Senator Ibrahim Shekarau is a national figure. Before he became a Senator he was two term governor of Kano state, and became a member of federal executive council in the administration of former president Goodluck Jonathan.I am not writing today because Shekarau is a public figure. Neither am I offering unsolicited advice to him while knowing fully well he has no time to read lengthy articles.
I write as a citizen of Nigeria who is interested in the economic and political development of Nigeria.Those who are following the political developments of Kano know that APC, the party Shekarau and Ganduje belong to, is factionalized. Ganduje conducted congresses IN-HOUSE, and Shekarau and his group conducted theirs. A Court affirmed Shekarau’s congress, while the constitution of APC says a serving governor must be the leader of the party in the state.Ganduje and his minions appealed that judgement and won.Earlier, the national headquarters of the party tried to broker peace, where the Shekarau faction was to recognise the leadership of Ganduje and content themselves with the crumbs Ganduje is to offer.
Now it is reported that Shekarau said they will study the judgement and possibly head to Supreme court.Why do all Nigerian political parties write in their constitution that elected governors and president must be leaders of the party in their domains? Because of the simple fact that they hold the purse strings.Party activities, electioneering, are funded from government treasuries. Party executives cherish election periods because that is the time to really chop. Ganduje today holds the purse strings of Kano state government’s funds.
And he is free to open it to an opposing party if he is prevented from appointing as governor anyone whom he thinks will cover his tracks.If Shekarau believes he is popular, APC can risk it and dump him, since they have proved, in the ‘re-election’ of Ganduje, that one can go to a collation Centre, shred election results, and force INEC to declare election inconclusive. The person responsible for that bringandage is adoringly called Commander in APC because war should be fought and won anyhow. Society kowtows to the victor….even if he were a Turji of Zamfara. And Ganduje and his Empress have chosen that Commander as their successor, knowing fully well what society thinks is irrelevant.As a governor, Shekarau did not want his deputy to succeed him. He chose instead a Commissioner.
The Deputy decamped to then ACN and lost the governorship election. Shekarau’s candidate did not win either, he was defeated by Kwankwaso.I can’t remember whether it was in ANPP or CPC, the person who is now chairman of Shekarau’s faction, Dan Zango, wanted to continue as Chairman. So as early as five in the morning he had conducted congresses and won. But today he is hailed as paragon of virtue.
Shekarau, Ganduje, Kwankwaso and even Buhari are birds of the same feather politically. None is cleaner than the other. They profited from lack of internal democracy, that is, not allowing the will of the people to prevail. In fact, in ANPP days, it was Buhari who confiscated the gubernatorial ticket from one Ibrahim Little and donated it to Shekarau.
Yet after becoming governor he declared he had no enemy worse than Buhari.At the end of the day Ganduje must be allowed to field any pig of his choice as successor, but he might be prevailed upon to allow Shekarau, Barau Jibrin to retain their tickets to Senate. As for Ɗan Zago, that would have been chairman, he would gladly accept to be allowed to dip his hand into Ganduje’s dollar-stuffed pockets.What of the rest of us? Kidnappers, bandits, IPOB, inflation, would be allowed free reins to deal with us, ensure our silence.That’s how Nigeria works.
Abdullahi Musa writes from Kano.