REGARDING the race for 2015, Plateau State seems very quiet. In fact, Governor Jonah David Jang, who bestrides the state like a colossus seems to have conquered and pocketed the state. Remnants of scattered groups in opposition parties are not offering alternatives clues.

There are still some in the opposition, who are not too sure, except that they may be returning to the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), where they earlier left. The almost eight year-year tenure of Jang has deadened the opposition. For now, it might be easier for the elephant to pass through the eye of a needle than for opposition groups to muster challenge against whoever Jang will eventually anoint as successor.

REGARDING the race for 2015, Plateau State seems very quiet. In fact, Governor Jonah David Jang, who bestrides the state like a colossus seems to have conquered and pocketed the state. Remnants of scattered groups in opposition parties are not offering alternatives clues.

There are still some in the opposition, who are not too sure, except that they may be returning to the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), where they earlier left. The almost eight year-year tenure of Jang has deadened the opposition. For now, it might be easier for the elephant to pass through the eye of a needle than for opposition groups to muster challenge against whoever Jang will eventually anoint as successor.

The critical question is where to go from here. The three senatorial districts have had a taste of the governorship one time or the other and the question where to begin another round of rotation. The incumbent is from Plateau North Senatorial District. He is Berom by tribe. Feelers point at the Senator representing Plateau North, Gyang Pwajok, but he is also Berom. Pwajok is educated, erudite and articulate, one who can take on the challenges at the governorship. The issue is that he is from Plateau North as Jang. A bye-election occasioned by the death of his predecessor in office, Senator Gyang Dantong, who died during one of the recurring crises in the state, brought Pwajok into office, having won the election. Fluent and suave, Pwajok is said to have the mien for governor.

Calculations point at a situation where Pwajok takes over from Jang, while the Governor books a seat in the Senate. Bookmakers refer to this arrangement as option ‘B’. Power will be transferred from Plateau North To Plateau North, instead of going to another senatorial district.
According to investigations, the original plan of the Governor was as option ‘A’, which was for him to pick somebody from another local government in Plateau North that is not Berom. For instance, it was gathered that Bassa local government was favoured. Bassa is said to be the second largest after Berom in Plateau North, with three big ethnic nationalities – Irigwe, Rukuba and Pengana.
If that political permutation works, the likes of the present commissioner for Works, Chris Hassan; the director-general of Research, Planning and Documentation, Chris Kwaja; the general manager, Plateau Radio Television Corporation (PRTV), Sunday Bulus Rogo; Senator Timothy Adudu may come up as possible contenders. According to feelers, it is when the choice of these personalities does not work that the governor will be left with no option than to hold onto Pwajok and damn the consequence. Pwajok seems to be the last joker.

Completing his eight-year tenure in 2015, member representing Jos East/Jos South in the House of Representatives, Hon. Bitrus Kaze, will have to give way to Mr. Yakubu Jang, who happens to be the son of the governor. He is currently the special adviser to the Governor on Special Duties. He is said to have the requisite qualifications to aspire to the seat. The Governor has allegedly dropped those who were initially penciled down to succeed him after loyalty checks found them not suitable.

According to some public affairs watchers, the Governor intends to use the forthcoming council elections to plant chairmen that will be willing to deliver for him in 2015, going by consultations going on between him and stakeholders of PDP in all the local governments. He has done that of Mangu, while plans are on to do that of Pankshin. But most of the likely chairmanship candidates are not popular and this is causing ripples among stakeholders. In Mangu for instance, the candidate that the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Shedrach Best, and member representing Mangu/Bokkos federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Jonathan Aminu, presented was rejected by the former Director-General of Governor Jang’s last governorship campaign, Mr. Danjuma Maina, Mr. Samaila Makama, the immediate past chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC) and former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. John Clark Dabwan. The battle line is going to be drawn in the primaries.
In Pankshin, the candidate of Hon. Emmanuel Go’ar representing Pankshin, Kanke and Dengi in the House of Representatives is also opposed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters, Mr. Alexander Molwus, former State Accountant General, Mr. Joshua Waklek, former PDP state chairman, Prof. Dakum Shown, and a member of the House of Assembly, Hon. Istifanus Mwansat. The battle will also be resolved during the primaries.
Candidates being presented by the other side are the immediate past chairmen of Mangu, Mr. Emmanuel Tanzan and his Pankshin counterpart, Mr. Dukas. These candidates are said not to be popular with the people because they say they do not want former chairmen to be fielded again for a second term.

The general belief among Plateau people is that the governor should hand over to his deputy, Ambassador Ignatius Longjan but it still remains unclear whether the Governor would do that. It was gathered from reliable sources that Ambassador Longjan was being considered by Jang over the last few months, but political watchers remain puzzled at Jang’s current body language. It is no secret that Jang said it right from the outset of the administration that he will leave the stage together with his deputy. So, whether or not he enforces that assertion, remains a conundrum. 

Molwus, in his capacity as special adviser to the Governor, commented on why the incumbent is looking for a loyal person.
According to Molwus, “as far as I am concerned, anybody who is not transparent will fear his past. Anybody who does not do things properly and documentarily will fear his past. Anybody, any leader that does not give a sense of nationalism and pride to his citizens will fear his past. And Governor Jang does not fall into that kind of parameter. But certainly, if I were the one I will never support someone whom I know does not mean well to what I have built. Definitely I will not. You see, that is the bane of continuity. I don’t want to call it ‘loyalty’ per se, because the reality of it is that definitely, if you look at the historical trend of all governors from 1999 to date, no governor will just hand over to any one who says, ‘I am loyal’ and you think this one will cover your past and you give him, tomorrow you will discover that he will be the one to start digging your past. Check all the history of people that succeeded their governors from 1999, they have not been together because there is dishonesty and hypocrisy in the act of trying to get the attention of the governors. This is the hypocrisy that is putting the country into the confusion we are in today. Such successors would say, ‘let me get there and then I would do damage to him. And this is what Jang is running away from. He is interested, that was why he said that himself and his deputy would first give way. But he will be mentoring a lot of people. When you are mentoring a lot of people you will look at them and then you know who is honest, who is working dishonestly, who is actually having the heart of doing things right. Who out of all those that have been given responsibilities that seems to have a focus? All these things are there. If you have so many children in a house, you will know which one that seemingly understands you the father more than the others. These are parameters.
“So, you discover that Jang will not just go and pick somebody who will cover him, but someone, if you listen to Jang properly, who will stand for Plateau. Whoever he will endorse is a product of collective ideas to make sure that the person that is coming will work for Plateau and not to create some tension that he has arrived, he too is a governor and can do whatever he wants to do. No. So, I don’t want you to say that he wants to get somebody who is loyal to him, who will cover his past because the only person in life that can cover your nakedness is God. Not people because if you rely on people they will fail you. The only person that will cover the nakedness of any leader is God and the only thing you should do, as a leader is to be honest and transparent in what you are doing. And we enjoy that kind of thing in Plateau State. We enjoy that kind of transparency in Plateau now. So, I believe that that is what we are passing through.”

Since all the three senatorial districts have one time or another produced a governor each, it means that the governorship can now start from any zone. Molwus offered more explanation; “when you see the tradition of Plateau people, we have a tradition and our people understand the rhythm of the tradition. And they also relate that rhythm to the democratic tenets of the constitution of the Federal Republic. And the tenet is that any Plateau man is qualified to aspire to leadership. That is democracy. And from 1999 to date, you will discover that that aspiration has been open to any Plateau man to contest. And therefore, if that is open to any Plateau man, then we have met the dictates and terms of the constitution of the Federal Republic. Yet the people of Plateau, in fairness to the various segments of the state do have an internalised system of arriving at whom to pick. So, you discover that the candidates in the elections from 1999 to date have been coming out from the three zones.

“In 2007 and 2011, it was only Central zone that did not field a candidate because they believed that central zone had had their two terms. This is the kind of concession that we are talking about. I am not saying that tomorrow Plateau Central may not contest. As I told you, the tradition has been all along that the three zones used to present candidates and at the end of it all, the Plateau people, the party itself, will, by reason of ‘being your brother’s keeper’ that we have in the state, say it is better to go to this zone or the other zone. That has been the tradition. We don’t have a sacrosanct zoning like other people who may even document it. No. But as democrats, we want to allow people to bring in better ideas. People from any zone that have ideas should come forward and let us see whether these ideas are workable; at the same time we want to see whether we can carry one another along. The constitution provides freedom, provides rights to do whatever people want to do and to aspire to any position as long as you have what it takes for your people to be convinced.”

count | 26

Plateau 2015: Jang frantically searches for a loyal successor