The Crowd at one of the rallies
BY TAIWO FAROTIMI
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has scheduled Saturday August 11 to fill the vacant seat in the Senate for the representative of Katsina North senatorial district. The centre of the zone is Daura, the town of President Muhammadu Buhari. A loss for the All Progressives Congress, APC here will resonate across the country and give the impression that even the president is no longer loved at home. And such will be a boost for the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, especially for leaders of the party from the northwest geo-political zone.
For that purpose the two leading political parties held rallies Thursday in Daura.
Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the acting president led the APC to campaign for its candidate at the election. On the other side were Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa State and a presidential aspirant on the platform of the PDP. He also had Rabiu Kwakwanso, former governor of Kano State who recently returned to PDP.
However, this is going to be an interesting contest. And that is for many reasons. One, the PDP wants to make a point that it is capable of giving a bloody nose to the ruling party right in the abode of President Muhammadu Buhari. So it is a test of strength ahead of the 2019 election. But that is just a part of what makes it interesting. Another thing is that it a battle that Daura can never lose, notwithstanding the winning side. To start with, the two candidates are from Daura, then both of them are brothers, born of the same father. So if Daura loses, Daura will win. While Ahmad Baba-Kaita goes to the poll for APC, his brother Kabir Babba-Kaita flies the flag of the PDP.
Little wonder that there was no report of clashes despite the rallies holding same day and in the environment. Nor was there any reports about attempts by Governor Bello Massari of Katsina State to muzzle the opposition PDP. Perhaps this may really be a true test of President Muhammadu Buhari’s political strength ahead of 2019. It may just be a popularity contest between two brothers who probably will Ben too glad to associate with the president. So head or tale the same bloc wins.
