Abubakar Audu, governorship candidate of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) in the November 21 election in Kogi state, was very close
to making history when he died suddenly on Sunday. He also went to his
grave with many unfulfilled dreams, sending his supporters and admirers
into mourning when victory was within reach. Audu already made history
by being the only candidate to have contested every governorship
election since 1991, winning twice and losing in 2003, 2007 and 2011.
But he would also have become only the second person to be elected
governor thrice – having been governor in 1992 as well under the
umbrella of the National Republican Convention (NRC). The only person to
achieve the feat is Abba Bukar, who was elected governor of Yobe state
in 1992, 1999 and 2003, and is currently a senator.
Audu spelt out
his many desires during his campaign for this election, promising again
and again that he would make sure power shifted to other parts of Kogi
state if he was voted in. Coming from the majority Igala ethnic group,
Audu seemed to have understood the sentiments of other groups in the
state, particularly the Ebirra and Okun who have not had the luck of
producing a governor. All the governors elected in the state since its
creation in 1991 have been of the Igala group, and the two top
candidates in every election are always Igala. During his campaign
recently, Audu promised: “Let me make my three-point agenda known to the
people of the state because I want to be held responsible for my word
later when I gain power. First, I will make sure that power shift
becomes sacrosanct. I will be the first governor to change power in the
state. I must honour my agreement that after my full tenure I will
ensure power rotation either to Kogi West or Kogi Central.”
He
also promised to develop infrastructure – indeed, many Kogi residents
believe since Audu left power in 2003, there had been no progress of any
kind for the state. “I will declare state of emergency on the critical
sectors of the state especially in the infrastructural sector. Shortly
after I won my party primary, I took a trip outside the country where I
met international business organisations, who by now are just waiting
for me to be sworn in so that they can come and invest in critical
sectors of the state,” he said. Then he promised to improve the
well-being of the people. “Lastly, the welfare of the people of the
state remains a priority to me. Let no one deceive you, I have nothing
but the best interest of the people at heart,” he said.
If anyone
had predicted that he would never return to the Kogi state government
house after his impressive showing in the election on Saturday, Audu
would have laughed it off. Having worked so hard, touring the length and
breadth of the state, he felt so sure of winning the election. So
confident was he after casting the vote at polling unit 2, ward 10 at
Ogbonicha in Ofu local government area of the state, Audu exposed the
ballot paper, perhaps forgetting that it ought to be secret ballot.
Audu’s
political career dates back to 1986 when he was appointed as the
commissioner for finance and economic planning of the old Benue state.
He served in that capacity until the cabinet was disbanded, two years
later. When Kogi was carved out of Benue and Kwara states, Audu
contested for the governorship, won and was sworn in as the first
elected governor of the state in January 1992. He remained in charge of
the state until the military interregnum of 1993. When democracy was
restored six years later, he contested on the platform of the All
Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and won but his bid to return to the Lord
Lugard House, as the government house of the state is known, suffered a
setback in 2003. He lost to Ibrahim Idris of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP), who spent two terms and handed over to Idris Wada, his
brother-in-law.
But as candidate of the All Progressives Congress
(APC), Audu was about trouncing Wada to become the second APC governor
to have defeated an incumbent PDP governor in 2015. Of the 20 APC
candidates that emerged victorious in the 2015 governorship poll, Nasir
el-Rufai of Kaduna is the only one who ousted an incumbent governor.
Like Wada, Mukhtar Yero of the PDP also lost his re-election bid.
Commenting on the 2015 general elections, the deceased said former
president, Goodluck Jonathan deserved a nobel prize for accepting the
outcome of an election that did not favour him. “As far as I am
concerned, President Goodluck Jonathan deserves to be recommended for a
Nobel Peace prize,” he said in an interview shortly after the election.
“You know what has been happening around African countries, you know
that once a leader is in a position, he wants to stay put, they won’t
like to relinquish the position. Look at what happened in Ivory Coast
and other places; in the case of Jonathan, we have seen a lot of
maturity and love; he said it is not worth shedding any blood for the
position of the presidency; how many people in Nigeria, in Africa, in
the third world reason that way? They want to perpetuate themselves in
power and for the mere fact that he has shown the difference, he
deserves a Nobel Peace prize.”
Audu hailed from Ogbonicha-Alloma
in Ofu local government area of Kogi. His late father was a prominent
traditional ruler – Orego Atta of Igalaland. He started his education in
Kogi before proceeding to Onitsha for his secondary education. Audu
also studied banking and personnel management in a London higher
institution. Though there were different corruption allegations against
him, Audu was known to have achieved a lot in terms of infrastructural
development during the previous periods he spent in office. Audu
established the Kogi State University, three different housing schemes
for public officers, set up television and radio stations, pioneered the
construction of an ultra modern stadium, a five star hotel, amongst
others.
In his response to the allegation of his arrogance, Audu
who taunted Wada that he built the government house which Wada and his
predecessor stayed throughout the period he was shut out, said: “It is
better to have an arrogant performer than a humble failure”. He went
further to lash out at his rival in the governorship race. “I worked in
First Bank Nigeria for over 25 years and I left as an executive
director. I was general manager of Standard Chartered Bank in London and
New York. I was a training officer in London and I have done all these
things and if you compare me as a governor with just a school leaver and
someone who is doing that job for the first time, you will know that
there is no basis for comparison,” he had said. On his 2015 governorship
ambition, Audu said: “I think by the special grace of God we shall
arrive there safely”. Sadly, Audu has arrived, but at a destination
other than the Kogi state government house where he felt he would spend
the next four years from January 2016. He was 68.
SOURCES: www.thecable.ng