Tambuwal at 56: The man, the myth

BY AWWAL GATA

Since leading the legislature to rebel against the transgressing government of President Goodluck Jonathan in a chaotic phase of Nigeria’s democracy, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal’s life has been a masterclass in neutralizing political opponents and threats. For a branch of government that had thrived as a rubber stamp, his tenure as Speaker of the House of Representatives dignified the law-making chamber. But, instead of his feared downfall in taking what seemed like a risky political position, the rebellion made him a national hero and paved the way for a change of government.

As he turns 56 today, January 10, his life remains a subject of adulation. What has set him apart before and after his stint as Nigeria’s fourth citizen was his persistent refusal to appeal to anyone’s sentiments, ever bound by his independent thoughts despite the expected backlash. Ahead of the 2019 elections, following his return to the People’s Democratic Party from All Progressives Congress, on which he got elected as Governor of Sokoto State, the media became abuzz with stories of his war with another cast of godfathers. The self-styled kingmakers had threatened to kill his re-election bid and the certainty of their threats made the country assume that 2019 was his eventual political funeral.

The plot began with the APC stalwarts strategizing to deploy their members at the State House of Assembly to frustrate the Governor. Despite investing heavily in this ambition, 18 of the 30 lawmakers in the assembly joined him in the PDP. But this defeat only instigated wilder machinations to remove him from the Government House. It appeared possible, at least in theoretical projections, because it was assumed by those who had underestimated him that all the APC governors who rode to power in 2015 did so on Buhari’s coattail, and thus, that Buhari’s massive goodwill in the Northwest meant he won’t be returning to the office.

The portrayals of Tambuwal as a crushable opponent either by so-called godfathers or direct opponents seem like a style that’s rather favoured him. It’s made him both a myth and a man, underestimated at one’s peril. When he ran for Speaker without the blessings of his party, the PDP, which was then in power, he found himself at odds with the party’s ‘Mr Fix it,’ Chief Tony Anenih and a powerful gang that included Senator Anyim Pius Anyim and then National Chairman of the party, Dr. Haliru Bello, yet Tambuwal trounced his party’s preferred candidate for the position of Speaker, Hon. Mulikat Adeola-Akande, by 252 to 90 votes—and a legend was born.

Even with their empty talks of stalling Tambuwal’s re-election in 2019, the APC wasn’t prepared to take chances. The heavy presence of military and paramilitary operatives and political thugs mobilized to drive electoral frauds were a sign that the ruling party was prepared for the showdown. But, then, they must’ve known that they were up against the man who came second in the previously-conducted PDP presidential primaries, ahead of heavyweight politicians like former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. They must’ve also taken note that he was on his turf, where he had been a grassroots politician, and had been winning elections into the House of Representatives since 2003.

Tambuwal’s defeat of the ruling party’s candidate, Ahmad Aliyu, to emerge the winner in a hotly contested exercise was a myth for his opponents and the legion misled to perceive him as a featherweight despite his intimidating political record. Even though the margin of victory was only 342 votes, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission, that he defeated the ruling party in their so-called stronghold and despite Buhari’s coattail makes him the maestro of political twists.

His political history shows an intriguing pattern. He took on a series of Goliaths and yet neutralized them without grandstanding or tough talks. Perhaps his magnanimity or refusal to deploy media to taunt his opponents contribute to how his political profile keeps being undermined. But what his electoral victories show isn’t luck, they are glaring cases of acceptance by people.

And since taking charge in Sokoto state in 2015, his quiet revolution has been felt in all sectors and yet without the usual credit-seeking media gimmicks. His first intervention in education is criminalizing parents’ refusal to send their children to school. This passion for children and young people showed in creating a thriving space for the Almajirai. Instead of banning them or criminalizing their existence, he chose to reform them, going all the way to Indonesia to study the Pondok model, which is built on integrating secular and Islamic schools curricula and adopting vocational skills to produce self-sustaining students. This system, which is already in place in Sokoto state, serves as a model for the North and serves as a lasting solution to the cross-generational dilemma that’s the Almajiri system.

Governor Tambuwal’s fiscal reforms, which began with busting ghost workers syndicates in the state civil service, are a template in revenue generation and budget transparency. The reforms paved the way for Sokoto state’s emergence as the topmost beneficiary of the World Bank-assisted States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme in January, 2021. The state received N6.612 billion through the Ministry of Finance, ahead of a state like Kano state which could only attract N1.710 billion, the lowest grant of all beneficiaries. The performance-based grant was based on the extent to which the states opened up their book and adhered to measurable transparency tools.

At a 2021 roundtable discussion tagged “Fiscal Transparency Accountability and Sustainability of Nigerian States” by the Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS), the Sokoto state revenue generation and fiscal transparency model was projected for praise and emulation. The participating public finance experts urged other states to “learn from Governor Tambuwal, and with Rotimi Olarewaju, a financial analyst in the, noting “that Sokoto state must be praised and used as an example for other States since it is showing others that winning the World Bank performance-based grant is possible.”

Whether in revolutionizing the cattle business, with the state government funding cattle crossbreeding programme to check the dangers posed by grazing amidst this nationwide insecurity or in his sensitivity to climate change through the distribution of assorted tree seedlings to make the state green, Governor Tambuwal’s Sokoto state has been quietly working round the clock to save the environment. His government has also championed institutional strengthening of the bodies and structures that contribute to making the state green.

In solidifying his legacy, the health sector has become a top priority for Tambuwal. With multi-billion naira Advanced Diagnostic Centre launched last year, the record-breaking Sokoto State University Teaching Hospital underway, Sokoto is on the way to becoming a top medical tourism hub for the country. Designed to function as the largest in West Africa, and boasting of impressive 1060 beds, the Sokoto State University Teaching Hospital, which is linked to three 150-bed capacity new premier hospitals situated in each of the senatorial districts in the state would serve as an accessible hub even patients from the rural areas.

At 56, Governor Tambuwal is privileged to have swum across the turbulent rivers of Nigeria. In building his legacy, and demolishing self-appointed gatekeepers of power, he sets himself apart from fellow politicians. What’s driven the rush to believe his successes is mythical, either at the national or local level, isn’t rocket science: he chooses the politics of unification where others choose divisions, and this makes him a model national hero in a chaotic time.

Awaal Gata is a media practitioner and public affairs analyst. He writes from Abuja.