By Ahmed Ilallah
In every democratic system, the primary expectation from anyone seeking elective office should be competence, capacity, vision, and the ability to deliver meaningful representation. Ideally, leadership selection should be guided by merit, performance potential, and commitment to public service, not by ethnicity, locality, or sectional sentiments. However, the reality of party politics in Nigeria often presents a different picture.
Across political parties, candidate selection whether through consensus arrangements or competitive primaries frequently generates debate, controversy, and feelings of political marginalization among stakeholders. More often than not, the process goes beyond individual competence and enters the complicated terrain of political balancing, zoning, inclusion, and power-sharing.
This reality is currently playing out within the APC in the Hadejia, Auyo, and Kafin-Hausa Federal Constituency (HAK), where the emergence of Hon. Aliyu Usman Jabo as the party’s consensus candidate for the 2027 election has sparked political discussions across the constituency.
The constituency is presently represented by Hon. Kamfani Auyo, who is serving his third term in the House of Representatives. With the party now rallying behind Aliyu Jabo as his likely successor, many see it as a strategic political transition. However, Jabo’s emergence, coming from Kafin-Hausa Local Government Area, the same local government that already produced the state governor has raised important questions about fairness, political inclusion, and equitable distribution of opportunities.
For many political observers, the concern is understandable. Hadejia and Auyo Local Government Areas, despite their historic contributions to the growth, structure, and electoral successes of the APC in the zone, currently appear to have limited presence in key state and national elective positions. In contrast, Kafin-Hausa now holds both the governorship and potentially the federal legislative seat.
This development naturally fuels debates around political inclusion and whether all communities within the constituency are being fairly accommodated in the party’s power-sharing arrangements.
On the other hand, supporters of Aliyu Jabo’s emergence argue that his candidacy actually promotes inclusion rather than exclusion. They point out that the HAK Federal Constituency consists of Hadejia, Auyo, Kafin-Hausa, and Bulangu political blocs or constituencies. According to this argument, while other blocs have at different times produced representatives, Bulangu has yet to occupy the seat. Since Aliyu Jabo is identified with the Bulangu axis, his emergence is seen as an opportunity to correct historical imbalance and broaden political participation.
This argument introduces an important democratic question: should representation be determined by geographical rotation, or should competence remain the overriding factor?
The answer may lie in balancing both principles. Political inclusion matters in a diverse democracy, but inclusion should never come at the expense of competence, legislative capacity, and effective representation. Ultimately, what matters most is not where a candidate comes from, but what the candidate can deliver.
In a truly functional democracy, the origin of a representative should be secondary to the quality of leadership, legislative performance, accessibility to constituents, and commitment to community development.
As APC moves toward 2027 in HAK, the emergence of Aliyu Jabo should therefore not only trigger conversations about zoning and political balancing, but also deeper discussions about the kind of representation the people truly deserve.
The real test of democracy is not who gets the ticket, but what the people gain from the representation.
