Sunnah(JIBWIS) led by Sheik Yahaya Jingir felt otherwise. He believed Buhari’s ‘’SAK” must be respected to the last letter. Hence, he should be returned like anyone on the APC platform. Hassan, in the usual Nigerian politician style did not campaign as he was sure of victory. He was re-elected and is standing trial for certificate forgery  in a Jos court for several months now. Details from the trial has so far highlighted the tragedy of ‘’SAK’’ as the court has summoned the registrar of the University of Jos over conflicting statements allegedly issued by the university over the matter.I believe we are yet to see the worst of ‘’APC SAK’’ as the Hausa man will say, you cannot praise the son of leper until he spends a decade with his fingers intact.

For some of us who campaigned for Buhari because we believed in him to make Nigeria better feel like our world and self esteem is falling out, just like a road  eaten by gully erosion when we see consequences of ‘’APC SAK’’ all over the place. I sympathize with the President who will have to deal with the taunt of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and many others angry with him over his anti-corruption campaign every day. For Nigeria to develop, build strong institutions and make life more meaningful for her citizens, she need to stop electing people on the basis of their political platform, but their individual credentials. In the absence of this, we will continue to have our worst eleven in elected offices.

Lawal,can be reached at [email protected]: AbdulRafiu19