Sokoto 2027: AdC’s rhetoric meets the fidelity of the governor Aliyu

Before the coalition of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) arrived in Sokoto for their convention which seemed more like a meeting of ex-offiners hungry for power that now find Ozio in opposition too uncomfortable, the state itself had just witnessed a very busy weeks in which the real governance had been on display for the whole world to see.

YES! For two consecutive weeks, the governor Ahmed Aliyu was committed to receiving dignitaries by all nigeria who came not to talk about the shop, but to commission a critical infrastructure after the other; Projects that cross water supply, homes, roads, urban renewal and religious infrastructures; All the areas where one of the coalition’s poster boys, Aliyu Waziri Tambuwal, failed painfully.

And from the story they were selling after the agreement, it is clear to everyone that, what the ADC and their coalition had in mind is not the delivery of dividends of democracy. NO! It is simply a good old power socket dressed with a flowing agbadas and armed with daring statements. Somehow, they convinced themselves and whoever worried about listening, that 2027 was to be taken. Who were “recovering Sokoto” and by extension, “save Nigeria”.

The position of the opposition is the funniest thing I have had since the Standu comedy has become one thing in Nigeria. So, to borrow the words of the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer in Kemi Badenoch: we will have to leave the sweetly Nasir El-Rufai and the coalition. Let them know that the irony of their despair was not lost on us. I mean, how do you “save” what you have almost struck?

Except that the coalition chooses to play peacock buried their heads in the sand, the Nigerians already know that theirs is a political assembly of frustrated. A coalition of the conveniently united, bound by the ideology or interest of the people, but by the shared discomfort of being out of power. These are individuals who ruled first but left behind little to remember; Except, perhaps, increasing poverty rates, infrastructure decay and legitimate and illegitimate pensions. Today they renamed as “Salvatori”, conveniently forgetting that we have already seen this script before, and ends up in the type of disappointment, the Nigerians are no longer ready or interested.

In any case, here in Sokoto, we know better and we have seen better by the governor Ahmed. We are not about to exchange tangible progress for the recycled ambition of some great politically out of work men. Not when Ahmed Aliyu is showing daily that leadership does not concern long speeches and television apparitions, but the resolution of real problems.

Throughout the state, you will find evidence. The old water scheme of the airport that delivers 3 million liters of water per day; The streets of Gawon Nama and Girafshi that open internal communities; the Sokoto Information and Geographic Center (Sogis) which simplifies the administration of the soil; the rural road of Gande-Male-Gwahitto Strada; And the Kantin Sauki na Ahmadun market, providing food at affordable prices for public employees.

The public employees abandoned to the drying of hunger and shortage due to the salaries withheld and even retirement services saw their well -being brought to the center of the table. As I write this, Sokoto States pays the minimum salary, he has eliminated the backbackers of salaries and retirement services due by the Tambuwal administration. Ahmed Aliyu has reached all this without borrowing a penny and is in fact gradually abandoned the debts accrued by the previous administration.

See, we are not just talking about projects, we are talking about an obsession, with the well -being of workers. All these are Legacy statements not left on the pages of the newspapers, but written in depth in the lives and means of subsistence of the people of the State. And without making it too obvious, they resonate deeper and stronger in the minds of people than any press conference organized by displaced former owners of public offices.

I believe it is also essential to talk about the political reality of the ADC coalition, which would prefer to ignore. That senator Wamakko Matatakarda Aliyu remains a political giant in Sokoto. His basic appeal and the lasting political network extend through each department and electoral unit in this state. If there is someone who understands Sokoto’s policy both in the strategy and in the soul, it is Wamakko. And that’s why his protected, like the governor Ahmed Aliyu, continue to be successful where the others fail.

The tests abound in the political structure of Wamakko. For example, in the 2019 elections. Despite being a office governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of the PDP barely scraped with 512.002 votes to defeat the 511,661 of the APC, a margin of only 341 votes, despite having the full of state power at its disposal. Therefore, the complete capitulation of the PDP in 2023 was not a surprise for anyone. They could not hold back the government they had inherited, because people had seen through the claim and were ready for something different, something real. Perhaps, Tambuwal fears that even his senatorial seat can leave his rich, hence the desperation of launching tenth with the coalition of displaced politicians.

The ADC can shout themselves Rauco in Sokoto, but the political soil here is not modeled by noise. It is modeled by deep performances and relationships built over time. That’s why the administration of the governor Ahmed Aliyu resonates with the masses. That’s why two weeks of commissioning the project were not an overload, it has been expected for some time.

And when artists of the caliber of the Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, the governor Ododo of Kogi, the governor Namadi of Jigawa and ministers such as Festus Keyamo and Muhammad Dingyadi came to Sokoto, not for a portrait or a call for courtesy, and not to emit desperate noise such as Nasir El-Rofai and Co; But to commission projects solid and guided by people, he tells you everything you need to know about where Sokoto is in the current political geography of Nigeria.

However, it’s not just about water roads and tubes. These are vision, commitment and philosophy of popular governance. And that’s why many in Sokoto are already saying what you have to say: we have not finished with Ahmed Aliyu. The man has just begun.

To conclude this piece, I would like to join the multitude of the people of Sokoto to tell the ADC coalition: enjoy your convention, feed your eyes and take photos of progress with you from our beautiful city. If you want, do more speeches. But know this, 2027 in Sokoto is not at stake. People have tasted a real governance and will not exchange it for recycled ambition wrapped in authoritative noise.

There are only two years in charge that Ahmed Aliyu has put the bar very high and everything I can say confidently, is that for us there are many other years of commissioning the project. And construction. And planning. Because Sokoto is not on sale and progress, once tasted, is never forgotten.