Plateau is now witnessing the unfolding of a dramatic change of event that has left in its wake a story to be fully told another day. This story is a witness to the great possibilities of time and the audacity of change in a political ecosystem!
Those calling for the head of His Excellency, the Governor of Plateau State, Barr. Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, during and after the 2023 electioneering campaigns, are the ones chanting praise songs today. What has changed? His defection to APC! Those calling for the head of His Excellency, the National Chairman of the APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, during the same period, are the ones leading his praise and worshiping him today. What has changed? His becoming the National Chairman of the ruling APC!
What lesson can we learn from these ironies? Politics is about alignments and realignments. In this game, you can be worlds apart in one season and be tightly together in another to win political power. Politics is also a game of expediency/convenience! When interests converge, politicians dine and wine together forgetting or downplaying yesterday's grudges!
Whoever takes things personal while defending another person's political ambition, will risks being left alone in the market square of shame when political situations change. In polittics, your worst enemy today might be your best friend tomorrow, especially when there is a high prospect of winning together. In other words, politics is dynamic, and politicians make adjustments and readjustments in pursuit of one permanent interest: To win power!
Power attracts; failure repels. Politics mimics, so do politicians. No politician remains in a camp just for the sack of it. When it comes to reaching a compromise, give it to politicians. A person who cannot shift ground in pursuit of a political power or solution will never be a good politician. In fact, politicians would have been the first to enter paradise if striking a compromising deal to secure power were the deciding factor/ticket!
Loyalty is virtuous, but insulting political opponents is not. Throwing insults at opponents in politics shows a lack of emotional intelligence and/or dearth of political maturity. All people of voting age are encouraged to participate in the game, but only in a manner that, when the tide changes, they could work amidst contending camps with a clear conscience because the position they took previously was the best in the circumstance.
In spite the ongoing political convergence and alignment of forces, the political balance of Plateau State is still delicate. There is a possibility of implosion within the ruling platform. A little spark political fireworks could trigger existing political faultlines which are mostly hard to manage. Everywhere in the world, political expediency is a reality, and being pragmatic in politics matters a lot, but it takes time to change the political orientation of a conservation people!
Every succeeding election cycle has a history that could be significantly shaped previous ones. And now, with 2027 general election around the corner, the political campaign 'gospel' and and the sentiments that were shouty during the 2023 elections might be revisited; however, all political players are charged or counselled to play the game with civility and decorum. Participants could support any candidate or political party without necessarily throwing tantrums as if the game were a deadly fight to finish. This is just my two cents' worth of advice!
Today, yesterday's arch political opponents on the Plateau will be meeting at a historic reception organised by the APC. The National Chairman, Professor Nentawe, will be welcoming Governor Mutfwang into the fold of the party in grand style. Their respective speeches during the unique event will once again reecho the timeless lesson that, in politics, there are no permanent enemies but permanent interests!
All said and done,
there is no better way to conclude this discourse than to state that, Governor Mutfwang has jumped ship and pitched a tent with Professor Nentawe in APC, but the politics of Plateau will peculiarly remains the same. The political culture and the political sentiment of the state which are rooted in history will largely remain the same under the proud and permanent custodianship of the people!
(Modest Thoughts with Ayuba, Yilgak'ha, 27th January, 2026)
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