By Ibrahim Ibrahim
In my quest to explore the outstanding record of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in Nigeria, my mind always attaches to what likely could have been the fate of the party if it lost the grip of some certain individuals who have hitherto shown much concern for its broad-mindedness.
The biggest question that lingers in all liberal minds is: When will the APC rediscover its true faithful? But just like the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, Dalai Lama XIV, would say,”Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them,
” so it is worth mentioning some of the selfless personalities who show maximum commitment to the party across Nigeria, those who stood firm for the APC to prosper from both the local to the national and international arena.
But what amazes people is that almost all of these committed members of the APC in states or the national cadre remain silent; most of them do not open up or show themselves for mere recognition; they are silent achievers. They don’t go on and on blowing their trumpet; they only make a difference with their wealth of energy, experience, resources, and, above all, their precious time.
This piece is intended to start unveiling such personalities across the country, starting with Kano State, the biggest and most important state in northern Nigeria. We all know that Kano alone is equal to the task as a political game changer for the country.
Suppose the APC leaders and stakeholders were to make a choice or a roll call of some of its members who gave their time to make it successful, I am optimistic that all would’ve voted for two outstanding personalities in the party: Senator Barau Jibrin (CON) and Alhaji Abdulsalam Abdulkareem Zaura (A. A. Zaura).
While the former has been a serving senator of Kano North Central senatorial district since the 8th assembly to date, the latter is a businessman-turned-politician who only aspires for the position of governor in 2019 and the Kano Central senatorial seat in 2023.
It is not about their candidacy or prowess at the just concluded general elections that matters; it is about their resounding pulse and commitment towards the success of APC in Kano State and other parts of the country.
We all know that the battle for the soul of the APC has been a major concern of loyal members and enthusiasts of the party, with a combination of the old and the new, the tested and the untested.
For example, the party in Kano State before the coming of personalities like A. A. Zaura had been in fiascoes, shambles, and disorders, but with the commitment of Alhaji Abdulsalam Zaura and other like-minded members like Senator Barau and a few others from the state party stakeholders, APC bounced back to its triumph stage.
Prior to the preparations of the 2023 elections, there has been concern raised by its stakeholders, more especially the party leader and Executive Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, on the need for more efficiency and effectiveness for the general elections.
Alhaji Zaura, who joined in newly has clearly shown interest in supporting all the laudable achievements of the Dr. Ganduje-led administration. Zaura went in with full force to render his unalloyed allegiance, commitment, and selfless service to APC.
He was the first APC stakeholder who set out to re-inject hope, confidence, and optimism into the minds of the APC family in Kano State.
Zaura, over time, has distinguished himself as a committed democrat, a selfless personality, and a true son of APC in Nigeria with an unwavering commitment to the party’s progress and harmonization. He has shown with gratitude his commitment and his untiring efforts to deepen egalitarianism in the APC in the state.
It was also on record that, through his generosity, benevolence, and magnanimity, Alhaji Abdulsalam Zaura has donated 50 vehicles to the Kano State leadership of the APC.
The donation, which was made through the state governor, His Excellency Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, was to empower local party leaders to move around, to be more human-centric, and to promote the APC’s manifestation of assuaging the suffering of the masses.
The cars were shared among all 44 local governments and the 3 senatorial districts, and then they will be at the state party secretariat for the day-to-day governance of the party.
Not only that, Alhaji Zaura surrendered his hard-earned resources to complement efforts by the state government under the leadership of Governor Ganduje by donating two fire rescue vans to the Kano State Government as his contribution to risk and fire disaster management in the state.
Others include ambulances and other vehicles for multiple relief activities.
Within the time specified, Zaura has touched the lives of all parties involved in his state through his commitment to complement the efforts of the state government. He made available a 30-seater bus as a donation to the Kano Pillars Football Club (FC).
He also ventured into youth driven programs of empowerment and donated sewing machines to ease their means of livelihood and invest in their well-being.
Zaura is known to have initiated laudable programs, policies, and strategies that directly impacted positively on the lives of the APC family, not only in Kano State but in the country at large.
During the campaign activities, Alhaji Abdulsalam Abdulkareem Zaura showed his full commitment to ensuring all APC candidates are given priorities during the elections.
The Kano State-born politician wrote his name with a golden pen in the history of APC during the conduct of the general elections, using his wealth of resources to support the party in both the two segments of the elections.
He believes that with total commitment, APC will regain its mandate and clinch victory as the best party in the country and Africa as a whole.
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Ibrahim Ibrahim is a writer and public analyst. He can be reached at: ibrahim.ibrahim@gamil.com.