Lamido: His ambition, battles and chances

It is less than 24 hours to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary, holding in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

There are about 12 presidential aspirants. But only one man will pick the ticket. In deciding who to pick, PDP delegates must take into cognisance our heritage and our history.  Where we are coming from and where we are headed?  To plan for today and look forward to tomorrow, we must take stock of what transpired yesterday. Our recollections of yesterday will no doubt help us to navigate seamlessly through our today and tomorrow.

The fact that Lamido declared his desire to govern a country on a platform that was at the time enmeshed in crisis of confidence, when others members of the party were deserting it, shows his implicit faith in the PDP. When together with Sen. lorchia Ayu, Prof. Jerry Gana, late Chief Alex. Ekwueme, late Mallam Adamu Ciroma, late Chief Solomon Lar, late Chief Bola Ige,  late Sen. Ella, and late Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, they confronted late Gen.Sani Abacha of blessed memory on the need to vacate the stage and allow democracy to flourish, Lamido, may perhaps never know a day like this will come. Himself and Rimi were picked and locked up in DSS cells, in Ilorin and Maiduguri respectively.  They were only released after the sudden demise of the late Head of State.

When then President Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn in, in 1999, he met a country that was a pariah nation and within two years in office, with Lamido as his foreign minister, the status was reversed.

In Africa, Nigeria together with South Africa and Algeria formed a formidable tripod that gave Africa direction in the comity of nations. In the West African sub region, political stability was restored.

An important landmark of Lamido’s legacy that benefits the oil reproducing states in particular, and other states and the country in general, was in the areas of maritime bilateral agreements between Nigeria and the states of Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome and Principe which stopped Cameroon’s prayer before the ICJ for the maritime delimitation of its territory with Nigeria when Equatorial Guinea intervened by presenting those agreements entered into before the court. But for these agreements maybe part of Nigeria territorial waters would have gone to Cameroon and with it loss of hydro carbon and other economic benefits.

As governor, his works stand out! It is not possible for one to travel to Jigawa State today, without Lamido’s exploits in the place catching one’s attention. During the president’s state visit recently. President Buhari landed on an airport built from the scratch by the Lamido’s administration. The runways and equipment are of international standards are far better than most airports in the country. He also built a full-fledged state university and an academy for the gifted, whose students have been making waves in WAEC and JAMB examinations.

He was seen as a good material for 2015, but Lamido thinks otherwise. According to him, denying the then President, Goodluck Jonathan, a second term ticket was tantamount to passing a vote of no confidence in the president, insisting that no serious party does that. But, those working for the government then were uncomfortable with him. That is why, each time he is asked about his case, he tells you it was a fallout of the ‘civil war’ within the PDP in the build up to the 2015 election. That is the genesis of the EFCC case. Otherwise, how can a governor’s son launder just 30, 000USD for the father? How can a governor’s son travelling with his wife and daughter for the daughter’s medical treatment be arrested for money laundering? I leave you to interrogate that.

Several investigations on contracts and finances of Jigawa were carried out with the sole aim of getting Lamido prosecuted, but they could not find any fault.