Honorable Abdulrahman Suleiman Kawu Sumaila is a former Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters and Chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano. In this interview, Sumaila shares his views on the ongoing efforts by the APC National Reconciliation Committee to reconcile Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Senator Ibrahim Shekarau. Experts
As a stakeholder that is following the political antecedents of Kano APC, can the party’s national reconciliation committee succeed in reconciling Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Senator Ibrahim Shekarau?
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Well, I am very much doubt if the APC national reconciliation committee can achieve that. This is because of the level the crisis reached and the dimension it takes. Even though as a party member, I am optimistic that if the committee applies all the provisions provided by the party, it will succeed, but it is not an easy task to achieve within a short time. That is why when the crisis started, I expected quick intervention from the national party and other critical stakeholders to address it. Unfortunately, that is not done. Had it been the party has waded into the crisis at the infantry level, stops all parties involved from going further in damaging each other, the situation will not be as worst as it today. However, this lack of quick intervention has led to so many things which deteriorated the situation and deepens the crisis. So, in my own opinion, it is very difficult for the committee to succeed in reconciling the two political gladiators within a short time.
You mean it is too late now for the committee to reconcile Ganduje and Shekarau?
Yes. If you look at the demands of the both sides, from my understanding and experience, it is something that is difficult to achieve. No matter how strong and genuine the demands of the Shekarau-led faction are and no matter how strong their reasons are and no matter how far they have gone in convincing the committee, the APC as a party relies so much on governor more than any other person no matter how influential that person is. The party always place and protect the interest of a governor above the interest of other members of the party no matter how influential and strong the other member is. So, this is what will make this reconciliation difficult to achieve because at the end of the exercise, the committee will in one way or the other accords priority to the Ganduje-led faction above that of Senator Shekarau.
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Right from the 2015 general elections, I have made my position clear that it is very wrong decision taken by the APC that a governor is an alpha and omega in running the affairs of the party his own state. We have criticized it at that time but the party leadership ignored our criticism and accord priority to the governor above other members. So, it is something difficult for the party now to correct this problem in Kano at this critical time. Ganduje as a governor, must be allowed to enjoy this privilege like the other governors enjoyed it.
Do you think this crisis can affect the party in the subsequent elections?
Naturally, wherever there is crisis, it always affects the credibility of a party. However, my position is very clear. I am not in support of any crisis in the APC especially at this critical time that we are approaching transition from one government to another. It will be a destructive for the APC to find itself in this kind of crisis at this material time. So, party leadership should do everything possible within its power to end this crisis.
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What advise do you have for the reconciliation committee?
To be honest, it is not the committee that has the role of making this reconciliation move successful. Rather, the two politicians; Shekarau and Ganduje. They are the critical players for resolving this crisis. Until they agree to be reconciled, until they accept the terms and conditions for the reconciliation, I can assure you the committee can only do less and can never make any impact in this move.
