Binani: A basher and a bowl-over
By Bala Ibrahim
News of the victory of Senator Aishatu Binani of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the just concluded governorship primary in Adamawa state is not only mind-blowing, but bewildering, for a number of reasons.
According to reports, Senator Binani, who is a serving senator representing Adamawa central, defeated former EFCC chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who scored 288, former governor Mohammed Umaru Jibrilla, popularly called Bindow, who scored 103 and a serving House of Representatives member, Namdas, with 94 votes. Other people beaten by Binani are, Wafari Therman and Umar Mustapha, who scored 21 and 39 respectively.
In announcing the result of the primaries, the chairman of the primaries committee, Alhaji Gambo Lawal said, a total number of 1130 delegates were accredited and a total of 1011 votes were cast, while the invalid votes cast were 36. According to Gambo, out of the total number of valid votes cast, Senator Ashatu Dahiru Binani scored 430, and having scored the highest number of votes cast, she is returned as the winner of the primary election.
For a woman to defeat five male contestants, including the immediate past governor of the state, says a lot about her political strength and sagacity, particularly in a state like Adamawa, where like many states of the north, male chauvinism, or the belief that men are superior to women is preponderant.
By that singular feat, Senator Binani has become the first female flag bearer of any political party in Adamawa state. This makes her a basher and a bowl-over in one.
Senator Binani has a long list of firsts to the credit of her political credentials, including the fact that for now, she is the only female Senator from the north east to have decamped from one party to another, and still maintain the respect and support of her constituents.
In the 7th Assembly, Binani was a member of the House of Representatives, where she represented Yola North/Yola South/Girei federal constituency, under the umbrela of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.
Friday’s victory also makes Senator Binani the first female governorship candidate in any of the major political parties in Adamawa state, and the second female flag bearer of a major party in Nigeria, after late Aisha Alhassan, the former Minister of Women Affairs, who contested in the neighbouring Taraba State in 2015.
Nigeria may not be ready for a female governor, but with people like Senator Binani, whose audacity in politics is heading for hardihood, men should be ready for the unexpected, because anything could happen, and probably will happen. If she can win the confidence of the delegates, no one should rule out the possibility of her winning the confidence of the electorates. And there are many reasons to justify that.
Records have it that Senator Binani was the only senator that empowered farmers during the wet season, with a lot of fertilizers, which she distributed for free in the state, in addition to other interventions.This has succeeded in endearing her more to her people.
As the member of the House of Reps, she championed the upgrading of the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Yola, to a teaching hospital, and pursued its actualization during her tenure as a Senator.
So whichever way we look at it, Senator Binani has broken the record, by becoming a basher and a bowl-over in one.
Binani: A basher and a bowl-over
