By Elder Karofi
Following the conclusion of its national convention in Bauchi on 13th August 2027 which resulted in the formal coronation of Senator Bala Abdulkadir Muhammad as the APM national leader, there appears to be a new trend in the political firmament in Bauchi State.
In what appears to be a fallout from the irreconcilable differences bedeviling the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with many governors being cornered behind to the scene and lured into the ruling party, Governor Bala Muhammad has set his strategic sight, not on teaming up with the APC to capture the state by supporting the unpopular APC candidate, MA Abubakar but on creating a youth-centered movement which will eventually cement his legacy. The strategy has already spooked even Kaura’s political opponents who once thought they had what it took to gang up against him and eventually wrestle control of the state.
Bala Muhammad formally left PDP after it became clear that PDP was disintegrating with no hope of unity in sight. He was invited to join the APC but the ruling party is not popular in Bauchi and a vast majority of Bauchi voters are ovewhelmigly against the governor, joining APC. So he joined APM, a well known political party that many people only came to notice after it was reported that Governor Bala Muhammad was moving into the party with his entire structure.
Many analysts believed APM was immune from any leadership crisis, and Bala Muhammad strategically joined the party instead of the likes of the ADC and NDC because he could not countenance a political scenario where his legacy could be threatened by infighting or litigation which could threaten whatever he intended to pursue in 2027. He decided to build the APM in Bauchi from the scratch under the Kaurasiyya Akida Movement and the rest is history.
Amidst the razzmatazz of the Bauchi political terrain as electioneering gains momentum, one thing that every resident of Bauchi would not fail to ignore is the widespread acceptance of the APM where every nook and cranny of the state is being festooned with the APM posters featuring Governor Bala Muhammad alongside his preferred candidate Yakubu Adamu, and young and agile technocrat who Bala Muhammad regards as the most suitable person to pick up the gauntlet and keep taking Bauchi to a greater height.
Governor Bala Muhammad is banking on his unprecedented projects in the state, touching healthcare, education, youth empowerment and now the trajectory of his 2027 strategy tilts towards giving the youths the chance to rule themselves, and the Bauchi voters are eager to accept it.
APM has now come of age in Bauchi, penetrating all walks of life, and if public opinion is anything to go by, APM is on course to vote for Yakubu Adamu as the governor of Bauchi.
Elder Karofi is a political analyst based in Bauchi
