JOHN ALECHENU and TED ODOGWU examine
the political battle between the Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi
Ganduje and his erstwhile boss, Ex-Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso; the
significance of the recent gale of defections which hit the state
chapter of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and the impact it is
likely to have on the politics of the state in the future
The
2019 general elections have come and gone but the effects of the
acrimony between two former political allies turned rivals namely:
Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and his erstwhile boss, Ex-Governor
Rabiu Kwankwaso, still resonates across the state on a daily basis.
Ganduje had over the years played the role of a loyal deputy and second
in command in the Kwankwaso-led Kwankwasiyya political family. He was
seen as a loyal ally and a friend to the former governor. This, perhaps,
more than competence, earned him the confidence of his former boss, who
saw in him a man he could trust. He, thus, picked Ganduje as the
heritor in whom he was well pleased. The two men worked assiduously to
win the election together. Consequently, Ganduje successfully assumed
office as the successor to a former boss whom he had praised in syrupy
words.
Music and songs, however, changed
when Ganduje decided to become his own man after assuming office as
governor in 2015. A bitter quarrel, therefore, ensured between the two
loyal political father and son. Kwankwaso felt Ganduje didn’t deserve a
second term in 2019. Kwankwaso, in anger, dropped the broom of the All
Progressives Congress where he, along with Ganduje, sort refuge in 2015.
He decided to take shelter under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic
Party when he felt he wasn’t receiving the respect he deserved from the
Ganduje gang. Unknown to many, Kwankwaso’s preference for his
son-in-law, Abba Kabiru Yusuf, as the PDP governorship candidate in the
2019 elections, didn’t go down well with some of the PDP’s stakeholders,
many of who were die-hard Kwankwasiya loyalists. The party prevailed
and members rallied round to support its candidate. This resolve almost
paid off until the governorship election was declared inconclusive and a
re-run was held with Ganduje declared winner. It perhaps, took the
Supreme Court judgement affirming Ganduje’s victory as the duly elected
governor to finally expose the hidden cracks within the state chapter of
the PDP.
A gale of
defections from the PDP into the APC soon followed. Perhaps none had the
effect of the erstwhile state chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Rabiu
Suleiman-Bichi, and other prominent members of Kwankwaso’s political
family to the Ganduje political family.
A
Plateau State based political analyst, Mr James Pam, while speaking on
the defections noted, “The effect of the Bichi-led defection from the
PDP into the APC will linger with the Kwankwasiya group for a very long
time.
“You are talking of
people who lived and espoused Kwankwaso’s political ideology. These were
the people, who perhaps were behind the drawing of its blue print.
Their departure, if not properly managed, will signal the end of the
Kwankwasiya group.”
He
explained that Bichi was one of a few men standing in Kwankwaso’s
political camp. The former PDP state chairman served as the Managing
Director of the Kano State Urban Planning and Development Board and also
Commissioner for Lands during Kwankwaso’s first tenure as governor
(1999-2003).
He was
appointed secretary to the state government during the second term
(2011-2015). He also served briefly in the early part of Ganduje’s first
tenure, but resigned at the height of the feud between his political
leaders to pitch tent with Kwankwaso.
While
the state secretary of the PDP, Shehu Sagagi, dismissed Bichi’s
defection as having no impact on the PDP and the Kwankwasiya movement,
the Kano APC Chairman, Alhaji Sanusi Abbas, disagreed. Sagagi argued
that the PDP which Kwankwaso leads was used to people betraying it in
times of “little challenges.”
He
said, “The current development is nothing new because in Hausa, we have
a proverb, which says: ‘where ever they beat a donkey, it must be on a
scar of yesterday’s beating.’ So, it is not a new development. We have a
leader, who is Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso, he is used to this. This is even
what is making him stronger and stronger.”
In
response, Abbas expressed the opinion that Bichi’s exit from the PDP
sounded the death knell for not only the party, but also what was left
of the Kwankwasiya political structure in Kano.
He
said, “The PDP, as at today, as you can see, is no longer a political
party, it’s just like an association, controlled by one individual,
Kwankwaso. We have nothing to worry about because Kwankwaso is no longer
a threat or force to be reckoned with in the state.”
Speaking
on the issue, a political scientist, Mr Joseph Atuba, said, “The
average Nigerian politician cares very little about ideology. Rather,
they already concerned about winning elections. If a particular
political party does not align with his/her political goal at any point
in time, he leaves to join another. Very few can be patient enough to
nurture political party to maturity. We should be used to this by now.”
He
further said, “This isn’t new. If you recall, it was in this same Kano
that sometime before the 1983 elections, some politicians led by the
then governor, Dr. Abubakar Rimi, dumped Aminu Kano’s Peoples Redemption
Party to join Nnamdi Azikiwe’s Nigeria Peoples Party. As to how what is
happening now will affect politics in Kano in particular and Nigeria in
general, I dare say, the people of Kano still love President Muhammadu
Buhari and the APC which Ganduje currently leads. Unless this changes
tomorrow, most of them will remain loyal to the APC and the governor.”
While
welcoming Bichi and a host of other former political associates,
Ganduje, whose political fortunes received a boost by the defections,
used the occasion to shed light on the kind of relationship he claimed
he enjoyed with his former boss.
In
a move that surprised many, he said, “Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso does not
want any other person to outshine him. I know Kwankwaso a lot more than
anyone else. He is a kind of person that knows everything, knows better
than any other person and, who is self-centered. Whatever this man asks
you to do or to pursue will be for his own benefit, not yours.
“I
know all his political antics, which border on deception and
doggedness, but I endured him for all the donkey’s years we were
together. He will never appreciate you for whatever you did for him, be
it big or small. When we contested election in 1999, ‘Wallahi’, I was
his boss because I paid for his posters and mobilised people for him
from all the 44 local government areas of Kano State. In fact, Kwankwaso
did not win the primary election in 1999, I won the election, but we
were reconciled.”
In
what many considered a veiled response to Ganduje’s comments, Kwankwaso
was quoted as saying, “At the end of Ganduje’s tenure in 2023, he will
regret his actions not to have formally handed over to the winner of the
2019 governorship election.”
On
his part, the Kano State Commissioner for Information, Sports and
Culture, Mallam Mohammed Garba, said, “As a democrat, Governor Ganduje
has always been loyal to the people of Kano. All of his actions in the
past and now have always been taken in their best interests. His
politics had always been about improving the lives of the people. With
our victory at the Supreme Court, our appeal to all will continue to be
that all people of goodwill should join hands with this administration. A
solid foundation for the development of Kano was laid within the last
four years, the next four years will, by the grace of God, be bigger and
better.”
Also
speaking, Adamu Yusuf, an indigene of Kano, expressed satisfaction with
the unfolding political drama. He noted that Kwankwaso was the ultimate
loser because his politics was allegedly built around his personality.
He said, “I am happy, as he failed in his plot to impose his puppet on the good people of Kano.”
An
elder statesman and Second Republic politician, Dr Junaid Mohammed,
reiterated the view that the character of the Nigerian politician
irrespective of political party, is unlikely to change anytime soon.
He
said “These defectors were people who, less than two weeks ago, were
abusing the same governor. How come they are today joining the party
where the governor is the preeminent figure?
“I
don’t understand. What will happen is like what a one-time Prime
Minister of Britain, Harold Wilson said, ‘one week is too long in
politics.’ Here, you are talking about 3 years, anything can happen. I
don’t think the resignation of the chairman or any other member of a
political party for that matter will change anything much.
“The
reason is simple: there are a number of people with other ambitions and
are likely to leave one party to join another party where they feel
their interests will be better served?”
In
a response to another question on the consequences of political
happenings in Kano on the larger Nigerian scene, he said, “Historically,
individuals and political parties who fail to deliver themselves in
Kano and Lagos - by this I mean, people who are in no position to be
accepted or tolerated in Kano and Lagos, have had difficulty running the
country. Most leaders who failed by quite some coincidence; to win the
hearts and minds of most people in these two states, have had turbulent
times governing this country. To that extent, I would say any politician
worth his salt will ignore Kano at his own peril.”
Political
pundits are of the view that the politics in the state with its five
million voters, will not be the same by 2023. Alignments and
realignments will continue to be the order of the day as politicians
explore new frontiers to feather their political nests in a bid to
achieve strong-minded political goals.