Personality in Focus
2023: Why Tambuwal May Spring Surprise, Clinch PDP’s Presidential Ticket
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As Nigeria’s main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) makes final preparation for its highly anticipated presidential primaries scheduled for this weekend in Abuja, the aspirants are also in final race to politick their way to pick the party’s coveted ticket.
For over three months now, aspirants have transversed the length and breadth of the country meeting party delegates to sell their ambition of being the party’s flag bearer ahead of the 2023 presidential elections.
One of the aspirants and a former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi on Wednesday resigned his membership of the party and also pulled out of the race for the party’s ticket reducing the contenders to 14.
The 14 presidential aspirants as of Thursday include; former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku, two former Senate Presidents, Bukola Saraki and Anyim Pius Anyim as well as Governors Aminu Tambuwa, Nyesom Wike, Bala Mohammed, Emmanuel Udom, of Sokoto, Rivers, Bauchi and Akwa Ibom states respectively.
Others are businessman, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former Governors Peter Obi and Ayo Fayose of Anambra and Ekiti States, Chief Sam Ohunabunwa, Dele Momodu, Charles Okwudili, Chikwendu Kalu, Cosmos Ndukwe and Olivia Tarela, who is the only female among the PDP presidential aspirants.
However, while the race appears tight and competitive, the odds seem to be in favour of the incumbent governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal.
Tambuwal controls largest share of delegates by region
In search of the best candidate to take PDP to victory come 2023, several speculations have been made in favour of Atiku with citation of his political record in 2018, during which he polled 1,532 votes at the PDP’s primaries to secure the party’s ticket and marched to keenly contest with President Muhammadu Buhari – he (Atiku) garnered 11,262,978 (41%) while Buhari Buhari of claimed 15,191,847 (56%).
For those on this lane, there are two points that have been gravely ignored, one of which is that the dynamics of politics in Nigeria today are unfavourable for Atiku and the second factor is that Tambuwal’s feat at the same 2018, where he trailed Atiku after securing 693 votes is highly underrated – not everyone is aware that the Sokoto State Governor continued to nurture his strength and political structure while Atiku on his side abandoned his political house after losing out in the last presidential election.
With President Muhammadu Buhari withholding assent on the Amended Electoral Act 2022, Tambuwal’s call to a new political glory was made more pronounced. This is because the Northwest Zone where he hails from would be presenting the highest number of delegates to the convention given the region’s superior number of local governments. The zone comprises of Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara States – and most of these states are in his pocket (Tambuwal).
Only 811 voting delegates are expected at the PDP convention, they include 774 national delegates (1 Per LGA and 37 special delegates (People with disability from each of the 36 states and FCT).
There is an aggregate of 186 national delegates in the Northwest and Tambuwal is the only candidate presented by the region. Firstly, there is no gainsaying that he (Tambuwal) will clear all the delegates’ votes in Sokoto. In Kano, Tambuwal has also become a favourite leader following the exit of a former governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso in PDP. Jigawa, is controlled by Tambuwal’s ally, former governor, Sule Lamido who has seized the territory for his friend.
Tambuwal is also a force to reckon with in Katsina, although Wike’s man, Senator Garba Lado is also doing his best to get some votes. Tambuwal’s train is also strongly stationed in Kaduna and Kebbi but Atiku and Saraki will give him a fight here. In Zamafara, General Aliyu Gusau is supporting Saraki, however, Tambuwal and can’t be written off in the state.
A PDP chieftain in the region muted that power brokers are open to supporting a northern consensus candidate and Tambuwal, it was said stands a higher chance than Atiku as he is seen as very accessible and also enjoys the home advantage factor in this zone.
More impressively, Tambuwal isn’t that far from taking a win as other contenders will only jostle for leftover votes in other regions and he (Tambuwal) is still part of the party. Wike will be struggling at his own home front in South-South, and might not be able to pick more than Rivers and Cross Rivers. In North-East, Atiku has Tambuwal, Saraki and Wike to fiercely contend with. In North-Central, Saraki though will win his state may have to still battle for survival as Tambuwal, Wike, Atiku also take their own share. In the South-East, Wike will have an edge since he is working with some governors but besides the fact that votes here is not as sizeable as in other regions, Tambuwal still stands strong with the support he is getting from the former governor of Imo State Emeka Ihedioha.
Power brokers, stakeholders in the North are backing Tambuwal
With the defeat of the southern presidency agenda which paved way for an open contest for the PDP’s ticket, most power brokers in the northern part of Nigeria are settling for a candidate who is reasonable and not so difficult to relate with – Tambwual mien puts him miles above a high-and-mighty Atiku in this stance.
Only recently, when the gruesome murder of a defenceless student, Deborah of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto by her irate schoolmates had troubled Sokoto State and many had feared the tension escalate and spread to other states, however, it was Tambuwal’s responsiveness, liberality and willingness to work with others that saved the day and by a large extension doused the wake of a likely religious tension in the country.
From his days as Speaker of the House of Representatives between 2011 to 2015, he has continued to build bridges. Close and confidential sources around the Sokoto Governor describe him as one of the most down-to-earth politicians, meeting people on their own terms and engaging with them in a manner like never before. He takes his politics personal and is keen on maintaining quality conversations with people around him, never taking decisions on his own, which is why he had a balanced House of Representatives as Speaker, giving key positions to members of the House in an equitable manner. He also carried everyone along and made sure that consultation was the theme of the day before taking any critical decision.
Still, it’s worth emphasizing that it might be just a few days away from the d-day but in politics, there’s an incredibly wide range of results that are within the margin of error.
Veteran Nollywood actor, Pete Edochie has declared Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ as the greatest African book of all-time.
Speaking in a recent interview with TV3, Edochie explained that ‘Things Fall Apart’ is the greatest African book ever written because it tells the African story.
He stated that the book wouldn’t have been as popular as it is if it were telling the story of the colonisers.
He pointed out that many other African authors have also made efforts in telling African stories since ‘Things Fall Apart’ but none is as “strong” as it.
“The reason why ‘Things Fall Apart’ is the greatest book ever written on the African continent is because it is telling our own story.
“If it had been telling the story of the White man, it won’t be that popular. Many others have made efforts since then but not as strong as ‘Things Fall Apart’,” he said.
He urged African writers and creatives to focus on telling African stories, stressing that it would be their unique strength on the global stage.
The movie star, however, lamented that Africans were allowing their talents to be submerged by embracing foreign influences.
“We Africans permitted our talents to be submerged by overseas influences. I remember once upon a time I was being called Elvis Presley and John Wayne.
“I actually enjoyed answering those names but at some point I had to discard them and pick a name that’s culturally relevant to me. Then I went back to the root and started answering Uwadiegwu,” he added.
Source: DailyPost
Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature for her inventive writing and her engagement with the classical tradition. Her work brings together poetry, criticism, translation and narrative, expanding the forms through which contemporary literature can tell stories.
Born in Toronto in 1950, Carson trained as a classicist and has combined writing with university teaching and translation throughout her career. Her interest in the origins and meanings of words informs both her scholarship and her poetry. Ancient texts provide material for her explorations of desire, grief, identity and human relationships.
Her translations include If Not, Winter (2002), a rendering of Sappho’s surviving poetry that preserves the gaps between fragments. She has also translated plays by Sophocles and Euripides, bringing the language and conflicts of Greek tragedy into contemporary expression.
Carson’s writing gained increasing recognition during the 1990s. “The Glass Essay,” published in Glass, Irony, and God (1995), combines the experience of a relationship’s end with reflections on Emily Brontë, family life and solitude. Its movement between personal narrative and literary interpretation demonstrates her freedom in working across genres.
Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse (1998) remains among her most celebrated works. Drawing on fragments by the ancient Greek poet Stesichoros, Carson reimagines the winged red monster Geryon as a young person discovering photography, desire and heartbreak. The book places his experiences at the centre of a story traditionally associated with the exploits of Herakles.
Her later publications continue this experimentation. Float (2016) consists of twenty-two chapbooks that readers can approach in any order. Wrong Norma (2024) brings together varied prose pieces, extending her interest in the possibilities of short, loosely connected forms.
Carson has also collaborated with visual artists, choreographers and theatre and opera directors. These projects carry her writing into performance and establish connections between literature and other arts.
The award recognises a career devoted to close attention to language and continual experimentation with form. Through translation, poetry and collaboration, Carson has made classical literature an active part of contemporary writing.
Souce:Classic Books.
Abia State governor, Alex Otti, and Senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, have expressed sadness over the death of Abia-born Squadron Leader Ahamefule Aham Man-Ugwueje, one of the pilots of the Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft, NAF 931, which crashed in Igbokoda, Ondo State, on Monday.
Governor Otti, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, described Squadron Leader Man-Ugwueje’s death and those of other military personnel aboard the Nigerian Air Force plane as painful and devastating.
“This accident is both painful and devastating, because it has brought untold sorrow and anguish to the victims’ families, their friends and loved ones, the Nigerian Air Force, and the nation at large.”
Governor Otti regretted that Squadron Leader Man-Ugwueje perished in the air disaster barely two weeks after he wedded his beloved wife, Flight Lieutenant Damilola Adekunle, in Abuja, a sad development he said has robbed the couple of the opportunity of spending their lives together as husband and wife.
The governor, on behalf of his family, the government and people of Abia State, commiserated with the families of the victims, the people of Umuahia where Squadron Leader Man-Ugwueje hailed from, the Nigerian Air Force and the Federal Government of Nigeria, and prays for the peaceful repose of their souls in God’s bosom.
In his own message, Senator Kalu commiserated with the Nigerian Air Force over the loss of the Air Force personnel and others in the Ondo plane crash.
The former governor of Abia State, while expressing sadness over the loss, extended his heartfelt sympathy to the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, the entire Nigerian Air Force and the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic incident.Describing the incident as painful and heartbreaking, Kalu said the death of personnel who devoted themselves to the service of the country is a huge loss to the Nigerian Air Force and the nation.
“I extend my heartfelt sympathy to the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, and the entire Nigerian Air Force over this painful loss.
“My thoughts and prayers are especially with the families who have lost their loved ones. Losing men and women who dedicated themselves to serving and protecting our country is indeed a tragedy for all Nigerians.
“At this difficult moment, I pray that God comforts their families, colleagues and loved ones, and gives them the strength to bear this irreparable loss.
“May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Kalu said.
He urged the Nigerian Air Force to remain strong in the face of the tragedy, noting that the sacrifices of its personnel in the service of the country would always be remembered.
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