New face of tolerant democracy in Zamfara under Lawal, By Suleman Ahmad Tudu

If you are a keen observer of Zamfara politics, you will agree that the political landscape in the state under the administration of Governor Dauda Lawal is changing in ways that are nothing short of remarkable.

For a very long time, politics in Zamfara has been a turbulent adventure defined by chaos, saber-rattling and systematic persecution of opponents using the instruments of the state. Dissent was criminalized. Opposition was equated with enmity. Political gatherings were frequently disrupted by thugs. And, critics faced serious intimidation.

However, that toxic and undemocratic antecedent is changing remarkably under the rescue administration of Governor Dauda Lawal.

The most defining proof of this new healthy democratic culture is what happened on Tuesday, 20 October 2026 at Taula Conference Hall, Gusau. A formal Peace Accord was signed by political party candidates in Zamfara State, with Governor Dauda Lawal himself in attendance. The accord, facilitated by the Zamfara Police Command under CP AM Bello, is part of a wider security framework aimed at ensuring a peaceful 2027 general election.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time in Zamfara’s political history that a sitting governor would personally attend such a peace deal, even when major opposition candidates could only manage to send representatives. This demonstrated the commitment of the incumbent to peaceful elections.

Even prior to this symbolic accord, Governor Lawal’s administration had set a precedent for democratic tolerance, allowing opposition voices to thrive without intimidation or interference.

In the past few weeks, two opposition governorship contenders, Senator Kabir Marafa of the NDC and Bilyaminu Shinkafi of the ADC, held separate political rallies in the state capital, Gusau.

Under the old order, such opposition rallies would have been impossible without state-orchestrated violence, clampdowns or sponsored thuggery as we see in other climes. In Zamfara today, they were held peacefully and without any intimidation.

Interestingly, these rallies were held at Freedom Square built by the rescue administration. This signals that Zamfara has moved from politics of annihilation to matured politics of contestation of ideas. Governor Lawal is demonstrating that you can be in power without being paranoid, and that a leader can be strong without being intolerant.

During those rallies, while some observers paid attention to the crowd, I chose to focus on the substance of their campaign to independently gauge their capacity, and to see how the rescue administration and APC supporters handle opposition and dissent.

What I witnessed was a confident and democratic state government at ease with itself, mature and disciplined APC supporters, and unfortunately, an unprepared opposition still grappling to articulate a clear vision for the state.

Marafa was the first to hold a rally where he unveiled his campaign council. I was astonished that the usually outspoken Marafa struggled to constructively criticize the Lawal administration. He seemed to have been silenced by the outstanding performance of the administration. He searched left, right and centre for a failure to point at, yet the only charge he could level against the current government was, quite hilariously, about the distribution of cars. Perhaps that explains why his ‘five-point plans’, for governing Zamfara appear to be distribution of cars and nothing else.

But truth be told, Governor Lawal has not failed even by the very yardstick Marafa used to measure his administration. Marafa may be excused for his ignorance because he has been away from Zamfara for quite some time.

For the record, Governor Lawal has distributed about 200 operational vehicles to security agencies, including armored personnel carriers meant to secure the lives of the very people Marafa seeks to govern. He procured 50 brand-new 18-seater buses under the Zamfara Mass Transit scheme known as Bazamfara, to ease the transportation burden on the people.

Additionally, he distributed another 50 buses to members of the NURTW at subsidized rates to empower them. Currently, a fleet of about 100 electric vehicles is ready to hit the streets to further boost the public transportation system. So, which cars are Marafa really talking about?

Bilyaminu Shinkafi followed suit with his own rally. His rhetoric was not only naive but also exposed a hastily prepared ambition to govern, and a lack of basic knowledge of economics. He criticized the administration’s efforts to improve the state’s Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, with which the government is delivering dividends of democracy to its people.

Perhaps, Shinkafi is unaware that Zamfara cannot continue to depend solely on federal allocation. Let me remind Shinkafi that it is from these revenues that the government is funding the multi-billion naira Referral Hospital in his hometown, a facility meant to provide advanced healthcare services to his kinsmen and the good people of Zamfara. Upon completion, Shinkafi referral hospital will compete with tertiary institutions like UDUTH, AKTH, ABUTH and other leading healthcare facilities.

It is from these revenues that the government was able to pay about N20 billion in gratuities owed to retired civil servants, and raise the minimum wage from a paltry N7,000 to N70,000 within three years.

It is also from these revenues that the government was able to construct an international-standard cargo airport, the same airport through which Shinkafi and his campaign team flew to Abuja after his political rally, among other impactful projects.

The challenge before the opposition in Zamfara is now very clear: democracy has given them the microphone, the stage, and the opportunity to hold rallies. The state government has provided the freedom and the peaceful atmosphere for them to go around.

What the people of Zamfara expect from them is not empty political theatrics. It is a superior idea. It is a coherent and credible alternative to the well-articulated and promising rescue agenda, if they have any!

*Tudu is the Senior Special Assistant on Media, Office of the Secretary to the Zamfara State Government. [email protected]