The recent defection of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to APC has sparked more than controversy; it’s a political apocalypse for the iconic leader of the red-cap ideology – Kwankwasiyya, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and also a historic victory for the former governor and ex-APC national leader, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Governor Abba’s pitching his tent with APC struck like a thunderbolt, particularly for Kwankwasiyya’s die-hard disciples, while for APC, the Governor’s cross-carpeting is a resounding victory – like manna from heaven.
This piece is neutrally-driven, as the headline realistically entails, presenting it as a double-edged sword woven from dual perspectives.
Kano politics has a unique brand compared to other states’ style of politics – a kind of politics where a whole tenure is spent hurling abuses, trading words, and in endless tug-of-war, all in search of future and survival.
Kano is also a political school with only two classes, with no playground or fences, let alone sitting astride it – wato “zaman Kan Katanga” in Hausa.
It’s either you’re with them, or with us. You must be a hero or a zero, a betrayer or a self-survivor, a successor or a failure.
The fallout between Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and his mentor, and the jubilation in Ganduje’s camp at catching the big fish in Kano’s political sea, has glaringly unmasked the duality of the class in the state.
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Some see Kwankwaso as a political godfather betrayed by his mentees, while others brand him as overbearing and too influential – feeding on lofty bread, giving crumbs to followers.
Some view Governor Abba as a self-survivor breaking age-long slavery shackles; others see him as “a mouth that bites the hands that fed it”.
Many praise Kwankwaso as a world-class mentor in politics who raised and nurtured most of the current political class, but was dumped and rejected.
Others say Governor Abba’s treatment of Kwankwaso is “karmic payback” as rightly said in Hausa, “Abinda Ka Shuka, Shi Zaka Girba”.
Abba’s defection, according to his teeming supporters, portrays him as a formidable hero whose move to APC fits the mantra: “Putting Kano First, Breaks the Shackles of Blind Loyalty”.
As one of Kwankwasiyya’s chieftains said during a recent televised Arise TV interview, Governor Abba deserved a Guinness World Book of Records spot for biting the hand that spoon-fed him, cheaply handing over the hard-earned people’s mandate to political enemies.
But still, the question is, Is Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s defection betrayal or self-survival?
And followed by another question, Is Kwankwaso betrayed or facing karmic payback?
