Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state may be drowning in a sea of trouble that has beset him on all sides

These are the best of times for Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State. While he may not be new to swimming in troubled waters, the difference, this time around, is that those threatening to drown him are supposed comrades from the same political party, All Progressives Congress (APC). Having served as deputy governor for eight years and now close to his seventh year as the incumbent governor, the challenges confronting Ganduje are largely self-imposed. Political pundits expected the governor to have mastered the intrigues of Kano politics from being an insider for so long, but he has made so many apparent costly mistakes that have taken control of the party out of his hands.

The jostle for control of the party started when the governor unilaterally allotted positions for the 2023 national elections to certain persons without consulting other stakeholders in the party. Some serving members of the National Assembly from Kano State whose offices were traded off by Ganduje were baffled that such weighty decisions could be taken behind them. After several failed efforts to get the Kano governor to rescind his decision, they came together in an alliance now known as the G-7.

Emergence of the G-7

The group includes Senator Barau Jibril, representing Kano North, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, representing Kano Central, Bashir Dalhatu of Buhari Support Organization, Sha’aban Sharadda, memberof the House of Representatives, representing Kano Municipal, Tijjani Jobe, member of the House of Representatives from Dawakin Tofa, Rumin Gado and Tofa, Nasiru Auduwa Gabasawa, representing Gabasawa and Gezawa and Ahmad Haruna Danzago Kano State Chairman of APC.

There was clearly no need for Ganduje to allow the birth of G-7. He was supposed to sit them down and identify those who could go for higher appointments in Abuja or those to be nominated for gubernatorial or other appointments within the G-7, but he chose to abide by the advice of the chairman of the party produced by his faction, Abdullahi Abbass.

What could have been managed by the governor with the political sagacity that he was credited with was allowed to become a full-blown crisis. Once the case went to court, the line of differences was clearly drawn and there appears to be no going back; not when the matter has gone all the way to the Supreme Court, which decided in favour of the G-7. The Kano Governor lost the court battle at every stage. The Supreme Court has handed over the leadership of the party to Shekarau, while Ganduje is left with Abass, the factional chairman of the party, but the court has ruled that Danzago is officially the chairman of the party at the state level. Effectively, the structure of the APC in Kano is in the hands of Shekarau, a former governor of the state and a serving Senator.

Although the APC Reconciliation Committee has made many public and secret efforts to make peace between the G-7 and Ganduje, it looks like the ship has left the harbour. What is noticeable everywhere in Kano, at the moment, is that the G-7 is in charge of the party. The people on the streets have turned their back against Ganduje, who has committed so many blunders that portray him as one without good advisers. On the other hand, it could be that the governor opted to act independently and refused to listen to anyone else. Whether he acted alone or in cahoots with others behind the curtain, he should have seen what was coming at him. As things stand today, the problem has become hydra-headed and too big to be solved in one day or one week. It is no comfort to Governor Ganduje that the selection process of the political parties for their flag-bearers in the 2023 national elections is around the corner.

From feelers in Kano political assemblies, members of the G-7 were incensed by the Kano governor’s thoughtless actions after they spent their monies, time and reputation to side with him in his various trying times. Whatever came up against Ganduje, they made sure those problems were solved at their own level. They joined forces and resources, with their intellectuality to make sure Ganduje emerged as a governor, a second time. Having done so much to support his person and administration, the least they expected from him was appreciation. Rather, what they got was a stab in the back and a blunt refusal by Governor Ganduje to reach an understanding with them when the opportunity was open, before they headed for the courts.

What further irked the G-7 was the effrontery of the governor’s wife to publicly state that Hon. Murtala Sule Garo, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs would succeed her husband. Expectedly this created negative reactions in the state. The First Family of Kano was forced to by overwhelming public opinion to backtrack, but the governor’s body language disclosed something else. The apology did not quite seem to come from the heart.

Perhaps, if Ganduje had chosen a better candidate and carried the G-7 along, the people of Kano may have agreed to his choice. Rather than use his vast knowledge of politics in the state to cement relationships, Ganduje thought he could use the carrot and stick approach, unmindful of the fact that members of the G-7 individually and collectively command so much respect and are financially comfortable.

From the G-7 fold, Senator Barau Jibril has a lot going for him. Since Shekarau can’t be governor again, the lot may fall on Jibril, whose political machinery in Kano is so strong that even if he were to contest against a sitting governor, he will come tops. He is powerful and the people of Kano are with him. Along with his compatriots in the G-7, they made so many covert efforts and used their money to buy copies of the videos that were supposed to be published to embarrass the Kano Governor. They covered his shame when it mattered.

Window for a Truce?

If the calculation does not work out well for Ganduje, he may go with his tail between his legs to beg for a soft landing. Recently, his acolytes who used to abuse former governor Rabiu Kwankwaso on radio have indicated that if the opportunity presents itself, they are ready to apologise to the Kwankwasiyya leader. Ganduje has recently paid condolence visits to Kwankwaso on the death of his brother. Watchers of the political scene in Kano were also surprised when all the feuding Kano politicians gathered and exchanged pleasantries at the wedding of Shekarau’s daughter. These were not likely to happen in the past when there was no love lost between these politicians. Governor Ganduje has recently been going everywhere with Abdulsalam Abdulkarim Zaura, a wealthy businessman and politician, who is a known ally of APC National Leader, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose presidential ambition is openly supported by the Kano Governor. However, many are quick to point to the fact that the late former governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi’s daughter is married to Ganduje’s son. Tinubu was Ajimobi’s political godfather. Zaura is believed to have the money to match Jibril if they have to fight for the APC governorship ticket in Kano.

But power play is largely about interest, not family ties. So, where there are threats to expose the Kano governor’s dirty deals, he may be pressurized to consider the skeletons in his cupboard than who his son is married to.