Kano guber: Only the fittest will survive

As it promises to be in most Nigerian states, the governorship elections which will be held on March 11, 2023 in Kano state will definitely be a fierce contest. It is instructive that, given its strategic position in the Nigerian political arrangement, Kano really matters.

As a matter of fact, as the 2023 general elections draw near, Kano state is now being placed on the national radar, with  the status of a ‘political king’ in the comity of Nigerian states; it can determine the next political direction of the beleaguered country.

Therefore, it is the shared view of most politicians and public affairs commentators that the Kano state electorate must handle the process of determining who becomes their governor not as business as usual. The one, who the cap fits to become the next governor of the state, must, in the opinion of most people, have an understanding of the current realities in the state.

Meanwhile, late last year, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced no fewer than 14 political parties that would field candidates in the forthcoming elections in the densely populated state.

Some of the notable candidates are Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna (APC), Abba Kabir Yusuf (NNPP), Sheikh Ibrahim Khalil Idris (ADC), Aishatu Mahmud (NRP) and Mohammed Sadiq Wali (PDP). However, as it stands, two of the candidates – Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna (APC) and Abba Kabir Yusuf (NNPP) – tower above others in the contest.

What informs this assertion is not unconnected with the results of the opinion polls conducted ahead of the forthcoming governorship elections in Kano state by Anap Foundation late last year. While Yusuf of the NNPP maintained a conspicuous lead with 29 per cent of the voters proposing to vote for him, Gawuna of the APC came second with 21 per cent of voters proposing to vote for him. Mohammed Sani Abacha of the PDP was a distant third with only three per cent of voters proposing to vote for him.

The pronouncement of the court on Mohammed Abacha, son of late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, in preference to Sadiq Wali, as the candidate of PDP in the state was a surprise to most political gladiators. Abacha is reckoned to be a game changer in the state’s age-old elitist politics with the former governor of the state Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau leading the PDP. On the other hand, Gawuna, the incumbent deputy governor of the state, emerged the favoured candidate of the ruling APC in the state on the ticket of his boss’ (Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje) recommendation.

In the APC gubernatorial primaries of May 26, 2022, Gawuna defeated his rival, Ibrahim Sharada, in a landslide. Suspecting some foul play in the party’s unanimous endorsement of Gawuna, the aggrieved Sharada decamped to ADP as its governorship candidate.

Notwithstanding the process that led to his emergence as the party’s flag bearer, Gawuna had cut his teeth in the Kano state politics before his current position. He had served under former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (now a strong pillar of Kwankwasiya political movement and NNPP presidential candidate) as commissioner for agriculture and under former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau as the chairman of Nassarawa local government. His meritorious performance, while his service lasted, continues to earn him credit and honour as political figure.

However, of the many contenders for the Kano state’s number one seat, Abba Kabir Yusuf (Abba Gida Gida) appears as the most prepared and suitable for the job. Given his pedigree and impressive action plan for birthing an unprecedented transformation in Kano state, the NNPP gubernatorial candidate appears to be the man of the people at the moment.

With the current decline in the Nigerian oil revenues and continued shortfall in the federation allocation to state governments, Kano state must urgently look beyond party lines to elect as governor someone who will be genuinely committed to good and responsible governance that will cause the state to continuously soar higher as well as maintain her pride of place as the center of commerce.