The recent article by Hassan Sani Tukur, “Understanding the Current Kano Political Scene,” attempts to paint a picture of seamless ideological fidelity between the current administration and the Kwankwasiyya movement. However, the writer fails to acknowledge that history is repeating itself with remarkable precision.
The only difference lies not in the “ideology,” but in the timeline of when a Governor decides to prioritize the interests of the Kano people over the overbearing dictates of a single individual. To compare Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje’s tenure to that of Abba Kabir Yusuf is to ignore the fundamental realities of age, experience, and professional standing, realities that are now pushing Governor Abba toward the same path of independence that Ganduje once took.
One must consider the seniority and professional pedigree that Dr. Ganduje brought to the table. Long before Senator Kwankwaso rose to political prominence, Ganduje was a seasoned administrator, rising to the level of Director in the Federal Service and serving as a Commissioner. While Ganduje was supervising ministries, Kwankwaso was a subordinate staff member (Assistant Director) at WRECA. To expect a man of Ganduje’s seniority to remain a perpetual subordinate was an exercise in futility. Conversely, Abba Kabir Yusuf’s relationship with Kwankwaso was forged in the shadow of a Personal Assistant and in-law. What Abba could tolerate as a protégé, he can no longer sustain as a sitting Governor. The current January 2026 rift where the Governor is reportedly defecting to the APC while Kwankwaso opens “loyalty registers” for his followers is the ultimate proof that the “perfect subordinate” is a myth that even family ties cannot preserve.
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The narrative that Ganduje “abandoned” projects out of spite is a convenient deception. As a seasoned administrator, Ganduje understood that many inherited projects were riddled with corrupt-related insertions. History is now vindicating that caution. The current investigation by the ICPC into the alleged N1.5 billion foreign scholarship scam under the Abba administration, where investigations suggest a massive disparity between funds released and students actually sent is a chilling testimony to the concerns Ganduje raised years ago. For anyone to expect Ganduje, or any responsible leader, to become a “rubber-stamp” for projects crookedly packaged to siphon public funds through proxies is a great disservice to the state.
To be fair to the records, Ganduje did not halt progress; he redefined it for sustainability. He completed the Murtala Muhammad and Ibrahim Taiwo flyovers, the Tiga Independent Power Project, and gave the “free education” policy legislative backing through the Kano State Free Basic and Secondary School Education Law of 2020. He refused to let the Governor’s office become a mere department of a private “Kwankwasiyya Company.”
As of today, history has proved Ganduje right.
The same approach of independence is exactly what Governor Abba is now being forced to take as he moves to align with the center. It is now clear that no one not a peer like Ganduje, nor a protégé and in-law like Abba can satisfy the overbearing dictatorship of the Jagora. The search for a “loyal governor” who will remain a puppet for eight years is an impossible quest. In the end, the needs of Kano always outgrow the control of a single man.
Muhammad Sanusi Kiru
Former Commissioner of Education, Kano State