POLITICS 101: THE KASHIM SHETTIMA POLITICS OF CANDOR AND SELFLESSNESS …How Kwankwaso, Oshiomhole et al defied it and paid for it

Send. Kashim Shettima

By Yakubu Ahmed-BK

Even as murky as politics in Nigeria is, the fact of the matter is that, self preservation is not always the first law of nature. The immediate past Governor of Borno state and now Senator Kashim Shettima has demystified that through outright selfless and service-oriented leadership which placed the collective interest of his people far above his personal interest.

In this clime, god-fatherism is sine qua non to how far one can go politically. No one ever, especially at the level of Governor, will allow anybody other than a lackey to succeed him. 

The pad is for an outgoing governor to anoint his closest associate of many years standing to take over from him, with the agreement that the successor will be a stooge, cowing to the wishes and demands of his predecessor.

In Kano for example, Engineer Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s tribulations started when he wanted to play the godfather of Kano politics by anointing his friend and deputy governor Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje to succeed him in 2015. 

As the signs will later reveal, his decision was not informed by a desire to get the best for Kano, but an inkling to control affairs. Today, despite having his way in that machination, Kwankwaso is not only estranged from his successor but has become a sort of a leper in the politics of his state. Since his fight with Ganduje began shortly after the 2015 elections, Kwankwaso has remained marooned and somewhat outplayed in the politics of his state.

In Edo, despite his awesome powers as National Chairman of the ruling APC, Adams Oshiomhole, the man who singlehandedly godfathered Godwin Obaseki into the Government House, was forced to watch, as his hold on power slipped away through his hands, on account of wanting to play the kingmaker and favor-dispenser of Edo politics, pushed not by the love for the state, but by that inborn desire to call the shots. There are many similar cases from across many states in the country where outgoing Governors over-reached their luck, played the godfather and ended up in the bad books of their successors and their people and eventually lost out completely in the realm of politics and leadership of their states. As it is today,they are not only gnashing their teeth in anger of their unfortunate situations but have, by their actions, complicated matters for their future relevance in the scheme of things in the country.

Borno is about the only state in Nigeria today where an immediate past Governor and his successor have the best of relationship. It is not just politically peaceful there but signs have emerged repeatedly, that despite jettisoning the temptation to anoint a stooge who will be cornered and pocketed in order to safeguard his future relevance, the choice Kashim Shettima had made, of Professor Babagana Umara Zulum – a self made, independent-minded, educated and no nonsense University teacher and technocrat, has proved to be a masterstroke that had fulfilled all the characteristics of a deeply rooted lover of Borno – the kind of individuality Kashim Shettima had hoped for, to succeed him. We should not forget that the politics of Borno was, literally in the hands of the former Governor and he had the latitude to make his choice and …conversely force it down the throat without any qualms. 

In fact, on the average, Kashim Shettima’s hold on the politics of his state then, which he garnered as a result of his grass-rooted politics, people-oriented and development-driven governance was far more manifest than Kwankwaso’s hold on Kano politics. 

Again, Borno was in the thick of a mindlessly bloody insurgency and the antecedents to it as well as the need to preserve ones destiny had made it almost imperative for Kashim Shettima or any outgoing Governor for that matter to tinker with the idea of self preservation as a key to maintaining hold in order to, not just continue to call the shots but to take advantage of the insecurity situation to dispense patronages and favors.

And Kashim Shettima had the kind of associates who fitted the bill of being stooges. The high number of aspirants who bought the expression of interest forms to fly the governorship flag of the APC attested to the fact that there was no shortage of minions to choose from. In short, Kashim Shettima had the leverage and the freewill to finger a successor to succeed him. He was torn between getting the best man for the job who will deliver alright, but who will obviously look him in the face and say capital No to anything untoward on one hand, and a totally compliant gofer, to become Governor just in name but will be answerable to the powers that be, on the other. If you can hazard a guess as to the kind of fellow Kwankwaso or Oshiomhole had hoped for, you are closer to my portrayal.

But Kashim Shettima, a true lover of Borno and a patriot of the highest order did not even prevaricate in going for the kind of man with the qualities of the present Governor - the exact replica of what Kashim Sshettima had wanted to lay hands on, all along. 

Borno, in the estimation of the Senator, does not have the luxury of playing pranks or the latitude to accommodate political grandstanding. The insecurity issues in Borno were so gargantuan and mindboggling that any attempt to push a self serving narrative will boomerang and push the state further into the abyss.  

What was needed at the point Kashim Shettima was leaving was a man of courage, ability, education, doggedness and development-driven personality to provide the kind of leadership required to extricate the state out of its malaise, sustain the tempo of development as encapsulated by Shettima’s 8-year rule and to lead the state out of the ashes of an unfortunate bloodletting. 

Kashim had no doubt that the man with those qualities will get the job done, but will not hanker to anybody’s whistle. Yet, he went for him, zeroed in on him, kept it to his chest, gave every interested aspirant the freedom to exercise his franchise, allowed politics and democracy to flourish, played the game by the rules and rallied round his anointed candidate until he successfully won squarely.

After successfully getting his man into office, how does he intend to navigate his own political future with an independent-minded successor in charge? Right from the beginning, the former Governor had made up his mind to hand over to the most qualified man and just go his way. 

His initial plan was to relocate to Sudan to work on and update his Islamic studies and knowledge. He had no any other ambition other than to become a former Governor who has played his part, got out of office and turn his back against any enticement to rule by proxy. It took a long drawn battle by his close political associates and the people of Borno state to convince him to become a Senator in order for the state to continue to tap from the reservoir of his knowledge, connections, national outlook and reach at a time Borno was in dire need for all hands to be on deck to navigate it out of its problems.

While others in his position had played the kingmaker and forced their underlings onto their states in an attempt to decide who gets what and ended up getting drawn by their own antics, Kashim Shettima looked out of the box, got the right man and ended up maintaining his relevance and respect from all and sundry nationwide.   

What Kashim Shettima’s political lesson 101 teaches us is that self preservation in Nigeria’s politics is not necessarily the first law of nature. Doing it right is the key to self preservation as attested to by the case of this former Governor. 

No book written to catalogue the place of selflessness in Nigerian politics that does not reflect the unparalleled self-sacrifice of Kashim Shettima - the architect of modern Borno will ever be complete.

Ahmed-BK wrote this piece from Gesse III, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State.