2023 Taraba Governorship: Sabo Kente Joins Race
By Ben Adaji, Jalingo
The 2023 elections are inching closer. Gladiators have exhumed their fighting weapons and ready for combat. As the battle for the number one seat of Taraba State come 2023 becomes more dramatic, there have been various forms of permutations that have continued to unfold in the camps of major players in the two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with each intensifying effort to outsmart the other.
What is most certain and anticipated is the fact that the race for the Governorship of the state promises to be the most intriguing, interesting and unpredictable in the history of the state as the coming days will unfold a series of mind bugling political strategies worthy of political scholarship.
Meanwhile, Aljazirah Nigeria has particularly taken an extensive look into the engine room of APC with the view to identifying the problems militating against the success and otherwise of the aspirants and to proffer solutions that may serve as a remedy towards the success of the party in Taraba state come 2023.
Towards this direction, the medium took the tour of the sixteen local government areas of the state to sample the popular opinions of major APC stakeholders and their views on the possible candidate that can lead the party to victory come 2023.
There is no doubt the party is desirous of a suitable candidate who really could give the PDP a run for their money.
There are many aspirants for the gubernatorial seat in APC such as Sen. Yusuf A. Yusuf, Chief David Sabo Kente (DSK), Sen. Emmanuel Bwacha, Alhaji Umar Garba (UTC), Danladi Kifasi, Ezekiel Afukonyo, Sani Abubakar Danladi (Contact), among others.
Interestingly, Taraba state is one state that has a diverse ethnoreligious composition, which has every potential to grow and develop faster where the diversities can be utilized to place the community on a high socio-economic cum political threshold.
Religiously, both the Muslims and Christians occupy a very large population segment of the state, with each having a peculiar advantage at certain geopolitical zones to its advantage, but since it is a democracy, the pendulum could swing either way to produce best that could entrench the desired development of the state.
It is common knowledge that the state as one of the most local communities with less intellectual endowment and capacity, adopts shroud ethnoreligious sentiments to the advantage of some politicians, unlike other advanced and intellectually endowed communities whose campaigns are issue-based.
One may recall that both the 2015 and 2019 governorship elections which were keenly contested would have seen the emergence of an APC governor if politics of religion had not come to play.
While late Senator Aisha Jumai Alhssan was perceived and believed to have been the best candidate, Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku of PDP used the religious factor to clinch the Taraba number one seat.
In 2019, the same game replayed itself and the PDP retained its position as the government in Taraba.
Before now, there were some misconceptions in some segments of the state that APC was a Muslim party. What has given credence to this assertion was the fact that the two previous candidates, Sen. Aisha Jummai Alhassan (2015) and Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi (2019) that emerged as flag bearers of the party were Muslims.
There is this popular adage that “once beaten, twice shy” this accounted to why many onlookers in Taraba politics opined that APC should change the narrative in 2023 by not fielding a Muslim Càndidate for the governorship in the coming polls. They rather suggest that a Christian Candidate should be tried this time around.
Aljazirah Nigeria’s tour of the sixteen local government areas of Taraba state revealed that there are several candidates in APC with heavy political weight and pedigree.
Although opinions vary as to who they think the cap best fits, many political analysts see some salient points in Chief David Sabo Kente that stand him out as a better aspirant that may take the party to victory come 2023.
Alhaji Umar Dahiru Dorofi, a chieftain of the party from Sardauna local government area opined that Kente’s consistency in the APC has showcased his level of discipline, maturity, stability, humility and patience and as well places him as an ideologically based democrat which is not common in our democracy today.
“These attributes no doubt, portray him as a good product to sell for the party, especially as one of the outstanding members of the party in the state and as well,” he said.
Also, Alhaji Muhammed Musa, APC’s strong supporter from Yorro local government said after the party lost in 2019, Kente remained one of the pillars that ensured that funding of the APC for its survival in the state was continued.
According to Musa, Kente, whose charity work has traversed all the length and breadth of the state is a neutral and detribalized individual hence he is widely accepted by both Muslims and Christians.
He added that with some of these attributes, it has become crucial for the APC in the state to apply wisdom by trying a Christian candidate in 2023, having tried Muslim candidates in 2015 and 2019 and lost to PDP.
“My opinion is that Kente, alias DSK as one of the unifying stalwarts of the party has qualified in all spheres to fly the flag of the party come 2023.” He said.
For many observers of the intrigues in the APC, Kente remains the uncrowned governor of Taraba State in the political equation leading to the 2015 general elections. As a grassroots politician and leading philanthropist, Kente enjoys both the sympathy and admiration of the people across party, ethnoreligious and zonal lines and is generally considered to pool a lot of “federal might” to his advantage.
Dr Bakari Muhammadu says that what may give David Sabo Kente an edge over his contemporaries is that he has touched many lives through his DSK Foundation which has provided succour to the less privileged members of the society across the length and breadth of Taraba, irrespective of religion, ethnicity and political affiliation.
Another major reason Kente is considered by many as the most ideal candidate of the party is the fact that he has remained consistent in the party. Muhammadu revealed that after the party lost in 2019, he has been one of the pillars that ensured funding of the party to remain afloat in the state.
According to Alhaji Yaro Jalingo, a party stalwart from Jalingo local government “the general impression about the APC in the state is that it is a Muslim party, and this notion has been given credence to because the two candidates, Senator Aisha and Sani Danladi who flew the party’s flag in 2015 and 2019 respectively were Muslims. And so a Christian Kente will not only correct the erroneous impressions but will win the party even more members, especially among the Christian population. Unlike other aspirants who have allegedly taken sides with one religious group or the other, Kente has maintained a neutral stance, treating adherents of both religions with respect and dignity thereby absolving him of any form of religious bigotry. As you can see, he is widely accepted by the Muslims and Christians. ” said Jalingo.
Another advantage of a Kente candidate for the party according to Alhaji Ali Tella Gassol, also APC stalwart from Gassol local government is that, while PDP that has held sway since the creation of the state is battling with the politics of Zoning, APC can secure a credible candidate from any of the three geopolitical Zones to clinch the ticket in 2023.
Understandably Kente out of those eyeing the number one seat through the APC has consistently been in touch with the party structures across the state.
For many people, the PDP has already done all the campaigns for the APC by the governor’s alleged remarkable failure to bring the needed transformation in the state.
However, for the party to be able to take advantage of the window of opportunity, it must, first of all, clear the wrong impressions about it, and field a widely accepted candidate and ensure that all the other interests rally around the person to ensure that the party’s ultimate goal in the state is actualized.
To sum it up David Sabo Kente (DSK) as he is popularly known across Taraba State and beyond, is a household name. He has, all.his life, been an enterprising fellow, very receptive and accommodating to all shades of opinion.
Kente is a rounder: an accomplished businessman, a technocrat per excellence and a social crusader who takes people’s projects as his problem. An example of these concerns is the establishment of his DSK Foundation to cater for the needs of the less privileged in society and empowerment of widows, women and the youth on skills and trade.
Chief David Sabo Kente has remained one distinguished political figure in Taraba State that has directly or indirectly touched the lives of citizens. This is irrespective of their political, religious and ethnic affiliation.
With him as flag bearer, the APC may not only stand a better chance of winning the 2023 gubernatorial elections, but in him, Taraba State may cover glaring neglect and lack of focused development that has bedevilled it, especially in the last eight years.
*Ben Adaji, a former correspondent of TheNEWS in Jalingo, Taraba State, wrote this originally for Aljazeera