TOP 10 POLITICAL LOSERS IN NIGERIA RECENTLY

Following the outcome of the 2019 general elections, some of Nigeria’s political heavyweights have been stripped of the dominance and influence they had once exerted in the last few years. 

While some of them failed to win their elections, others failed in their bid to ensure there proteges or anointed candidates were elected.

Here's a brief roll call of what I term the biggest political losers of 2019. 

1. Bukola Saraki 

Bukola Saraki's political journey started in 2002 when his father, Olusola Saraki, a renown politician, anointed him for the governorship seat of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Kwara state. He went on to win the election and governed the state for eight years, from 2003 to 2011. 

He proceeded to the Senate in 2011, also on the platform of the PDP, to represent Kwara Central. 

At this point, Saraki's political influence had become prominent as he successfully installed his protégé to succeed him as the next Kwara governor, against the wish of his father! 

However, in the buildup to the 2015 general elections, Saraki and other PDP bigwigs abandoned the party, due to unresolved crises, to join the All Progressives Congress, APC. 

He secured reelection to the Senate on the platform of the APC in the 2015 elections. 

Widely respected as a smart politician, Saraki outsmarted the APC to emerge the president of the eighth Senate. But that was the beginning of his political trouble which eventually made him return to the PDP in 2018, ahead of the 2019 elections. 

His return to the PDP seemed a miscalculated political move as he ended up losing everything he attempted to achieve. 

He contested the PDP's presidential ticket but lost to Atiku Abubakar. He lost his bid to return to the Senate as he was roundly defeated by his APC counterpart, Ibrahim Oloriegbe. And lastly, his entire PDP structure in Kwara collapsed as the APC took over the state through one of the most admired political campaigns/movements in Nigeria tagged O to get (It's enough); a protest against the dominance of the Saraki political dynasty. 

2. Dino Melaye

Dino Melaye's political journey became prominent when he was elected a member of the House of Representatives on the platform of the PDP. 

He, however, also joined the APC in the buildup to the 2015 general elections. His political influence subsequently became fully established as he was elected to represent Kogi West at the Senate. 

Nevertheless, his support for the Saraki Senate presidency and unhidden loyalty to the Kwara born political maestro pitched him against the APC stakeholders, including Senator Bola Tinubu. 

He subsequently followed Saraki back to the PDP in the buildup to the 2019 elections. 

Though he was re-elected on the PDP's platform in February, he was later sacked by the court of Appeal and a rerun was ordered. 

As he was battling to regain his seat, he was also eying the Kogi governorship seat. 

Sadly, Melaye lost the two: he failed to secure his party's gubernatorial ticket and also lost the senatorial rerun to the APC candidate and longtime political rival, Smart Adeyemi. 

3. Shehu Sani

Shehu Sani is an activist turned politician who was elected in 2015 to represent Kaduna Central at the Senate. 

He had lost previous attempts to be elected as a senator until he contested and won on the platform of the APC in 2015. 

However, his political journey became turbulent when he found himself on the opposite side with the Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai. 

He later defected to the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) where he sought reelection to the Senate. 

Sani lost the election to the candidate of the APC. 

Reacting to Sani's loss, Governor El-Rufai said he has sent his political enemy into retirement. 

Many of his political enemies now mock him as a retired senator turned blogger. 

4. Suleiman Hunkuyi

Senator Hunkuyi's political journey started at the grassroots when he was elected the chairman of Kudan local government in Kaduna state. 

He was in 2015 elected to represent Kaduna North at the Senate. 

However, he and Senator Shehu Sani became Governor El-Rufai's political enemies along the line. They both ensured a loan request the Kaduna governor tabled before the Senate was turned down.

He eventually defected to the PDP in the buildup to the 2019 elections, vowing to dislodge El-Rufai as Kaduna governor. 

Sadly, Hunkuyi did not even get the PDP's governorship ticket, let alone defeating El-Rufai. And he did not return to the Senate too. 

5. Akinwunmi Ambode

Ambode's fall from grace to grass was shocking. No political analyst would have predicted that the former Lagos governor would not be reelected for a second term because his party, the APC, has firm control of the state and his performance wasn't too bad. 

However, Ambode's lack of knowledge of political intrigues cost him the second term ticket. 

The situation got so bad that he was almost considered for impeachment. 

For eventually becoming remorseful and campaigning vigorously for his replacement, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, political pundits had expected Ambode would be compensated with a ministerial appointment. Sadly, when President Muhammadu Buhari forwarded the list of his ministerial nominees to the National Assembly for confirmation, Ambode's name was nowhere to be found. 

6. Isiaka Ajimobi

When Ajimobi was elected as the governor of Oyo state in 2011 on the APC's platform, the jubilation was ecstatic. Not only that Ajimobi won but also that the state had been hijacked from the PDP. 

However, he lost almost everything by the time he left in 2019, having spent eight years. Under his watch, the APC collapsed in Oyo state and the PDP took over. 

Personally, Ajimobi also lost his bid to represent Oyo South at the Senate to his PDP rival. 

7. Abdul'aziz Abubakar Yari

The former governor of Zamfara state should probably be considered the biggest political loser in 2019, he lost everything.

Though the APC won the majority elections in the state, the Supreme Court ruled that the party's primaries were not properly conducted and gave its victories to the PDP, from the governorship to the Senate to the House of Representatives. 

Sadly, the person who challenged the primaries in court was also an APC member, Senator Kabiru Marafa. 

As a result of the apex court ruling, Yari lost his Senate seat, lost his state to the opposition PDP and is now facing political embarrassment from the incumbent governor. 

8. Seriake Dickson

The outgoing governor of Bayelsa state wanted to have it all but ended up having none. 

Against the position of the majority of the PDP stakeholders in the state, Dickson picked an unpopular candidate who is also a serving senator (representing Bayelsa Central senatorial), Douye Diri, as the party's governorship candidate to succeed him. 

His anointed deputy governorship candidate, Lawrence Oborawharievwo Ewhrudjakpo, was also a senator representing Bayelsa West, where Dickson also comes from. 

The Bayelsa governor's scheme was to withdraw Ewhrudjakpo from Senate so he can replace him after leaving the governorship seat but the plan failed: the APC has taken over the state and Dickson will not be going to Senate. 

9. Rabiu Kwankwaso

The former Kano state governor wanted to achieve two things in the 2019 elections but he got none. 

He defected to the PDP to contest for the party's presidential ticket but lost to Atiku. He had in 2015 lost the APC presidential ticket to Buhari. 

Secondly, he wanted to teach his former deputy and successor, Umar Ganduje, a political lesson, after the duo's relationship fell apart.

With his iconic and vibrant Kwankwasiyya movement, many had thought that Kwankwaso would send Ganduje packing from the Kano state government house and install the PDP candidate, Abba Kabir-Yusuf, as the next governor. 

Sadly, Kwankwaso also failed to achieve this.

10. Atiku Abubakar

Many may not know that Atiku's ambition to rule Nigeria started in 1992 when he sought the presidential election on the platform of the Social Democratic Party, SDP. He, however, later stepped down for Moshood Abiola. 

Since then, he has been criss-crossing political parties in the efforts to achieve his presidential ambition. 

He had contested and lost the presidential primaries in different political parties between 2007 and 2015. The 2019 attempt, having won the primaries, was considered by many pundits as Atiku's clearest chance to achieve his dream of becoming Nigeria's number one citizen. Sadly, he still lost to President Muhammadu Buhari.