Lafia: Tinubu’s Project Bigger Than An Individual’s Ambitions

By Mustapha Yunusa

The presidential campaign rally at Lafia Square should have been a moment of unity, collective commitment and renewed hope for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. Unfortunately, the tension surrounding the event raises serious questions about political tolerance, inclusiveness and the true purpose of the gathering.

Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura is not an outsider to the Renewed Hope project. He is a member of the Presidential Campaign Council and the North Central Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors. His political relevance, experience and commitment to the President’s vision deserve recognition and respect.

The concern is that Governor Abdullahi Sule appeared more preoccupied with Senator Wadada’s political ambition than with the broader responsibility of uniting all genuine supporters of President Tinubu under one presidential campaign platform.

If the Governor wishes to campaign for Senator Wadada, he is at liberty to do so. That is a legitimate political pursuit. But a presidential campaign must never become a platform for imposing personal political interests, creating divisions or alienating other loyal supporters of the President.

You cannot demand loyalty to President Tinubu while treating some of his committed supporters as unwanted guests.

The supporters of President Tinubu, including those who identify with Senator Al-Makura and the political aspirations of former IGP Mohammed Adamu, have every democratic right to participate in the Renewed Hope movement. No individual can monopolise that support or determine who is entitled to belong.

Nasarawa needs political maturity, not manufactured divisions; inclusion, not exclusion; and leadership that brings people together rather than pushes them apart.

President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope project is bigger than any individual’s ambition. Let the presidential campaign remain presidential, not a vehicle for settling state-level political scores.

Mustapha Yunisa writes from Lafia