As the nation’s politics picks up steam by the day, SEGUN OLATUNJI writes that Kano is not an exception as many gladiators are engaged in a battle of wits to outshine one another in the race to gain the tenancy of the government house
As the 2011 general elections inch closer by the day, aspirants in the various political parties interested in succeeding the incumbent governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, are busy oiling their political machinery in preparation for the battle that would usher one of them into the Kano State Government House.
The impending battle for the number one seat in Kano promises to be an interesting one, especially because of the fact that the incumbent governor, whose eight-year tenure will end in 2011, will not take part in the contest. He will only play the role of the kingmaker, particularly in the ruling All Nigeria People’s Party.
In spite of this, each aspirant in the ANPP and the other political parties has vowed to become the governor next year.
Among the top contenders for the Kano State Government House is the incumbent deputy governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Gwarzo. But surprisingly, Gwarzo has the Herculean task of scaling the hurdles placed on his way to succeed his boss, Shekarau, as the next chief executive officer of the state. Gwarzo is believed not to enjoy the support of Shekarau in his quest to secure the governorship ticket of the ANPP for next year’s polls in the state.
But owing to his background and political experience, the incumbent deputy governor, our correspondent gathered, was being largely backed by ANPP supporters at the grass roots in addition to being the preferred choice of the elders, the traditional rulers and religious leaders in the state. The deputy governor, who served at five different times as the chairman of Gwarzo Local Government Council, as well as the Kano State chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, enjoys the goodwill of Kano elders, who are said to be pulling all the strings to ensure his emergence as the ANPP candidate. In fact, because of the respect he commands, members of the ruling party have vowed to fight his cause by vehemently opposing any other aspirant endorsed by Shekarau to succeed him as the governor of the state.
During one of his campaigns, Gwarzo had told his teeming supporters that he was offering himself for the governorship of Kano next year after careful and extensive consultations with the various stakeholders in the state.
He has continued to promise the people of Kano that he will combat corruption in all its ramifications and intensify efforts to raise the internally-generated revenue of the state through the entrenchment of fiscal discipline in the allocation of resources.
The deputy governor believes that being a major player in the Shekarau administration, he will endeavour to improve on the incumbent’s initiatives by focusing on human and infrastructure development of the state.
He had said that if he picked the party’s governorship ticket at the primaries and eventually emerged the next governor of Kano in 2011, his administration would place priority on education, agriculture, rural development, industrial revitalisation and job creation, as well as cooperation with development partners.
Gwarzo has been assuring the people of the state that his government will adopt the concept of public-private partnership in the development of standard infrastructure, agriculture and industrialisation.
He has promised the Kano electorate a people-oriented administration, which will involve the participation of professionals across all sectors of the economy.
The ANPP governorship aspirant has pledged that special attention would be given to pensioners, senior citizens and the physically-challenged in the state if he eventually becomes the governor in 2011.
“In the spirit of continuity, I think I am confident that I have an overview and understanding of the policies of this government and the necessary improvement required for the accelerated transformation of Kano State into a vibrant and peaceful economic power house by making it economically independent,” Gwarzo had said.
But in spite of his lofty ideas, programmes and promises, Gwarzo might find the odds are heavily against him if his boss, Shekarau, refuses to give him his blessings and endorse him as his successor.
Being mentioned is the immediate past commissioner for local government in the state, Alhaji Salihu Takai, as the likely successor to Shekarau. Takai, a former chairman of Takai LG, our correspondent learnt, may have been endorsed by the Kano governor as his beloved successor. Going by the overwhelming support the ANPP governorship aspirant enjoys, especially from the members of Shekarau’s kitchen cabinet, his chances of securing the party’s ticket for 2011 appear very bright.
His alleged endorsement by the Kano governor was said to have been largely influenced by five political associates of Shekarau, who are popularly known in the state as ‘Fulogai,’ meaning flog. The considerable influence being wielded by Shekarau in the ANPP in the state and nationally, some observers believe, might be enough to secure the Kano governorship ticket for Takai.
But the governorship race in the state is not going to be left to the aspirants in the ruling ANPP alone. The People’s Democratic Party, which lost the state to the ANPP in 2003, is also gearing up to reclaim the state. In the forefront of the party’s governorship aspirants is the man, who the ANPP displaced from the Kano Government House in 2003, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso. The ANPP had in 2003 ridden on the popularity and influence of its then presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, to upstage the then ruling PDP in the state. The PDP was then plagued by internal wrangling even on the eve of that year’s governorship poll.
Today, however, our correspondent learnt that the people of Kano were yearning for the return of Kwankwaso, whose performance while at the helm of affairs between 1999 and 2003, many believe, remained unparalleled.
The former governor was said to have achieved a lot in the areas of rural transformation, education, infrastructure, health care delivery system and women development.
Political observers in the state claimed that Kwankwaso’s developmental projects were spread across all the 44 local government areas in the state, adding that the achievements earned him respect and honour among the people of the state, who still refer to him as ‘Gwamna Talakawa,’ meaning, ‘the governor of the masses.’
Given his current soaring popularity among the people of the state, who now display his posters and stickers on every available space, Kwankwaso may be on his way back to the Kano Government House in 2011. In the PDP in Kano now, the battle cry is “Kwankwaso Dawo-Dawo, Hannun amsa, Hannun bayarwa,” which means “Come back Kwankwaso, take over from those you handed over to.”
Also, a group known as “Kwankwaso Dawo-Dawo” (Come back Kwankwaso) allegedly purchased the aspirant’s nomination form to contest the PDP governorship primaries in the state.
A member of the group, Mr. Hashimu Dungurawa, reasoned that “Kwankwaso is the only credible person among those contesting to be the governor of Kano State, and we are tipping him as the last hope for the people of the state.”
Dungurawa had assured, “With Kwankwaso in the race for the governorship come 2011, the chances of the PDP are brighter as the people of Kano will vote for him because of his great concern for the development of the state.”
Kwankwaso’s chances of picking the PDP governorship ticket has been brightened by the reported decision of another aspirant, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Education, Alhaji Farouk Lawan, to step down for him and rather seek the party’s ticket to return to the National Assembly in 2011.
A former military governor, Col. Habibu Shuaibu (retd.), is another aspirant interested in clinching the PDP governorship ticket in the state. Shuaibu is seen by many people in the state as a humble, simple and honest person. He is known as a dogged fighter. It is, however, difficult to predict that the popularity and support these attributes have earned him, especially within the PDP in Kano, will be enough to give him the party’s governorship ticket for the 2011 elections.
The Gen. (Muhammadu) Buhari-led newly-registered Congress for Progressive Change is another party that should be watched in the race to the Kano State Government House in 2011. There are strong indications that the CPC is poised to give a good account of itself in next year’s polls. And among the aspirants that have indicated interest in emerging as the party’s governorship candidate is Brig.-Gen. Lawal Isah (retd). Although he is a new entrant into Kano politics, sections of the state believe that he could be the “Messiah” the people of the state have been waiting for because of the experience he garnered while he was the military governor of Kaduna State, where he was rated to have performed “creditably” well. But Isah’s Achilles’ heel might be his lack of experience in partisan politics.
The same thing cannot be said of Alhaji Magaji Abdullahi, a former deputy governor to the incumbent Shekarau. Abdullahi, an engineer by training, emerged a force to reckon with in 1990 when he contested the Kano governorship under the umbrella of the defunct Social Democratic Party, but lost to Alhaji Kabiru Gaya of the then National Republican Convention.
Having earlier parted ways with Shekarau, his former boss, Magaji contested against the incumbent governor in 2007 for the ANPP governorship ticket. He lost to Shekarau at the primaries. However, the belief by many in Kano that the former deputy governor has overstayed his welcome in the politics of the state vitiates his chances of clinching the CPC ticket for 2011.
Another aspirant interested in becoming the CPC governorship candidate in the 2011 elections is a university teacher, Dr. Auwalu Anwar. He is also a new entrant into Kano politics. Anwar, who is already looking beyond the party primaries, is banking on the strong presence of the CPC in all the 44 local government areas of the state to win the governorship poll next year.
While declaring his intention to contest the governorship of the state next year under the umbrella of the CPC, Anwar had said, “I am not a saint, I am a sinner. If my intention is not for Kano people, I pray to God not to give me the chance, and I have 10 priority areas of action if God gives us the chance to change the situation in the state to impressive standards.
“I formally present my humble self to the people of Kano State as one of those citizens of the state troubled by their conscience for deciding to wait and watch the rapid deterioration of Kano over a period of about 12 years, with the belief that they are not properly positioned to arrest the drift towards chaos and lawlessness.
“My painful realisation is that the qualities of most of the individuals, who are parading themselves as seeking the mandate of our people to govern us come 2011, are embarrassingly low.”
Observers of Kano politics are, however, of the opinion that Anwar has the daunting task of making himself acceptable to the members of his party and establishing his own political machinery in the 44 local government areas of the state to ensure the realisation of his ambition to clinch the CPC governorship ticket and eventually, the governorship of the state in 2011.
Another contender for the CPC governorship ticket is Mohammed Sani Abacha. Mohammed, the eldest son of the late military head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha, recently defected from the PDP, having discovered that his governorship ambition might be unrealisable under the umbrella of the party.
Abacha himself had hinged his decision to dump the PDP on the alleged lack of internal democracy and fairness plaguing the party. He had explained that he envisaged that the PDP would provide all the aspirants a level playing ground under a peaceful atmosphere, but was disappointed by the recent happenings in the party, which proved otherwise.
Abacha had told Buhari in Kaduna while declaring for the CPC, that he decided to join the party because of the “unbearable atmosphere” existing in the Kano State chapter of the PDP. The son of the former military dictator said that he chose to join the CPC because of the party’s inclination towards justice and fairness.
He further pledged to be a loyal party member by abiding by all its rules and regulation with a view to helping the party to further consolidate the successes it had so far recorded in the state.
Buhari had, however, assured all the aspirants under the umbrella of the party of a level-playing ground and fairness.
It was, however, gathered that Abacha might be banking on Buhari’s support to win the CPC governorship ticket in Kano. Sources said he had recently intensified his lobby of the CPC leadership at the national level to secure the party’s 2011 governorship slot.
With the array of aspirants for the topmost job in Kano and their individual contending credentials, it appears that the state will present an interesting contest that will usher another tenant into the government house.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2010112011395093
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