Yusuf’s Red Cap On Tinubu’s Red Carpet

After months of dallying and endless speculations, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State finally broke ranks with Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, his in-law, mentor and political godfather.

Yusuf had been in Kwankwaso’s shadow for nearly two-and-a-half decades, serving in various roles, including an executive portfolio as commissioner in Kano State, until 2023, when Kwankwaso nominated him as governor over more prominent and visible aspirants.

Yusuf followed his godfather, Kwankwaso, from PDP to APC, then back to PDP, then to NNPP. It has been a tried-and-tested companionship – the type that only politicians can toss aside and still recover from the shock in little or no time.

The road to manhood

On Monday, January 26, Yusuf returned to the vomit both he and his godfather had skirted when the outgoing Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, another long-term ally who had earlier dribbled Kwankwaso, and dumped the red cap.

Since winning his disputed election victory in a Supreme Court verdict in January 2024 – a verdict that overturned the tribunal and Appeal Court rulings – followers, admirers, and instigators began whispering to the governor to drop the feeding bottle and stand on his own feet.

In hindsight, it must have been a make-or-break decision for Yusuf, popularly known as ‘Abba Gida-Gida.’ A Catch-22! But finally, he crossed the Rubicon, breaking free from what many had considered his in-law’s third term in the Kano Government House.

Echoes of Rome

In what sounded like the echoes of ancient Rome, Kwankwaso declared January 23, the day Yusuf defected, the World Day of Betrayal. If Kano were Rome, would Yusuf be the new Julius Caesar and Kwankwaso its Pompey? Like Caesar, the governor has defied warnings not to cross the Rubicon River, which in ancient Rome was the ultimate act of war.

Yet with the winds of power in Yusuf’s sails and Kwankwaso, in his Pompey’s winter, the governor has chosen the most vulnerable moment to strike.

Uneasy calm

Surprisingly, Kano is quiet – for now. The fanatical Kwankwasiyya Movement – a red-capped brigade for whom Kwankwaso is a cult figure and his red cap an emblem of loyalty, seems to have taken Yusuf’s treachery like they took Ganduje’s – biding time with uneasy calm.

In the shark-infested world of politics, self-survival is the first law. What’s in it for me? Is there a pathway to a second term, especially with rumours that Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin is interested? Or is safe passage guaranteed for me? The elite settle themselves first, and only afterwards are the followers’ interests negotiated.

What next, Kano?

What next? Kano often defies gravity. Its politics is sophisticated, dangerously contrarian, yet consequential. That explains why Aminu Kano’s NEPU defeated the pro-establishment NPC, and why PRP consistently beat NPN. In 2003, Ibrahim Shekerau’s ANPP defeated Kwankwaso’s nationally dominant PDP, only for Kano to birth a red-cap movement that is fanatical even without a cause, eight years later. Now, with the possible realignment of Yusuf, Ganduje, and Shekerau on one side against Kwankwaso on the other, the die is cast.

“Nonsense!” a Kwankwaso confidant said. “Should Kano act to type in the 2027 gubernatorial elections, then Yusuf’s defection might well nail his political coffin. The assumption that being in the ruling party is a sure bet might turn out to be fatalistic, not just for him but for many governors who have defected.”

Read my cap

Almost instant upon his defection, it is being announced that Yusuf has the automatic APC governorship ticket to run in next year’s election. He had the right of first refusal to the NNPP ticket before he bolted. And he still has his red cap on.

Already, a blend of the red cap with the Tinubu trademark has emerged. Is Yusuf coming along with Kwankwaso to the APC? No one should be surprised if this happens despite the hue and cry about betrayal. Politicians hardly mean what they say.

What lies ahead promises to be both fascinating and intriguing.