“They called it strategy, but the people know it is fear dressed in fine grammar”.
Anonymous.

When principles pack a travelling bag in Southern Kaduna, then there is a new interesting political drama in town, and like most Nigerian scripts in the theatre of the absurd, it comes with familiar characters, i.e. a senator and a house of representatives member from Southern Kaduna who have suddenly “seen the bright light” and hurriedly, sorry horridly decamped from the PDP to the ruling and ‘chopping’ APC. But of course, they tell us it’s all in the name of “service to our people” – a fading cliché. But in truth, it looks less like service and more like self-preservation dressed in agbada and a fine suit
Abin kunya!!

The witty-by-half and moral cosplaying senator says he was forced to decamp, claiming that powerful forces in the APC left him no choice. According to him, they allegedly suggested that if he refused to cross over, matters of legal scrutiny he faces could stop being a private affair and suddenly become a “national topic.” Not to be outdone, the integrity-glitch and truth remixing honorable member also claims questions about his academic credentials were weaponized to coerce him into joining the ruling APC. I mean, who would want their personal challenges put out publicly on display in Kafanchan Stadium? In short, both men want us to believe they’re helpless victims of political pressure, and not architects of their own unprecedented greed.

But then, let’s call it what it appears to be: cowardice in designer clothing. These guys are not heroes; they are hostages of their own selfish ambitions. Because, when you trade your political soul to protect your personal secrets, you stop representing our people and start representing your fears. That my people, is exactly what this looks like.

What makes this perceived betrayal sting deeper and painful, is that it comes from an unlikely place – Southern Kaduna. A region known for its doggedness, resilience, and refusal to bow to intimidation of any kind. We are a people who have stood firm in the face of religious persecution, political marginalization, and even violence. It is on record, that for decades, Southern Kaduna has fought, not just for survival, but for dignity, education, and equity in the Nigerian state. Yes the SK political identity has been laid on resistance, by weak men made strong because they deliberately chose to stand with the people against the oppressor.
And now, these so-called representatives; supposedly birthed from the same soil of courage and bathed with the same sweat of struggle are accused of surrendering not to an army of adversaries but to the soft tyranny of political pressure. They now want to return home and be received as heroes, as if a defection from our common political patrimony now qualifies for applause, pomp and pageantry.

No, they shouldn’t be celebrated at all. They should be carefully studied, as examples of how fear and greed can make even strong men crawl on their bellies.
Southern Kaduna people are bold, brilliant, and battle-tested. We produce scholars, activists, gallant military officers and defenders of justice. We are not a timid people who fold when threatened. So if these politicians claim they decamped because of blackmail, then they have confirmed one thing – they are unfit to represent our people.
Because true Southern Kaduna sons and daughters do not bow to intimidation from anyone under the sun. They stand, they fight, and they face consequences with integrity and pride.We recall great heroes like Gwamna Awan, Yohanna Madaki, Isaiah Balat, Stephen Shekari, Grace Chechet ànd many more
who made history standing tall in the face of the big and mighty oppressor.

Let us reject the suggestion that this decamping is about ideology or “alignment with the ruling party’s vision or mainstream politicking” in order to attract development because it is not. It looks like a simple yet, shameless case of political self-defense and a desperate attempt to avoid personal disgrace. It is suggested the Senator doesn’t want his file opened, the Honorable doesn’t want his story to go viral. And so they run to where power can shield them and cover their obvious complacency. We all know, it’s the oldest trick in Nigerian politics: when your challenges start catching up, just switch parties. The ruling party will baptize you, rename you, and call you a “leader of repute.”
And the people you’ve deceived will still gather at the stadium to welcome you with drums, trumpets and banners.

But Southern Kaduna must rise above this ridiculous circus. It is incumbent on us to reject the normalization of cowardice. Because we cannot keep applauding those who run from accountability and hide behind party flags. If these men are indeed what their accusers say, then they are not victims, No they are not, instead they are compromised men in expensive suits and expensive neckties and folded white shirts. And if they are innocent, their willingness to surrender under pressure still disqualifies them from representing a people whose history is written in resistance for centuries. Our region has faced real enemies, from marauding militias that burnt our homes and farms to systems that silenced our voices. We have survived worse than mere legal files and credential questions. So any leader who sells his conviction just to stay politically comfortable has betrayed more than his party, but he has betrayed our collective spirit.

The people of Southern Kaduna do not need politicians who are safe or feel safe; we need leaders who are strong. We need men and women who can say no to pressure, who can look power in the eye and still stand upright. Because when our politicians start kneeling out of fear, the whole community begins to shrink in their shadow or fear and timidity.

So, to the ‘distinguishable’ senator and the honorable who claim they have switched camp in the name of “peace and development”, Abeg, spare us the clownish speeches – because it’s not even funny. We all know, you have not decamped for development; you have defected for survival and self-preservation. And you are not coming home to a heroes’ welcome, sorry you are coming home to a people who know the difference between courage and compromise. Bravery and lion-whispering.
Southern Kaduna deserves better. Please pass the baton to a true Southern Kaduna son or daughter that understands the language of laklat!!! @highlight