As the race for Kano Government House hots-up, with leading political gladiators joining the fray to succeed Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, our Kano correspondent BASHIR MOHAMMED takes a look at the prevailing scenario leading to where the pendulum would swing and in whose favour.
Picking or anointing a successor supposedly by a sitting governor, is an arduous task that entails a painstaking scrutiny of ones’ background, qualification, suitability and pedigree in order to avoid falling into the wrong person who would end up performing below expectation while in the saddle of leadership.
Many governors have been known to pay little credence to considering their anointed successors’ qualification, suitability and the much needed capacity to serve with temerity, commitment and gravitas, only that they heavily relied on one’s absolute loyalty as a way of maintaining their grip in the saddle of leadership, even if they are no longer calling the shots.
In a situation whereby such loyalty is eroded and the unfettered confidence reposed in them by their respective predecessors fritters away, they almost find themselves in a tug of war and battle of wit with the failure of those they anointed to play a second fiddle, knowing that with the mantle of leadership under their tutelage, they are no longer duty bound to remain utterly subservient to them.
Many a times, they became deeply embroiled in the business of doing the biddings of a capricious and highly egocentric personality cult and some self-centred sugar-coated sychophants who always guide them on calling the bluff of those who anointed them and give them the support to win the battle for the coveted seat.
However, with the 2023 gubernatorial election almost around the corner, one could be right to say that the die is presumably cast with retinue of gubernatorial aspirants running from pillar to post shopping for the coveted seat in the race for Kano Government House.
Even in the face of the fact that the political cloud is becoming darker with each passing day to those who were seen to have no reliable or formidable Godfather, the lobby and grandstanding to be favoured have reached a crescendo.
What is undoubtedly becoming a jigsaw puzzle to pundits and those keeping a constant tab on the wheelings and dealings of politics in Kano state as regards the clamour for the race for Kano Government House, is who would succeed Dr Ganduje.
If at all, it is going to be done on the premise of servile obedience and absolute loyalty, it is a fact and in line with the postulations of conventional wisdom that there are many influence wielders among the governor’s personality cult.
These persons, no doubt, believe that their close romance with Ganduje is an incontrovertible reason for them to be pretty confident that they have no reason to be jittery as far as getting the unalloyed support of the governor is concerned.
Going by the conventional wisdom of these pundits on where the political pendulum swings, they often posit that Ganduje’s second in command in the person of Dr. Nasir Yusuf Gawuna who recently picked his nomination forms, has been anointed to succeed him considering his unwavering loyalty to the governor in every front.
Others have paid high credence to the notion that the former Commissioner for Local Government, Alhaji Murtala Sule Garo would be the one to get the governor’s absolute support, considering his closeness to the seat of power, or rather the governor’s wife who at many fora put a smile on his face on his innate ambition for leadership, most, especially, the gubernatorial seat.
There are also contenders like AA Zaura and Alhaji Inuwa Waya a former high profile Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC) employee who, according to political observers, may likely have a field day in the race for Kano Government House, in spite of the fact that one cannot aptly predict what would be the governor’s decision on the succession quagmire.
For an influential contender in the person of Alhaji Shaaban Ibrahim Sharada, it has also become a cliff-hanger and utterly difficult for political soothsayers to predict or determine his ultimate fate in getting the nod to spearhead what was perceived to be a battle royale in the craze for the governorship seat, in the face of the deep-seated impression that there is no love lost between the governor and the legislator.
The succession conundrum has elicited a flurry of discordant tunes in political circles in Kano with respected opinion leaders and party chieftains expressing their views on how the gubernatorial tussle should be effectively handled in order to save the party from defeat in the hands of the opposition.
In the words of the renowned chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano, Alhaji Musa Danbirni the issue of succession ought to be treated with remarkable degree of care and caution given the desperation of some power seekers having the ambition to succeed Ganduje.
He said” to me, the issue of who would succeed Ganduje is not a big deal at the moment. What is most needed in Kano is a credible person with untainted record and vast experience who can sustain the governor’s tempo is the execution of viable critical infrastructure, it is not about the issue of who is loyal to the governor but who had the capacity to deliver”.
“One can be loyal to the governor, but may not have the capacity to deliver. We should avoid the mistake of planting a mediocre in the corridor of power. The issue of mediocrity has done more harm than good to our collective psychic. we should not allow primordial interest to becloud our sense of judgement in all ramifications” he added.
“It is high time the political elites began to think out of the box for our nascent democracy to prosper and reach fruition. We would always remain at the lower rung of ladder if care is not taken. I can’t imagine the desperate manner some politicians are seeking to cling to power. One usually ask himself; why the desperation? the answer is quite very simple. Our democratic system is presently anchored on the search for lucre”. he retorted.
“What aspirants needs is showcase their respective agenda in a way to convince the electorate on what it takes to vote a credible person to power” he stated.
“It is not about deceit or propaganda, it is all about reality. the electorate are gradually becoming enlightened on the way to chart a promising future. the era of subtle spin or mudslinging is over. Politics is politics and the craze for serving humanity with vigour must be maintained at all cost,” he posited.
Sounding a divergent opinion on the succession conundrum, a veteran politician in Kano who craved for anonymity said the issue of loyalty should not be discountenanced on the premise that a loyal successor is expected to treat the performance of his predecessor with fairness for the same government to maintain its hegemony in the face of stiff opposition, stressing that without the cooperation of a loyal successor, all the giant strides put on ground in previous years would be defeated” he cautioned.
“He said a true loyalist cannot afford to open a pandora box at the expense of his predecessor. If you discredit a government that brought you to power, you are doing a great disservice to the government you are heading. We are only just being reckless in putting a cog in the wheel of our collective progress, simply because he is being instigated to act rudely by boot lickers and cronies. We should guard against such an unruly behaviour for democracy to thrive,” he posited.
However, now that the deputy governor had picked and submitted his governorship nomination form, one, it can easily be surmised that Governor Ganduje all along had made his choice but preferred to keep it close to his chest.
Again whether or not Gawuna and APC have the capacity to win the governorship in the state is another uncertainty.
Nonetheless, where the pendulum would swing to and in whose favour or advantage, in terms of who next occupies the Kano Government House remains in the realm of conjecture given the recent defection of ex governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso into the New Nigeria’s People’s Party (NNPP).
Kwankwaso who himself anointed Ganduje to succeed him is said to have the capacity to spring surprises in the state going by his mass followership, the Kwakwasiya Movement.
More so, another political warlord in the state, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau has just joined forces with Dr Kwankwaso in the NNPP.
