Feel free to guess the year, there’s no harm in doing so. The same year I was born, a scholar redeveloped (with emphasis on ‘redeveloped’) the well-known psychological theory of frustration-aggression. Maybe this is one of the reasons I feel a special connection to the theory dating back to my undergraduate days.
The frustration–aggression hypothesis, also called the frustration-aggression displacement theory, is an aggression theory introduced by John Dollard, Neal Miller, Leonard Doob, Orval Mowrer, and Robert Sears in 1939. Neal Miller expanded on it in 1941, and Leonard Berkowitz further developed it in 1989.
|
|
The theory suggests that when individuals experience frustration, they may respond with aggressive behavior. If the source of their frustration is not accessible for direct aggression, they might redirect their anger towards something or someone unrelated.
Do I have to tell you again why some political actors in Zamfara are peddling negativity and fake news? Let’s establish a relationship between the so-called Zamfara landlords and the frustration-aggression theory. Why are they frustrated? What and who frustrated them? When did the frustration kick in? The ‘landlords’ frustration began sometime in March 2023, when, at dawn, the INEC returning officer made a historic pronouncement that Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), having satisfied the law’s requirements, is hereby declared the winner and returned as the elected governor of Zamfara.
|
|
|
|---|
Mr Dauda Lawal, the newly elected governor, has become the point of the landlords’ frustration, leading to aggressive actions. They cannot directly tarnish his reputation because he did not stain his white like they did. He has never held a public office. He was from the private sector. These frustrated so-called landlords of Zamfara directed their anger toward undermining anything associated with Zamfara State (shame).
This has led to smear campaigns and the spreading of misinformation to sabotage the ongoing transformation under the rescue commander, Dauda Lawal, of 377,726 brigades (pun intended). It is not new; I can safely call it a new normal for admirers, supporters, and people battling an inferiority complex (like the frustrated so-called landlords) and craving attention to create something around the name Dauda Lawal.
I will repeat, everything surrounding Mr Dauda Lawal is newsworthy. It attracts traffic and gives life to people who don’t have a life to live. For some, especially the so-called landlords in Zamfara State, it is oxygen; they need the rhythmic repetition of the name to survive. Ask an average Nigerian, from Lagos to Yola, Maiduguri to Abakaliki, about the man Dauda, the Zamfara Governor. You’ll have different views and reactions. Some call him the billionaire governor.
For Instagram and social media Gen Z, he is the young man they refuse to agree is 60 years old. The journalists call him the vocal, fearless, and well-articulated Dauda. Most importantly, it is for the people of Zamfara. To them, Dauda is a commander in charge of a rescue mission that turned the sorry situation of workers into a life of dignity.
He is the man who gives life back to dilapidated hospitals across the state. He is the man who revives education by changing the ugly narrative of the state always being at the bottom. It has never happened in the history of the state to have a governor so passionate about workers as Dauda.
In just two years in office, he settled a backlog of N13.6 billion in gratuity that previous governments had intentionally refused to pay since 2011. For an average Zamfara person, Dauda is the man who renovated all 14 general hospitals in Zamfara. Also, they were all equipped with state-of-the-art machines, something former president Obasanjo witnessed while commissioning the Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital.
He said, “I know some teaching hospitals that don’t have CT scans and MRIs. Some have the machines, but they are not operational. Here in Zamfara, you have it; it is working and providing service.” Governor Dauda is doing wonders in Zamfara. When any frustrated so-called landlord barks, splash the videos of the 70% completed airport that is about to start operations.
This man is not here to play. He is not your regular politician. It is not just the swag, akwai brain, and political will. Dauda Lawal’s impact extends across Zamfara’s 14 local government areas, with numerous development projects underway, including schools, healthcare centers, and skills training centers.
His administration improves infrastructure and social services, and road construction enhances connectivity for residents. Don Allah, why won’t these so-called retired landlords be frustrated? Dauda will continue to give them something to cry about. Zamfara is on the rise.
* Sulaiman Idris is the Spokesperson for the Zamfara State Governor
Discover more from Premium Times Nigeria
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
