Dogara’s search of a greener pasture

From 2005-2006, Barr. Yakubu Dogara served the then Minister of State for transport, Muhammad Habib Aliyu, as a Special Assistant before his journey into politics fully evolved with a magical stride. Of course, unlike many other politicians today, Dogara didn’t start his political career from the grassroots; councilor, chairman or a house of assembly member.

It’s fair to say that luck was on his side owing to the fact that none of the aforementioned positions were experienced by him before his victory as a house of representative member; representing Dass/Bogoro/Tafawa Balewa constituency in Bauchi State in 2007.

Representing his constituency from 2007 to 2014, the dream of becoming a Speaker of the house kept reoccurring, Dogara turned a dreamer. In the quest of making his dream a reality and having put into consideration the political momentum of some political parties’ merger, he dumped the People’s Democratic Party {PDP} and joined the merger party which is now known to be the All Progressives Congress {APC}.

Fortunately for him, the APC won the Presidential election and most of the political seats for the 2015 general election. Maneuvering his way, he actualized his dream in July 19th, 2015.

The Honorable Speaker, being oblivious of the persona of the then Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, engineered the budget padding with him while they were still in the party but planning to sabotage the administration before crossing over to the opposition party. The aftermath of their actions rendered both of them, today, a loose political juggernauts. Both were doing excellently in their political journey until their show of conspiracy with the opposition to frustrate the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Don’t forget that they were once PDP members who decamped in order to have their dreams achieved. Unknown to them, they thought that the seats, President of the Senate and Speaker of the house, would be left unchallengeable for them to reclaim after the unthinkable might have been executed in the APC.

All plans were perfected to unseat the President from the Villa and have most of the seats in the national assembly reclaimed but the will of God prevailed. While Saraki was chased out of the red chamber, Dogara emerged victorious again and returned to the green chamber but not as a Speaker any longer. The juicy offers presented before them took the best part of them and led them astray. It was all about the search for a greener pastures but it failed.

Not relenting in the search, Dogara found his feeble feet back into the All Progressives Congress in the month of July, 2020. I termed it ‘feeble’ because there was/is no political relevance remaining of him at the moment. But just as the saying goes; “you better try and fail than not trying at all” . Dogara thought he should give it a try but this time around as a dreamer of the Vice Presidential slot. Who becomes the Presidential candidate matters not to him. Just get the Vice Presidential slot, he said to himself.

Things going as planned, fast forwarded to 2022, Tinubu emerged as the party’s candidate and Dogara wrote what could be termed a ‘hearty congratulatory message’ to him on his twitter handle. The race for the Vice Presidential slot began and surprisingly, some persons who would ordinarily never even come into people’s imagination were seen in the race also. People who can’t, in landslides or narrowly, win their polling units in an election. One of them has led, with no magnitude, some numbers of Christians within him to support the Labour Party’s candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, while the remaining ones are still maintaining the status quo.

Furiously, not being able to accept the fact that another person has been chosen over him and his dream shattered, he declared his withdrawal of support for Tinubu.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, being known for his political prowess and for the fact that he surrounds himself with political veterans, a political personality like Yakubu Dogara can’t fit in as a Vice Presidential candidate talk of Babachir Lawal who can’t secure a narrow win in his polling unit.

Earlier this week, as broadcasted by the channels television, Dogara declared his support for the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar and made an appearance at the Presidential rally of the party held on Monday in Lagos state. With this recent move of his, it can be deduced that he has officially decamped from the APC again to the PDP once more. In his tweet which revealed his support for Atiku, the former Speaker said and I quote; “he is the best option”.

Contradictory, he had said in his former tweet when he congratulated Tinubu that all aspirants should close ranks and work with Tinubu to form a formidable force come 2023. And I ask; what has now changed that he left the man he marketed to the aspirants to support? There’s no better answer to this rhetorical question than the title of this piece; “Dogara’s search of a Greener pasture”. He has been in search of greener pastures all his life in his political journey.

In politics, it’s imperative to let go of some dreams for future purposes. And by doing that, your political relevance and prowess grow stronger in a way you would be surprised. It shouldn’t be about YOU ‘always’.

There’s an adage in my mother tongue that says; “have your urination done in a spot in order to have lots of its foam”. The adage teaches the nuance of exercising patience while being consistent, focused and diligent on a particular mission to be accomplished amidst all odds. This, Dogara and many other politicians are paupers of.

In spite of all that’s happening between Wike and their candidate, Atiku Abubakar, he didn’t leave the party. He’s in the party building structure even. His political relevance is building up. History will be made if Atiku losses Rivers State in the coming general election because it has never happened and the state in question always pull block votes for the party.

For the both parties, PDP and APC, the news of Dogara decamping from either party to the other sounds just like announcing that Thursday is the next day after Wednesday. Everyone knows that. He has thrown his political relevance in the mud and whitewashing it will be a tedious task.

Dogara can play a smart one on the gullible ones by justifying his withdrawal of support for Tinubu and decamping from the party once again as the best thing to do consequent upon the choice of a Muslim-Muslim ticket by the party, whereas that’s never the real reason for his actions.

In all, I wish him well in his political endeavors.

Yusuf Danjuma Yunus writes from Lafia, Nasarawa State and can be reached via: yunusand82@gmail.com and @YYunusand on Twitter

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