‘Shekarau, Ganduje, Yusuf have lost political relevance in Kano’ – Kwankwaso

Vice-presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2027 election, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, has declared that former Kano State governors Ibrahim Shekarau and Abdullahi Ganduje, as well as the incumbent governor, Abba Yusuf, are politically finished in the state.

Kwankwaso made the statement while discussing the political fortunes of former members of his political camp who later fell out with him.

Speaking during the News Agency of Nigeria Personality Interview Series in Abuja on Sunday, the former governor said political achievements built through what he described as “treachery” could not be sustained.

Kwankwaso argued that individuals who abandoned their political allies for personal gains would eventually lose the support that helped them rise to prominence.

His comments came as he reflected on his long-standing political relationships and the fallout with some former allies who have since established their own political paths.

The former Kano State governor further said that his experience over the past two and a half decades had shown that those who betrayed their political allies usually went into political oblivion.

“You cannot succeed with treachery. I have not seen one. Now we have taken about two and a half decades.

“If I ask you, I’m sure you don’t know; he is going into oblivion politically. He is nowhere,” Kwankwaso said, referring to one of his erstwhile political associates.

He specifically cited Ganduje, who served as his deputy for eight years before succeeding him as governor in 2015, and what he called his dwindling political fortunes.

According to him, Ganduje’s political career would have been better had he maintained the political structure they both built together, describing the former governor’s current situation as a consequence of his decision to part ways with him.

“If you can even see the issue of Ganduje, who we came together and supported, and became governor free of charge. The day when he started fighting was the beginning of his problem. If I may ask: where is he now? It is difficult to see him,” he said.

Kwankwaso said Ganduje could have commanded greater respect in Kano and beyond had he remained committed to the political structure, adding that the former governor now had significant political challenges.

He also criticised Governor Abba Yusuf for allegedly abandoning those who worked for his emergence as governor.

Kwankwaso said the choice of Yusuf as his preferred candidate was based partly on the need to avoid a repeat of what he described as Ganduje’s actions.

“Abba Yusuf: we went down, right down, to make sure that we picked the right person who would not go and repeat what Ganduje had done.

“Members of my political group worked day and night to field Yusuf in the 2019 governorship election, which Yusuf won before the result was overturned through litigation,” he stated.

He said the same political structure returned in 2023 and successfully secured Yusuf’s election as governor, despite attempts to deploy similar tactics against the party.

Kwankwaso, however, said Yusuf had since distanced himself from the political camp that brought him to power.

“He left us, but he is not with Ganduje now. He is in-between because I don’t think he is happy for anybody to call him Dan Gandujiyya,” he said.

He said Yusuf’s decision to allow himself to be publicly identified with Ganduje had also created political difficulties for him.

Kwankwaso further alleged that Yusuf was now attempting to supplant him as the dominant political figure in Kano, despite his continued influence in the state.

“People have no patience and that is why they are making those mistakes. It is just a matter of patience,” he said.

The former governor said the struggle for political succession and control was not peculiar to Kano, describing it as a recurring feature of Nigerian politics.

He recalled a conversation with President Bola Tinubu in which the President asked him to go and reconcile some political differences with Ganduje.

Kwankwaso said he responded by drawing attention to the fate of several politicians who had once been close political associates of the President but were no longer prominent in his political circle.

He cited former Lagos State Deputy Governor Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele and former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode as examples.

“I told him that when I come here, I don’t see Bucknor. When I come here, I don’t see Ambode. I started counting the people,” he said.

Kwankwaso, who said that his experience had shown the transient nature of political relationships, added that political colleagues could become distant in spite of having worked closely together before.

Kwankwaso, however, singled out former Osun Governor, Chief Bisi Akande, as one of the few political associates he still regarded as a friend.

He said political relationships often resembled those formed in school, where former classmates could maintain bonds in spite of differences in their political careers.

“It’s not very peculiar to Kano, but I think the Kano experience is special out of the general lots,” Kwankwaso said. (NAN)

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