Considering that some new candidates had threatened suicide if they should lose in the recent elections in Nigeria, one approached with some trepidation a sitting governor who had just lost his bid for re-election to another term.

Alhaji Adamu Atta, out-going governor of Kwara State in Nigeria constitute virtually the lone member of that rare breed in the African political scene - a defeated incumbent and his defeat was even more peculiar considering the fact that he belongs to the party in power which had increased its lead so much country-wide that fears were being expressed openly about the emergence of a one-party state.

Alhaji Atta was surprisingly calm and unruffled about his defeat and far from contemplating suicide, it was obvious from his demeanour that neither Kware nor, indeed Nigeria had heard the last from him, "I want to show that it is possible for an African politician to lose gracefully and that there is nothing undignifying about losing an election.

"Take Chief Obafemi Awolowo, for example, his entire political life has been spent in and out of power, but he serves in opposition with the same enthusiasm as when he is in power. Of course, I would have been happier if I had won the elections because I believe I have started something worthwhile in Kwara that I would have needed another term to bring to fruition; all the same I can still serve my people out of government House.

Governor Atta was not very forthcoming on his famed personality conflict with Dr. Abubakar Saraki which is generally acknowledged as the factor which caused his defeat.

Dr. Saraki, leader of the senate and a member of the NPN had been known as the king maker in Kware and when he fell out with Governor Atta over what many considered as his attempts to run the senate seat, there was no question but that Kware was not going to be the same again.

The in-fighting within the NPN in Kwara State developing into what became popularly known as the Saraki and Atta factions was so intense the factions fought each other more fiercely than they could the other parties challenging it.

Many attempts were made to reconcile the two factions and when President Shehu Shagari came to Kwara to formally present the gubernatorial candidate, many breathed a sigh of relief that the feud was over. Photographers of the two men - Dr Saraki and Governor Atta were splashed all over the papers shaking hands.

“But it was apparently just a sham, Alhaji Atta has said” as soon as we saw President Shagari off at the airport. Dr Saraki started campaigning openly against me again and even on the eve of the elections, he was quoted by many newspapers as saying that we was not endorsing any candidate; this when there was only one candidate from his party - me the incumbent Governor.

Unfortunately, amidst all the confusion and animosity, the people simply resorted to voting along ethnic lines and Dr. Saraki’s claim that since they are Yorubas they would vote for a Yoruba candidate who was the UPN candidate”, Alhaji Atta said, One had to ask him what his future plans were. He is currently getting ready to hand over to his successor so that there would be a smooth transition of power, then he plans to lead the fight for the the creation of a new state carved out of the present day Benue and parts of Kwara.

The movement for such a state has gathered a lot of momentum and the Senate has already agreed in principle to its creation, so Alhaji Atta is likely to find his hands very full.

But full time politics? - This is a big luxury when you are not in power, Alhaji Atta thinks, so he is likely to pay more attention to his farm than he has had time to do in the past four months, “and it will give me the opportunity to put into practice my exhortations on the Green Revolution”.

Has he got any regrets at all, is there something he would have done differently when he looks back to the last four years?

"Oh no” was the very confident reply; hes has no regrets and if faced with the same situation he would do the very same things over again. The urgent problem he sees in Kwara now is the need to bring the people together; he sees in the current talks of the winners, ominous signs of trouble, the threats of wholesale sackings of people said to be his supporters obviously worry him and he is hoping that Governor elect Adebayo would take steps to ease the tense atmosphere and reassure the tense citizens of Kwara that being on the other side of the political divide does not make them implacable enemies.