By Samuel Luka
Bauchi State Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate and former Secretary to the State Government, Barrister Ibrahim Mohammed Kashim, has said former Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar made a political miscalculation by seeking a second term, insisting that Bauchi voters, not federal backing or godfathers, decide elections.
Speaking in an interview with a team of reporters at his residence in Bauchi on Friday, Kashim was asked how he intends to compete against the APC and Abubakar, who is reportedly backed by the federal government, while the APM fields the state government’s candidate.
Kashim said “A wajen Allah muke nema, we are seeking power from God. Seriously, there is nothing that is beyond Him. But we'll also go out and reach the people,” he said.
The former SSG dismissed the influence of federal support, citing Abubakar’s 2015 loss despite incumbency.
“M.A was in APC in 2015. He was even the governor. The APC government, supported by the federal government and all the big politicians in the state, but he lost. So if you’re going to lose, you’re going to lose regardless of whoever is supporting you,” he said.
On Abubakar’s second term bid, Kashim was blunt: “Time will come when we’ll talk about M.A. But if I were him, I would not even start contesting a second-term election in Bauchi State. But since he has been pushed, the time will come, then we will be able to put the facts before the people in the state for them to judge his competence.”
He buttressed his argument with an Islamic proverb attributed to Mustafa Zubairu Al-Mustafa: “Islam says a believer does not put his hand in the hole of a snake twice. You can put your hand on it once and probably not be bitten by the snake. If you put it back again, then you don’t even know what fate is.
“People of Bauchi watch and are observant, but like I said, time will come and we will talk about this and that,” he added.
Turning to the Allied People's Movement (APM) and the state government, Kashim argued that Bauchi voters have a history of rejecting imposed successors.
“I kept saying that the government has been defeated in Bauchi State, and if you look at the history of Bauchi State again, no governor in Bauchi has brought a successor. No governor in Bauchi has been able to get a successor,” he said.
He also cited a pattern for former governors seeking Senate seats: “The other time I was granted an interview on Zahmani TV. I said, no governor in Bauchi has become a senator. I wasn’t saying it because I wanted to run down His Excellency. I’m saying it because it’s a fact. Every governor that has attempted to go to the Senate in Bauchi has lost. I don’t know whether His Excellency will win or he will not win, but I’m stating it as a matter of fact.”
Kashim said “People of Bauchi know what they want and know the people that would work for them, and then when they are tired of you, they are tired of you. Whatever you do, they will remain tired of you."
He stated that his party will go to the people and put all the issues before them and seek their mandate, saying "by the grace of God, like I said, you can have all the godfathers you want. You can have all the resources you want, but He that is with God is the majority.”
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