Goje: A politician that APC, Tinubu must avoid in 2027
By Abdulkarim Abubakar, Abuja
The popular saying that – toxic people never tell the full story; they always tell the part where they are victims and everyone else looks bad, is one that clearly captured a recent opinion piece titled ‘‘Senator Goje: The Mistake APC Must Avoid’’ written by one Louis Achi. The piece by Achi, is nothing but a bunch of falsehoods and an attempt to resuscitate the ailing political relevance of Goje who has largely if not completely, outlived his political value and usefulness as far as Gombe political landscape is concerned.
Those who truly understand the political ecosystem of the state know that the piece is a desperate move by a politician seeking political attention, to deceive those outside Gombe State into believing that Senator Goje still has relevance in the state. To put it straight, Achi’s piece attempts to do a cardiopulmonary resuscitation of Goje’s political relevance in the state that has suffered prolonged cardiac arrest. In this piece, we shall put in proper perspective, the matter as it is since Achi’s write up has opened the floor for that.
To be frank, Goje has been an important figure in Gombe politics having been in the saddle as governor, minister and now senator but his relevance is now once upon a time in view of his zero contribution to the continued growth of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Gombe State in recent elections where he publicly worked against the party.
Charity they say begins at home but in Goje’s case he only wants to identify himself with APC at the national level while shunning all APC’s gatherings in Gombe State and even in North East for the past three years or so. Examining Achi’s piece, let’s do the maths on the allegations made that Goje was betrayed in spite of the claim that he has consistently placed collective interest above personal gain.
The question is who betrayed Goje? And at what point did Goje place collective interest above his personal interest? The simple truth is that, it is Goje that betrayed his party, the APC and the record is an open secret to even a kindergarten in the state. Build up to the 2023 General Elections, Gov. Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State made efforts, criss-crossing the length and breadth of the state, from ward to ward, reaching every polling unit, in companion of some APC chieftains in the state to canvass votes for President Bola Tinubu and all APC candidates in the state. It is on record that Inuwa asked electorates to vote for Goje because he was a member of the APC even when Goje ‘Nicodemusly’ worked for the success of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and yet someone is busying saying Goje was betrayed. As a party faithful, you owe it a duty to work for the success of your party at all times irrespective of any grievance you may be nursing against anyone in your party, that is loyalty in any political space, yet Goje chose the opposite route; preferring the fall of the APC in Gombe only to serve his personal interest.
It is on record that Goje in an election conducted on the same day as that of the president, won in his polling unit, yet the same party through which he was elected lost the presidential election; yet it is Goje according to Achi’s piece that was betrayed. The same President Tinubu he failed to work for in 2023, is the same leader he wants to gain his favour ahead of 2027. It is good we remind those who may have forgotten, how Goje’s name appeared on PDP ballot during the party’s primary election, though he denied participating in the PDP primary, pledging his allegiance to the APC, yet not a single campaign was he part of even when president Tinubu came to flag off his campaign in the state in February 2023, Goje shunned Tinubu’s rally without any apology yet he is now trying to warm his way into APC and Tinubu’s heart ahead of 2027. APC and President Tinubu must shine their eyes o!
But for the rigorous and unrelenting campaign strategies adopted by Inuwa, complemented by his transformative and revolutionary developmental strides and sterling performance, the APC through Goje’s APC-at-day-PDP-at-night moves, would have become history today on Gombe’s political map. And I ask, if Goje’s wish for Inuwa and APC to lose, had succeeded, who would have delivered APC to Tinubu in 2027? Is it the opposition that Goje worked for to take over the state? The truth is that, it is Goje that betrayed the party that fed him in spite of the fact that he benefitted from the political magnanimity of Gov. Inuwa Yahaya’s campaign to win his return ticket to the Senate and if Goje hadn’t played the dangerous card, Tinubu would have won Gombe too.
The anti-party activities of Goje during the last election, has shown that he is a political Nicodemus moving with the APC during the day but working for PDP at night. It is a known public discourse in Gombe State that Goje worked for the success of the PDP in the state and Atiku Abubakar who is from the North East and that is why even in the piece written by Achi, he was quick to provide Atiku Abubakar as a potential option for Goje should the APC fail to work with him. Why the option of Atiku and not any other candidate? That’s because Goje has a strong connection to Atiku Abubakar and returning to support him will not be any difficult task for Goje as it is in his usual character to do that.
The consistency of Goje’s anti party activities before and during the 2023 general elections, which became unbearable for the APC at Kashere Ward, forcing the Ward Executives to expel him having constituted a committee to reach out to Goje but he failed to answer the call of the committee to defend his anti-party activities that caused APC to suffer a blow in the state. Till date, Goje is yet to respond to some of the allegations that led to his expulsion, amongst which are:
i. Failure to attend the flag-off of the Gombe State APC campaign rally in Gombe which was performed by the then National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu
ii. Failure to attend the Asiwaju-Kashim presidential rally in Gombe State which was attended by then President-elect Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his VP-elect Senator Kashim Shettima
iii. Failure to attend all APC campaign rallies and tours in Gombe State, including the one in his own Gombe Central senatorial zone, Akko Federal constituency, state assembly and ward unit
iv. Hobnobbing with opposition parties and their candidates with the intent to undermine the success of the APC in Gombe State and Nigeria in general
v. Open support to opposition party candidates by hosting the NNPP Gubernatorial candidate and the PDP Akko Federal House of Representatives Candidate in his residence and offered support against the interest of his party the APC among many other instances.
These and many more are not the definition of loyalty to APC.
The above is one amongst the numerous petitions written against Senator Goje’s un-statesmanship conduct.
If the aim of Achi’s piece is to help launder the already battered image of Senator Goje with the aim of winning the trust of Mr President, then it is a dead-on-arrival attempt because trust is not given or served à la carte, it is earned through consistent actions, reliability, and integrity and by these benchmarks, Senator Goje should never be trusted as his move should be cautiously scrutinised to avoid having a friendly foe within APC which will be counter-productive by all standard.
Achi’s fake praise for Goje as the leader of the North-East Senators’ Caucus is not only laughable, it is a pure definition of he who pays the piper calling the tune because no North East leader worth his weight in gold would by any means shun the APC North East Stakeholders’ summit held in Gombe where President Tinubu was endorsed for a second term in office. In some climes, such acts would be punished by the party; but for the leniency of the APC, Goje would have been long forgotten within the APC family, if he had been duly punished for his numerous sins against the APC.
At a time when genuine party men were rallying around the President and consolidating unity ahead of 2027, Goje has chosen to stay away or rather become a spectacle in a game he is supposed to be actively involved as a faithful party man the he is claiming to be. That singular act exposed his double standards and confirmed that his commitment to the APC is suspicious especially at a time when party loyalty is judged by either a 100 per cent or nothing.
Achi’s claim that Gombe APC that cannot survive without Goje, saying that APC needs Goje more than Goje needs APC, is a figment of the shallow imagination of how APC in Gombe is being perceived by Goje and his outdated political ideology that can no longer win election in contemporary times.
For Achi to have insinuated that APC needs Goje more than Goje needs APC on the basis that Goje may not contest again except pressure mounts on him to re-contest shows a poor understanding of the politics of Gombe State as it stands today.
Recall that in December 2019, Goje announced to the whole world that he has retired from elective politics only to turn around to re-contest in 2023 on the basis that pressure was mounted on him to re-contest and the question is who mounted the pressure? Those he indeed paid to call for his re-contesting or they would sue him to court to compel him to re-contest? A man of integrity stands by his words no matter the amount of pressure. Goje’s re-contesting the 2023 election, showed the integrity of his personality as a leader and further justifies the obvious that he only serves himself and that he is not in the business of allowing younger generations to serve, yet Achi’s article attempted to paint Goje as a mentor.
The APC in Gombe is stronger, more united, and more vibrant today than it has ever been, precisely because it has moved beyond personality politics to an all-inclusive party where everyone’s voice matters. The question Achi should be answering is how APC was able to survive all these years when Goje shunned all engagements with the party and even worked both underground and openly to see to the failure of the party so he could prove that his absence led to the death of the party – which never happened.
The Gombe APC ecosystem is one that has evolved into a more unified family where every member is proud to be an APC member because of the sterling performance of Gov. Yahaya. Today, the pride of every APC member is that Inuwa has surpassed the expectations of his manifesto and those of the people, transforming Gombe into a model that is difficult for even opposition to deny even with the minimal resources and by that he has offended those who wished him failure upon assumption into office in 2019. Now that it is clear that there is no stopping Inuwa on his landmark projects which has made Gombe State receiving international and national awards and recognitions on almost weekly basis, the Goje’s camp has decided to recruit machinery to polish his image on paper through half-baked article laden with landmine lies that will only do more damage to his image than good.
Tinubu’s chances of winning in Gombe is brighter now than ever based on two major factors: Inuwa’s uncommon transformation of Gombe and Tinubu’s evident support and likeness for Gombe State which many residents have seen as a gesture that should be reciprocated because a Gombawa always holds any trust extended to him or her in high esteem.
In as much as Tinubu and APC needs all the support to strengthen the party, the party must be wary of accommodating those who are good at selling their party or party leaders in exchange for some pieces of personal silver.
To borrow the headline of Achi’s article with a little punctuation modification, indeed, “Senator Goje is the Mistake that APC must avoid in 2027.”
