Since Her Excellency Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani hit the campaign trail a lot more than expected has been revealed about this phenomenal woman often described as “an Amazing Amazon” One of the revelations is the level of her stamina and courage. Returning to Yola at 2am and departing by 7am the next day is not the kind of stuff expected of a woman. But Binani could be a woman, but definitely she is not a weakling. She could work all day and all night. She is also a very patient person. When told some people were peeling off her posters, she did the unthinkable, she smiled and simply said paste some more. No anger, no annoyance, just confidence. And her team is equally exceptional. The party leadership, the campaign councils both Presidential and Gubernatorial and the towering stakeholders around her have all been exceptional. As for the people , nothing could define their solidarity and conduct except the word phenomenonal. The reception as well as patience of the citizens defies any means of explanation. It is simply extraordinary. Men, women, (particularly women) youth and very interestingly, people living with disabilities all trooped out in large numbers to be part of history in Adamawa and even in Nigeria. One party leader described the Binani phenomenon as “Jirgin Annabi Nuhu” or Noah’s Ark. It’s a movement that promises to sweep all in its way to victory.
Reactions to such an extraordinary occurrence have been varied and different. Within the APC the excitement is very high. Both those who believed in the candidature of Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani and those who were initially skeptical have developed a high level of assurance. An assurance that this ticket and indeed all APC tickets from Presidential to the legislature will deliver victory for the party. The arrowhead of this revolution is indeed the Amazing Amazon of Adamawa politics Her Excellency Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani. Most APC members are excited about the successes of the campaign trail and the overwhelming acceptance of the populace as displayed by their gatherings and Patience at venues. Others feel encouraged by the open shows of solidarity and support by the citizens. However, the opposition camps are displaying varied reactions to this revolutionary occurrence.
There are those to be described as desperate. This group of people believe that if the situation is allowed to continue like this, the opposition will be totally overwhelmed. For them the only option left is to take steps to scuttle the campaign. One of them who happens to be a top opposition leader in the Northern Senatorial District has called for a meeting of some misguided youth asking them to prepare a plan to interrupt the Binani campaign train when it arrives in the Northern Senatorial District. They are to stand at particular locations along the pathway of the motorcade and either boo or jeer at the convoy. Some of them are to go to the venues of rallies to shout negatively. This group of misguided youth who are recruited to undertake such a risky and criminal activity need to be identified and sensitized to realize that they cannot be risking their own lives for the sake of people whose children are protected in choice schools and work places. Such desperate actions are supposedly undertaken in order to please a particular gubernatorial candidate who had all along relaxed in the delusion that the divisions within the APC will make a united front impossible. But impossible is one word that the Binani phenomenon had banished in Adamawa politics.
Lacking in strategy, the desperate are looking towards criminality. Putting the lives of fellow citizens in danger as an act of desperation is the height of insensitivity and leadership recklessness. And let them be informed that the details of their meetings and unholy alliances are not only known to us but to the security agencies as well. And because unlike them we value the lives of these youth and we hope to make their lives better, we shall sensitise our supporters to refrain from any act that breaches the peace no matter the level of provocations. Let the desperate be assured that when the campaign trail hits the Northern Senatorial District it shall be as phenomenonal as it has been in the other zones. Those who told their masters a lie about being in control of the population with capacity to determine turnouts should realize that their lies have come to end. For too long we are aware that they have been claiming control of the politics of certain areas. Now reality has sank. The only thing they control is the lies they tell. The people are masters of their own destinies and for now they are committed to “Sai Matannan”
The doctored are those who have found a way of just doctoring videos of the APC campaign trail by inserting unfavourable sounds. They believe it is a way of blunting the huge people reception the campaign trail enjoys in all locations visited. One thing that is certain though is that they have seen the video footage, they have seen the massive turnout, and they have seen the impressive acceptance of the people. They are unarguably worried. One of the innovations in the Binani phenomenon is that activities on the campaign trail have created interest nationwide. It is therefore a common occurrence across all states of the Federation to find video of the campaign trail in circulation. This is sending shockwaves to the opposition especially those whose only strategy was the likelihood of a legal disqualification of some other candidates. In a desperate act of extreme self deception they chose to cherry pick some clips of the video and insert negative voices with the hope that their doctored videos will supersede the real ones.
But who cares if the videos are doctored ? Does it really change the situation on the ground? Will the election outcomes be determined by a few snippets of doctored videos? Definitely NO. If those who are doctoring these videos by putting negative voices on them want to know how we feel about what they are doing, let them be assured that we are happy they are watching our campaign videos. Let them know that what they see in these videos are just glimpses of the real situations on the ground at the locations we visited. The real thing is even ten times higher. The best way to feel it properly is to attend in person. We invite them to attend our rallies and confirm their worst fears. Ours is no longer a campaign, it is a phenomenon. It is the Binani phenomenon. It is an APC phenomenon. It is the revolution Nigeria is waiting for.
The confused are those who had opposed the candidature on the faulty premise that certain categories of people will oppose it. They bandied all manner of postulations relating to some wharp concepts such as culture, tradition or even religion. All these had been proved hollow and did not matter to the people. In a democracy what matters is the choice of the people freely given and freely made. Going by the turn out, the jubilations and the euphoria at the APC campaign venues it is obvious that the confused elements have a lot more confusion to contend with.
The first round of the APC campaigns in Adamawa State led by Her Excellency Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani has proved a double blessing for the people of Adamawa state. It has exposed the character and capacity of the gubernatorial candidate Senator Binani. It also proved that when the people of the state decide on their political choice, they stand by it. Putting the people’s commitment side by side with Binani’s courage and capacity in a mix what you get is an unstoppable force. Added to that is the exceptional capabilities of all the candidates of APC to mobilize the grassroots and galvanize them to Victory. And the strong vehicles that will drive the victory party to the desired destination are the Party structure and leadership, the campaign councils and the ever reliable APC stakeholders.
Ahmed Sajoh Writes From Yola, Adamawa State
