Former Kano State governor and presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 general elections, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, has accused what he called ‘Lagos’, of attempting to dominate Kano and other northern states.
Kwankwaso made the remarks during the convocation ceremony of Skyline University in Kano where he alleged that Lagos was meddling in Kano’s internal matters, particularly in the selection of the Emir of Kano.
“The Emir is just being a stooge at this very difficult time, especially in this part of the country,” he said.
“Today, we can see very clearly that there is a lot of efforts from the Lagos axis to colonize this part of the country. Today, Lagos wouldn’t allow us to choose an emir, Lagos has to come to the centre of Kano to put their own emir.”
He also accused Lagos-based officials of imposing policies that channel Kano’s resources and taxes to Lagos, to the detriment of the northern region.
“Today, we are aware that the Lagos young men are working so hard to impose taxes and take away our taxes from Kano to Lagos.
“Even telephones registered here in Kano are taxed and the revenue sent to Lagos. Our sons and daughters with businesses here are forced to relocate their headquarters to Lagos, taking our economic contributions with them,” Kwankwaso alleged.
The former governor further criticised policies that exacerbate economic inequality, claiming they favour the wealthy while marginalising the poor.
“We have seen efforts to make the poor poorer and the rich richer. I believe this is more dangerous than many realise,” Kwankwaso noted.
He called on northern lawmakers to protect the region’s interests and resist policies that drawback Kano and other northern states.
“At this moment, I call on our National Assembly members to keep their eyes open and ensure that no policies are enacted that cheat the people of northern Nigeria, especially Kano,” he urged.
Kwankwaso also reflected on past legislative decisions, alleging that northern lawmakers were bribed to pass unfavourable economic laws during the early years of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.
“In 1999 and 2000, we saw members of the National Assembly accept bribes to support offshore policies that devastated our economy in the North,” he claimed.
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