Kano State like every other state in Nigeria had witnessed yet another round of hot governatorial contest that saw the emergence of Engr Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as the newly democratically elected governor of the state.
He was declared by INEC as the duly elected after scoring the highest votes to defeat his closest rival, Dr Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, the outgoing deputy governor of the state. Gawuna was candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the poll.
Yusuf came through a popular group named Kwankwassiyya, headed by its national chairman, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State who laid a solid foundation for the group through hardwork, perseverance and deligence.
Therefore, the change of government in the state would directly or indirectly affect politics as the political pendulum has started swinging anticlock wise.
One needs not be told that the scheming of the NNPP under the political calculations of Dr Kwankwaso to reclaim Kano is another food for thought.
A close look at how he held the jugular of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) showed him refusing to move to the APC with people like Hon Wada Sagagi, a former chairman of the PDP in the state leaving him behind and the remaining EXCO, to allegedly do the bidding of killing the PDP from the taproot.
It was surprising that when the governorship election results were declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PDP being the strongest opposition party in the past came third with about 15,000 votes, an indication that Kwankwaso’s political machinations worked out positively for him.
Therefore, Sagagi had successfully executed the political machinations hatchet against the PDP by his political mentor. Political pundits believe that Kwankwaso’s next line of action now is how to finish the incumbent governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and put him into a permanent political retirement.
A clear indication of this political permutations manifested itself this week when a former ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, Abdulmajid Dan Bilki Kwamanda came out to address a press conference telling the whole world that Kwankwaso was planning to defect to the APC, a development he said would be vehemently rejected by the APC family.
Kwamanda went on to butress his point and was quoted as advising the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, to jettison plans of wooing the national leader and NNPP presidential candidate, Musa Kwankwaso, back to the APC, saying such move was capable of destroying the party.
Kwamanda who spoke with journalists in Kano said secret meetings between Tinubu and Kwankwaso had been uncovered, adding that such a deal was unhealthy for the survival of the APC in Kano and at the national level.
The APC chieftain who assiduously campaigned for Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election, described Kwakwaso’s return to the APC as a “bad omen” which would not only collapse the party’s structure but also throw it into unrecoverable crises. “Tinubu is secretly romancing Kwankwaso. May be because he sees Kwankwaso as popular and wants to align himself with him.
“We will not condone alliance with Kwankwaso. We will resist it with all our strength. Kwankwaso did not help Tinubu win the election. We will not allow Tinubu align with Kwankwaso in a bid for Kwankwaso to defect to the APC.
“If this becomes a reality, we will fight Tinubu and APC in the north. We are not impressed with Kwankwaso’s politics and we warn Tinubu not to dare woo him into the APC.
“Tinubu sees Kwankwaso as a hero; we know he is not. Tinubu should not be carried away by Kwankwaso’s success in Kano and winning Kano in the presidential election. He cannot offer anything in Tinubu’s movement,” Kwamanda stated.
According to critics, the coming of Kwankwaso when viewed from the other perspective, is seen as a drawback to APC members in the state because of his alleged domineering culture.
“Right from the onset, we knew he was working for Tinubu and the game plan was to destroy the PDP and to cripple the chances of Atiku Abubakar in Kano.
“The plan was perfectly executed hence close to a million votes from Kano were deliberately put into the gutter by Kwankwaso to help the pesident-elect emerge victorious, now it is payback time,” a PDP supporter alleged.
As insinuated by Kwamanda, Kwankwaso is definitely coming back to the APC to be given a lucrative position in Asiwaju’s government to compensate him for what he has done for him.
LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that this is what is sending jitters down the spine of most of the APC hierarchy in the state. They claimed that once Kwankwaso stages a come back to the APC, there won’t be anything left for them because even the Gandujiyya group stands to be dismantled.
Talking about how the coming of the new government would directly or indirectly affect the present local government chairmen, a seasoned politician who spoke on the condition of anonymity said there is nothing to fear since they were elected based on constitutional provisions.
“No one has the right to remove them until after the expiration of their tenure,” he asserted.
However, instances have shown that usually, whenever there is a change of government, politicians tend to behave like political monkies jumping from one political tree to another. This is common especially in Africa where politics is still at its embryonic stage.
One would imagine the number of men and women planning to join the winning party but what may be holding them back is the pending case before the Election Petition Tribunal. This is because they want to know the outcome before taking the next political step.
While others are fully ready to dump their parties at the first stage, others would like to study the situation first between one or two years before taking any action. Only time shall tell what will happen tommorow. But what is glaring and crystally clear is that there are those who are scared of Dr Kwankwaso and his politics of domination.
How could it be possible to stop this political move since the president-elect is alleged to be interested in the whole ball game? Only time shall tell.
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