My Perspective On The 2023 Guber Race In Kano State

I am afraid the contest for this week's guber race in Kano state will be very stiff. The APC and NNPP will slug it out on the political battleground in the state. What we will see on Saturday 11th March 2023, is an ego clash between two political gladiators who wrongly assume that they own Kano state.

In other words, the incumbent governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, will do everything humanly possible to ensure that his anointed candidate, Dr. Nasiru Yussuf Gawuna, wins the election. Ganduje's former boss, estranged long-time friend cum political ally, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is hell-bent on ousting the APC-led government in the state to pave way for his political godson, Engr. Abba Kabir Yussuf who is expected to reciprocate by unwavering loyalty and support to the godfather if he won the election.

Sadly, the ordinary folk whose votes determine who becomes the governor in the state do not understand that the fight between Ganduje and Kwankwaso is not about them, even though they maim, denigrate, and kill in a free for all battle to defend or advance the cause of the 2 politicians in Kano state. It has nothing to do with good governance or bringing the dividends of democracy to the people. The contest is between the 2 rival politicians each using all kinds of strategies to outwit the other in a bid to control power. This ambition to pocket Kano state and its resources by the 2 rival politicians can only be achieved if any of their boys become the governor.

If the 2023 National Assembly and Presidential election in Kano state is anything to go by, indications are that the gubernatorial election coming up this week on the 11th of March may not be peaceful.

I say this because I witnessed the orgy of violence the youths of APC and NNPP committed on Thursday, two days before the Presidential election. On that black Thursday, many people were killed and vehicles burnt down along Kura Kano express road. It took me more than 2 hours to traverse a distance of 30 kilometers from Kura to Kano. This distance is ordinarily covered in under 30 minutes. Thousands of youths with their red cap insignia of the Kwankwasiya movement thronged both sides of the roads, visibly acting on the influence of drugs, leaped up brandishing weapons of all kinds, and chanted a kwankwasiya political song. The unusual traffic jamb and the fear for the safety of my life had made that 2-hour journey the longest in my life.

Moreover, there was a report of killing and arson in some local governments on the day of the Presidential and National Assembly elections in Kano state. One of such killings and wanton destructions consumed the ruthless Honourable Ado Alhassan Doguwa of the APC, who is also the majority leader of the House of Representatives, currently cooling his heels in a Kano prison on the allegation of murder and arson.

I appeal to the people to be wary of politicians. Most of them do not have your interest at heart. They are deceptive. They tell you what your ears want to hear to garner votes from you and then dump you after the election.

A fool is he who kills another person in support or in deference to the politician he supports. Go out and vote for the candidate of your choice and wait for the announcement of the winner. Your choice may not be the winner. People should therefore show good sportsmanship and decorum if another candidate becomes the winner. That person may be God's choice. And no person can change what God has decided. I pray and hope for a peaceful, free, and fair election in Kano in particular and Nigeria in general on the 11th of March, 2023.

Saleh Bature sent in this piece from Maitama Abuja. Bature can be reached at [email protected]