Kwankwaso, Ganduje rekindle battle for soul of Kano

The Kano state governorship poll, scheduled for Saturday, March 18, will provide veritable ground for the outgoing governor, Abdullahi Ganduje and his predecessor, presidential candidate of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to rekindle the battle for control of the state.

In 2019, Ganduje of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in controversial circumstances, escaped defeat by the whiskers in the hands of Malam Abba Kabir Yusuf of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) backed by Kwankwaso, with a total vote of 1,033,695 as against 1,024,713 for the latter.

Kwankwaso had a sound working relationship with Ganduje as his deputy between 1999 and 2016 before they fell apart to irreconcilable differences. But, Kwankwaso did not relent Ganduje, alongside his supporters, pushed Yusuf’s legal battle successfully up to the Supreme Court.

With Ganduje serving out his two-term tenure in May 29 this year, the question remains, whether Dr. Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, who enjoys his support, can withstand the onslaught of the Kwankwasiya Movement on the NNPP platform come Saturday.

Pundits are quick to point at the performance of NNPP in the recently held presidential poll in sticking out their necks that the race for the Africa House is as good as a fait accompli for Yusuf who moved with Kwankwaso to NNPP to contest for the governorship again.

For Kwankwaso’s die hard supporters, the Kano governorship poll remains a must-win contest, which could sustain the Kwankwasiya structure and serve as a launch pad for the pursuit of his presidential ambition in the 2027 poll.

In the last election, Kwankwaso lived up to expectations in Kano, as he swept 997,279 votes to defeat APC, PDP and Labour Party (LP) candidates of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi with 517,341, 131,716 and 28,513 votes across the 44 local councils of Kano State respectively.

Of the three Senatorial district seats, the NNPP’s Senator Rufai Sani Hanga and Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila trounced their rivals of the APC to emerge victorious in Kano Central and South Senatorial districts contest, leaving Senator Barau Jibrin of the APC to retain only Kano North senatorial seat after polling 234,652 votes as against 177,014 scored by NNPP’s Abdullahi Baffa.

The outcome of the House of Representatives contest in the state was equally not palatable to APC as NNPP tsunami swept 18 of the 24 seats, leaving the remaining five seats to APC, while that of Doguwa/Tudun-Wada Federal constituency, where majority leader of the House of Representatives, Ado Alhassan Doguwa, was coasting home to victory before it was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Ganduje-led APC has remained undaunted, as it is making last ditch efforts to salvage the situation by reaching out to critical stakeholders both within and outside the state.

Last week, Ganduje held a meeting with the former governor of the state, Ibrahim Shekarau, at his Mundubawa residence in Kano, in a deft political move aimed at shoring up support for Gawuna, who had a sound working relationship with Shekarau as chairman of Nasarawa local council between 2003 to 2011.

The relationship between Ganduje and Shekarau on the one hand and between Shekarau and Kwankwaso is not only complex but also intriguing. In the 2003 poll, Shekarau, coming from the background of a retired mathematics teacher and underdog, unseated Kwankwaso and his deputy Ganduje.

In 2011, the duo of Kwankwaso and Ganduje made a comeback when they defeated the defunct ANPP, led by Shekarau, who had completed his tenure but wanted his preferred candidate to succeed him. By 2016, Kwankwaso, who was in the Senate representing Kano Central senatorial district on the APC platform, was forced to pitch his tent with PDP after parting ways with Ganduje, who succeeded him a governor and bent on exerting his authority in the governance of the state.

In the build up to the 2019 poll, Ganduje not only wooed Shekarau with the Kano Central senatorial seat but also sought his support to whittle down the influence of Kwankwaso who wanted to unseat him as the governor of Kano State.

On the eve of the party primaries last year, Shekarau defected to NNPP when he felt he might be denied the opportunity to retain his seat in the Senate on the APC platform. His new found relationship with Kwankwaso did not last long following his resolve to lead the Atiku Abubakar campaign organisation in Kano by defecting to PDP.

Whether Shekarau, who, alongside other PDP chieftains, mobilised 131,716 votes for Atiku in the recently held presidential poll in the state, would help in swinging the pendulum in Gawuna’s favour would be determined on Saturday.

APC supporters made references to the governorship poll that returned Kwankwaso to power in 2011 poll, insisting that the result of the presidential poll should not be used as a yardstick to measure the likely outcome of the governorship poll.

Recall that Kwankwaso on PDP platform reclaimed the governorship seat with 1,108,345 votes as against the 1,048,317 votes scored by the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) candidate, Malam Sagir Takai, who was Shekarau’s protege at the time.

In the 2011 presidential poll, the then President Goodluck Jonathan suffered defeat in the hands of the outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari in Kano, scoring 1,903, 999 votes as against his 215,779 votes. Jonathan, however, won the election.

Special Adviser to Governor Ganduje on Public Affairs, Dr. Abati Bako, believes that Tinubu’s emergence, as president-elect would serve as a tonic and moral booster for APC in Saturday’s gubernatorial election.

He said: “Kano people will not wish to be on the side of the opposition in Nigeria. The bitter experience of being in opposition in 1979 against the Federal Government is enough lessons. And that was why in 1993, Kano voted for Abiola’s SDP and rejected the son of the soil, the late Othman Tofa. We in APC hope that people will vote Gawuna and his deputy, Sule Garo, so as to attract more development from the central government.”

But Malam Sanusi Bature, spokesperson of NNPP in Kano disagrees, insisting that nothing would stop NNPP from emerging victorious in the governorship poll.

Bature said: “For us, there is no cause for alarm. For NNPP to defeat the APC candidate in Kano, winning 18 out of 24 House of Representatives seats and two out of three senatorial seats, we are more than confident that Kano people will not be influenced by APC at federal level.

“We have seen how Kwankwaso lost to opposition in 2003, even when his party, the PDP was in power at federal level and how the same Kwankwaso also won the gubernatorial seat while Mallam Shekarau’s anointed candidate Takai was defeated when their party, the ANPP was in power in Kano State.”

Already the atmosphere is charged as both sides have been trading words and accusing each other of plotting to undermine the conduct of the governorship poll in the state. NNPP particularly accused the Ganduje-led administration of perfecting plan to hire mercenaries to swing the governorship poll in Gawuna’s favour.

He said: “We are aware that thousands of bandits from Chad and Niger Republics, as well as from Katsina and Kaduna states have been hired and brought into Kano State by Ganduje’s administration to disrupt the elections.

“DSS and Nigerian Police are aware of this. These bandits, brandishing heavy weapons, including guns and machetes, are already in different locations across the 44 local councils.

“The Nigerian government, and indeed, all Nigerians should be aware that for any breach of peace on Election Day, Governor Ganduje and his gang, including the Kano Director of DSS, who ought to have retired from the service over a year ago, must be held personally responsible.

“Law enforcement agents must be proactive in taming this unfortunate menace and averting this senseless disaster that is being planned against the good people of Kano State,” the NNPP said in a statement.

But the Kano State Information Commissioner and spokesperson for the Gawuna/Garo campaign council, Comrade Muhammad Garba, maintained that there was no iota of truth in the allegation, adding that intelligence reports indicate that it was actually the NNPP that is behind such machinations.

“NNPP knows they are not only going to lose this election, but their grand plan has been exposed and because of that, they are jittery and trying to turn the table with these allegations.

“Everybody knows NNPP is the one indoctrinating youths to even become obstinate and not listen to their parents. They are also the ones known for importing thugs, as evidenced in all their rallies, which has led to loss of lives.
“APC remains peace-loving and we will support the security agencies to ensure that the election is peaceful across the state.”

Gawuna insists he is in good stead to administer Kano State, in view of his experience governance affairs. He therefore, urged Kano electorate to consider the experience and credibility of the candidates for the governorship as the yardstick while casting their votes.

He said: “I have the requisite experience in governance, which puts me above other governorship contestants. I have a very cordial relationship with Governor Ganduje and all other former governors I have worked with as a local council chairman, commissioner and presently as the Deputy Governor. And that relationship is supposed to be maintained despite political parties differences,” Gawuna appealed.