Alhaji Abubakar Rajab has delivered a heartfelt lamentation on what he describes as the futility of his long sojourn in politics. A man once considered a strong pillar of support for political heavyweights in his state, Rajab now feels abandoned, sidelined, and unrewarded despite years of unwavering loyalty, sacrifice, and immense investment.
Speaking with raw honesty, he painted a picture of politics as a barren soil that has yielded him no harvest despite the seeds of wealth, influence, and time he has sown. “Politics, it appears, has proven to be a barren soil for me. I have sown my wealth, my influence, and the better portion of my years into its furrows, yet I have reaped no harvest in return,” he lamented. His words capture the bitterness of a man who has given his all, only to watch others especially former adversaries, reap the fruits of power he helped to cultivate.
Rajab did not shy away from pointing fingers at those who, in his view, have betrayed his loyalty. He recalled how he labored tirelessly to nurture the political stature of a figure who has now abandoned him for opportunists and erstwhile enemies. According to him, lucrative government contracts worth millions have been handed over to individuals who once fought against the very cause he stood for, while he, a steadfast loyalist, has not been considered worthy of even the smallest concession.
The weight of his disappointment becomes even more vivid when he reflects on his household responsibilities. Rajab revealed that over thirty graduates reside under his roof, depending on his private resources for their sustenance and welfare. Yet, despite his unflinching loyalty, not a single employment opportunity has been given to him or to any of those under his care. “If this is not political misfortune, then what else shall it be called? Am I condemned to remain a perpetual foot soldier in a battlefield where the spoils always elude me?” he asked, his words laced with both sorrow and indignation.
For Rajab, the pain cuts deeper at the grassroots level, where he once marshaled supporters, galvanized the masses, and delivered victories for his party. Despite such effort, none of those he mobilized have been rewarded with appointments at the local government level. To him, this is not just an oversight, it is a betrayal that gnaws at the very marrow of his political conviction.
While acknowledging that the administration in power has been in office for less than two years, Rajab confessed that the signs of neglect and ingratitude are already too glaring to ignore. He hinted that perhaps Providence itself is nudging him toward a different path, one outside the treacherous labyrinth of politics. “Perhaps Providence is whispering that my true path lies not in the treacherous labyrinth of politics but in the more calculable and rewarding arena of enterprise,” he reflected, suggesting that business and enterprise might offer him the fulfillment that politics has denied.
Alhaji Abubakar Rajab is not a fringe figure in politics. He is a core supporter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a party he has vigorously invested in, not only within Kogi East Senatorial District but across Kogi State and even at the federal level. His influence, financial contributions, and grassroots mobilization have been part of the lifeblood of the party’s strength in his region. His lamentation, therefore, is not a cry from the margins but a piercing voice from within the very core of the APC family. His frustrations highlight the paradox many party loyalists face: a system where devotion and sacrifice often yield no dividends, while latecomers and political turncoats are elevated and rewarded.
Rajab’s lamentation sheds light on the stark realities of patronage politics in Nigeria, where power is often seen as a currency and patronage as the dividend. For those who sacrifice but receive neither, the game becomes nothing more than a theatre where they are forced to remain spectators rather than principal actors. His metaphor was cutting: “After all, it is futile to continue pouring water into a basket and expecting it to hold.”
To Rajab, politics was never about personal enrichment alone. He insisted that his fundamental essence of joining politics was to gain influence and resources to uplift his people. But if both influence and resources remain perpetually out of reach, then logic dictates withdrawal. His lamentation resonates with countless loyal foot soldiers across Nigeria’s political space who have discovered, often too late, that loyalty without patronage is a path paved with sorrow.
Alhaji Abubakar Rajab’s words stand not just as a personal confession but as a broader indictment of a political system that often rewards betrayal, sidelines loyalty, and leaves its true believers with nothing but the bitter taste of regret.
