By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

It was fitting that Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State would tell the home truth about his role in the emergence of Yakubu Dogara as his successor as speaker of the House of Representatives before Dogara’s home crowd last Monday.

File: Tambuwal

Speaking to a delegation of Dogara’s Sayawa Community of Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa Local Government Areas of Bauchi State who paid him a thank you visit in Sokoto, Tambuwal said that he sided with competence above every other consideration in backing Dogara ahead of his friend, fellow principal officer and lead supporter, Femi Gbajabiamila.

Religious conflict

Tambuwal’s staunch support helped to ensure that some other governors, notably Governor Yari of Zamfara backed Dogara. With governors of Sokoto and Zamfara backing Dogara, a northern minority Christian, attempts to divide the contest into a religious conflict between the two major contestants was easily checked.

Tambuwal’s support for Dogara against Gbajabiamila had come as a shock to many outside the House. It was especially devastating to many members of the All Progressives Congress, APC from the Southwest who knew the investment the political leadership of the Southwest, especially Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, paid in foisting Tambuwal himself as speaker in 2011. Tinubu’s men in the House led by Gbajabiamila had pulled a fast one when they helped Tambuwal to become speaker against the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s preferred nominee, Mulikat Akande-Adeola.

It was even more striking that Akande-Adeola was from the same Southwest geopolitical zone as Tinubu and Gbajabiamila when they seemingly conspired to deny their daughter and sister the prime position of speaker in 2011.

Suggestions that Tambuwal would reciprocate the political gesture from Tinubu were seemingly tempered by the former speaker’s own seemingly nationalistic inclinations as he told Dogara’s kinsmen on Monday.

“The survival of the legislature as an important arm of government made it imperative that competent hands are headhunted to be its leaders,” Governor Tambuwal said. That fact is undoubtedly buttressed by the very positive impressions many have said of Dogara.

That claim, he said, was underlined by the support Dogara received from the principal officers of the Seventh House. Eight out of the ten members of the body of principal officers according to the former speaker backed Dogara, who is himself not a principal officer against Gbajabiamila, who was the minority leader at that time.

“Eight out of ten members of the Body of Principal Officers in the last Assembly supported Dogara’s aspiration,” Tambuwal said as he noted that the only support for Gbajabiamila came from Rep. Datti Ahmad and Gbajabiamila himself.

Noting the basis of his support for Dogara, he said: “I have strong affinity with Hon Femi. He was closer to me than Dogara. But when talking about leadership and collective decisions, sentiments have to be put aside. I’m not here to tell you that my support made Dogara the Speaker, no. Two things made Dogara become the Speaker, one is God and two, Dogara’s competence.

“The acknowledgment of Dogara’s competence did not start with me. It started from the time of Hon Patricia and Etteh and Hon Dimeji Bankole when they entrusted him with a sensitive position of the Chairman of House Services Committee.

Procurement processes

“The committee is one of the most sensitive in the legislature. Apart from taking care of the welfare of members, the committee oversees all procurement processes. As the Speaker, I only did what my predecessors did by giving Dogara this sensitive position.

“No person, as far as I know, has ever served as chairman of the House Services Committee in two dispensations. Dogara broke that jinx.”

Putting aside the fact that Dogara himself did not support his own emergence as speaker in 2011 when people like Gbajabiamila were rallying the troops for him, Tambuwal continued:

“All through my tenure, I brought Dogara close to me because I found in him a person who is competent, accommodating, and with capacity to lead.

“Anyone doubting Dogara’s ability to lead, should ask members of the 7th Assembly how he handled their matter. So we supported Dogara, not for any reason but because he was competent to deliver on any task given to him.”

Tambuwal’s explanations, however, did not sufficiently clear the air on other political undercurrents that preceded the stunning move by Dogara to upset the apple cart as determined by the APC leadership.

It had been whispered in some circles that Tambuwal’s support for Dogara was a payback by the former speaker for the failure of Tinubu to back his Tambuwal’s alleged presidential aspiration.

His explanation on Monday tended clarify his position.

Another element which he only partly elaborated on was the historical relationship between the people of the Old Caliphate and the people of Bauchi State.

“The relationship between people of Sokoto and Bauchi States was amplified in the First Republic when the first Prime Minister of Nigeria, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa worked in harmony with the leader of his party and then Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahamdu Bello,” Tambuwal said.

His assertion helped to buttress claims of a deliberate effort by the Sultanate to rebuild that relationship in the light of divisions wrecked by religious and ethnic divisions in the north.

In projecting a minority northern Christian, the Sultanate may have rekindled the spirit of One North that was the hallmark of the Ahmadu Bello – Tafawa Bello era. However, in doing that, Tambuwal has toyed with Tinubu who is waiting and waiting perhaps for a recompense!