A careful perusal of commentary from Plateau State on recent batches of appointments by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a case of brothers fighting for strangers to possess their land.
All of a sudden, the people are lamenting that the recent federal appointments by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu are not favoring Plateau State. Before the appointments are all gone, Plateau House needs to be compensated, as the reward of politics is here and the dividend of democracy cannot elude us.
It is on record that the entire votes of the Southeast of Nigeria in the last Presidential election is not up to what Jos North gave Tinubu.
Abia 8,914, Ebonyi 42,000, Anambra 5,111, Imo 66,416, Enugu 4,772: the total votes for Tinubu from the 5 Southeast states amount to 127,213, not up to half of the votes from Plateau State.
PLATEAU State gave Tinubu a whooping 307,195 despite the propaganda of religion (MM Ticket) and Politics of ethnicity and Tribalism. Tinubu came second to Peter Obi in the Christian-dominated State of Plateau.
Even Rivers, where the FCT Minister is bragging and has been compensated politically with a Ministerial slot, only delivered 231,591 to Tinubu. The VP Kashim Shettima State of Borno only delivered 252,282 votes to Tinubu. In fact, only Kaduna, Bauchi, Katsina, and Niger are ahead of Plateau in the North when it comes to votes for the Jagaban.
Therefore, Plateau State has all the bragging rights to demand for juicy appointments under this renewed hope government.
Quoting a staunch APC stalwart on the Plateau:
“If 30 appointments have been given so far, which I dare say are close to 200. As State number 12 largest, and our votes were above 300k, don’t you think a single post of an ED, MD, CEO will have assuage and allay our anxieties?”
While we press on the listening President to beam his searchlight on Plateau on his next set of appointments, it is important to put it on record that the Plateau man is his own worst enemy.
When Tinubu was searching for a Vice President from the North Central, the Plateau man crucified his own not to get it.
When Tinubu made Lalong DG of his campaign, the Plateau man crucified Lalong and ensured he didn’t get the necessary support.
When Tinubu won elections and permutations were rife for Plateau to get SGF, some Plateau elders and APC stalwarts stood against it and they ensured it went to Benue.
When Plateau House were fighting for Speaker of the House of Reps, same Plateau people in both APC and PDP ensured it was not zoned to Plateau.
Both the APC and PDP that are fighting Lalong, Nentawe, and Gagdi are busy going to the first lady, the Chief of Staff to the President, using Wike and the rest to frustrate any good thing that should come to Plateau.
The President has been inundated with different narratives of vindictiveness emanating from the Plateau in Abuja. Do you think the President will take Plateau politicians seriously?
Everyone is feeling they are more APC and Jagaban than the others, so instead of Plateau State to have a common bargain on what they want, everyone is only after painting their brother black in order to curry favor for themselves and their personal interest.
The states that have enjoyed massive appointments under Tinubu don’t have two heads. They just have a political class that is united and coordinated in asking for what belongs to them.
As for Plateau, there is no gain in backstabbing and pulling your own down in order to get favor. At the end, the person you betray your brother to will not value you as he is aware that you cannot be trusted.
Tinubu is a rewarder of loyalty. At the right time, he will reward Plateau State abundantly for sticking out our necks to deliver an albatross at the time of elections – A Muslim/Muslim ticket.
NB:
It is unfortunate and shameful to see PDP that brought all forms of religious and ethnic propaganda against the APC in the last election now mocking the APC on the Plateau about appointments while they nicodemously go to Abuja boasting about Wike and having the ears of the President. These people lack shame. The same MM Ticket they accused is now the same Government they are romancing for a pot of porridge.
Makut Alfred Mashat is a Public Relations Practitioner and a Digital Entrepreneur.
_munataray@gmail.com_
