That Statement By Wukari Citizens – By Ismail Mohammed

The unprecedented crowd which welcomed PDP Governorship Candidate Lt Col Agbu Kefas (rtd) yesterday at Wukari is a veiled statement of sorts. And you can only be a deaf-mute not to have heard it. It was a statement in defiance, a clarion call and a relapse into the ancient powers of the Kwararafa Kingdom to conjure its power and glory.

And if you are permitted to make comparison, no matter how incongruous, it was the kind of statement that ancient city made when their paramount ruler, the Aku Uka passed on and the mystery of the burial rites. The whole world was shocked at how these Jukuns carried their late monarch on a horse to the burial ground. You are left wondering at the level of charms and magic these people are steeped in that’s made them unique in history.

Yesterday event was a reminisce of that occasion. It was as if Wukari is saying in Tinubuspeak “Emi lo kan”! Those were not just party faithfuls or Kefas supporters. They are the general public of that nation, and others who feel a kinship with the Jukuns: kutebs, chamba, itchen, Tiv and Hausas. Wukari has been the spiritual headquarters of these people and they are displaying a solidarity that has over three centuries of history behind it. Kefas has become the express symbol of a resolve, a revivalism if you like of the dominance that once and still exist.

Wukari wants, in conjunction with other partners in the state, to also produce a governor and they can’t play with the opportunity. It is probably the last chance they have having tried in the past. And the latest efforts has all it takes to scale through. There is a vibrant young ex military man who has little or no political baggage and there is a state willing and eager for a change. It’s about the most forceful push yet and it is obvious a winner. That’s the statement Wukari people made yesterday at that rally. It was not a political gathering. It was a historical one.

Mohammed writes from Bantaje, Wukari.