Daily Review: Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara has just lost his reelection bid, having scored 311,976 votes, 66,000 votes less than his major challenger Dr. Dauda Lawal Dare who scored 377,726 votes to emerge a winner, may have come as a huge shock to many political observers who thought his reelection was all but guaranteed after the state produced massive votes for the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the state.
Looking at his surprised defeat with a sizable margin, Daily Review takes a look at some of the factors that led to his shocking defeat, and fall from grace. Enjoy:
Insecurity
Zamfara has been a center of worsening insecurity in northern Nigeria as bandits continue to kidnap and massacre thousands of people over the past four years. Billions of naira wer e paid either by the state or individual to secure release of their loved ones. High profile warlords such as Bello Turji are based in Zamfara and continue to terrorize civilian population in places like Tsafe, Maru, Bungudu, Anka, Bukuyum, Bakura, Talata Mafara, Birnin Magaji, Zurmi, and Shinkafi. Thousands of people have been internally displaced, and pressure keeps mounting on the governor as peopl e complain about lack of resolve or any realistic policy to tackle the insecurity and alleviate their suffering. This has greatly contributed to the governor’s defeat.
Elitism
Zamfara politics is heavily influenced by many powerful actors such as the former governor Abdulaziz Yari, Senator Kabir Bello Marafa, General Aliyu Gusau. In a desperate move to stay in power, Governor Bello Matawalle forged an alliance with them, seeming to focus on executing critical projects such as health, education and youth empowerment which always play key roles in getting support from local population. The alliance would not save the governor as Zamfara voters massively protested peacefully using the power of their voters’ cards to vote him out.
Economic hardship
Zamfara is one of the poorest states in Nigeria. Insecurity has worsened the situation with the cash crunch biting people harder and forcing thousands of people to lose their sources of livelihood overnight. “People are really angry with the governor and his inconsistent policy which played a key role in his defeat because people felt neglected,” said Ibrahim Hassan Anka, a Gusau resident who voted for Bello Matawalle.
A lot of people interviewed by Daily Review thought the governor was not doing enough to lift people out of poverty.
“I am sure Governor Matawalle would have been won reelection if he had surrounded himself with the right people who understood the Zamfara problems and how to solve them.
Defection to APC
Governor Bello Matawalle came to power under the People Democratic Party as a result of the Supreme Court ruling which sacked the APC candidate, Muktar Shehu, who INEC declared as the winner with the highest number of votes. As the governor sought consolidate power and began to strategize to seek reelection, Bello Matawalle defected to the APC without consulting his people from the grassroot level, seeking to capitalize on the popularity of the party in the state, and banking on support from the powerful politicians in the state such as the former governor, Abdul Aziz Yari. But the defection did not go down well with many voters in the state, hence adding to his misfortune which led to his defeat.
Fall-out with his deputy
After defecting to the APC, Bello Matawalle demanded loyalty from his deputy, Mahadi Aliyu Gusau who refused to defect, setting up a condition for the governor to plot his removal which sealed on 23rd February, 2022, a year to the general elections. As the son of a powerful figure in Zamfara, General Aliyu Gusau, Mahadi Aliyu’s impeachment set off a serious rift with the strongman who secretly strategized a plan to form a powerful network of grassroot movement to ensure Governor Matawalle is defeated.
