Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the rivalry between Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and his predecessor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, and how the All Progressives Congress (APC) Reconciliation Committee led by Chief John Odigie-Oyegun is brokering truce between the two gladiators.
The defection of Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) has continued to generate ripples in the PDP. Many observers agree that his exit is a loss to the party in its quest to retain power in the state in 2015.
But, his defection to the APC has also imposed on the party leadership the challenge of reconciliation between him and his predecessor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau. Both of them have been locked in a supremacy battle in the Northwest state for over 10 years.
Before Kwankwaso’s defection, Shekarau had emerged as the leader of the APC in Kano, following the consumation of the merger of the progressive parties. He was the undisputed leader of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), which merged with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) to form the APC. However, with Kwankwaso’s defection, the power equation changed. The governor instantly displaced his predecessor as the leader of the mega party.
Shekarau’s supporters are irked by the turn of events. They complained that their leader was not consulted during the negotiation with the governor. They also pointed out that Shekarau may now play a second fiddle under Kwankwaso’s leadership. Since the defection, the two camps have been exchanging tirades in the media.
It was the carry-over of the 2011 battle. Shekarau had defeated Kwankwanso in the 2003 governorship poll. The election was bitterly contested. He ruled for eight years. However, Kwankwaso bounced back in 2011 as Shekarau’s successor. Thus, the two players perceive themselves as political foes.
A major event that aggravated the rivalry was the visit to Kwankwaso at the Government House by the APC leaders, when they were wooing him into the party. Although, the APC leaders later apologised to Shekarau for not carrying him along, the former governor felt that he was sidelined. The former governor said it was an attempt to cut his influence.
Former Edo State Governor John Odigie-Oyegun, who led the party’s delegation to Shekarau, said: “Under no circumstances shall we turn our back on Shekarau, the APC and its leadership in Kano State because the state is critical to the APC. Shekarau is one of the architects of merger negotiations because when there was difficulty in the merger talks, he came up with a solution. Shekarau is very important to the party as he was among those who played a key role in the merger negotiations”.
According to observers, there was the Buhari angle to the political rivalry between the strong men of Kano politics. They recalled that the frosty relationship between the retired General and Shekarau dated back to his tenure as governor. It was said that in the eight years that Shekarau was in office, Buhari did not pay him a visit, although he visited Kwankwaso, who was elected on the platform of the PDP.
Party sources disclosed that Shekarau was not happy that Buhari did not protest when his name was not included on the list of chieftains that visited Kwankwaso.
Thus, his supporters feel that, since Buhari has thrown his weight behind the governor, he had, through his body language, abandoned an old ally.
Analysts are of the view that the Oyegun Reconciliation Committee has a lot to do in Kano State. The committee has been mandated to broker peace between the two gladiators.
The rivalry started in 2003. It was the build up to the 2003 elections and the reintroduction of the Sharia legal system. Shekarau, who was a Permanent Secretary, was attending meetings for the resuscitation of the Shari’a law. Kwankwaso objected, saying that the meetings had political undertones. Shekarau maintained that he had a fundamental right to attend the meetings. Consequently, he was removed as a Permanent Secretary and posted to a public school as a teacher.
Shekarau’s predicament brought him into the limelight. Many people had sympathy for him. They believed that he was unjustly demoted. Many rights groups chided Kwankwaso for the victimisation. Following his redeployment to the classroom, Skekarau retired from the civil service. He joined the ANPP and emerged as its governorship candidatte. Although he lost the primaries to Alhaji Aminu Little, the party insisted on his candidature.
Shekarau defeated Kwankwaso at the poll because of what analysts referred to as the ‘Buhari factor’. When he assumed office, Shekarau instituted a probe into the Kwankwaso’s tenure.The commission, in its report, indicted Kwankwaso for embezzlement. A White Paper was released to that effect. The probe truncated the ambition of Kwankwaso to re-contest the 2007 governorship election. But, he fielded one of his close associates, Alhaji Garba Bichi, who was defeated by Shekarau. But, in 2011, Kwankwaso defeated Shekarau’s anointed candidate, Sagir Takai.
Between 2003 and the defection of Kwankwaso to theAPC, it was fashionable for both leaders to accuse one another at public functions. That is why some people feel that political cohabitation may be difficult for the duo, unless there is reconciliation.
An indication that all is not well with the Kano APC manifested recently when Shekarau and his supporters stormed the party’s national secretariat in Abuja to register their displeasure over the powers conferred on the five PDP governors, who have defected to the party.
Shekarau complained that the labours of the old APC chieftains were being ignored by the party leadership. He said that the old and new members deserved equal treatment.
The former governor said: “If a governor comes into the APC today and wants the structure of the party in his state to be handed over to him, we may have to critically look at it. This is because there are structures on grounds in the state before such a governor came in. It is not possible to ignore this reality when you are discussing the terms under which a new person is coming into the party, else there could be confusion”
But, not all the associates of Shekarau are with him in his battle to maintain the status quo. There is a crack in his camp. Some leaders of the defunct ANPP, including a former presidential candidate of National Republican Convention (NRC), Alhaji Bashir Tofa, and Senator Kabir Gaya, have visited Kwankwaso and pledged their support to his leadership.
But, another associate of Shekarau and former Chairman of the ANPP in Kano State, Alhaji Sani Hotoro, dismissed the delegation to the governor, saying that Tofa and his crew visited the governor in their individual capacities, and not on behalf of the defunct ANPP.
According to Hotoro, members of the defunct ANPP had written a letter to the APC Interim National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, about their grievances.
“It is in the public knowledge that members of the APC coming from the defunct ANPP, Kano State, have on December 18, 2013 under the leadership of our 2011 presidential candidate and former Governor of Kano State, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau , delivered a letter to the APC interim leadership in Abuja conveying our concern and the way forward.
“In it, we requested for clarification on the rumour going round that the five aggrieved new PDP governors who decided to decamp to the APC did so as a result of an alleged agreement they reached with a section of the APC leadership that they will be given special privileges that are clearly against all fairness and democratic norms. These included the state leadership of the party, automatic tickets for all their members of the state and national assemblies and also the handling the registration of members.”
Hotoro said that, as far as “the ANPP section of the APC in Kano State” was concerned, Shekarau remained the leader of the party in the state.
Will Shekarau group dump theAPC, if the party is adamant on its constitutional provision that confers the leadership of the party on the governors? Hotoro said Shekarau and the other aggrieved members had no plan to defect to other parties.
It was also learnt that the bickering is rampant among those currently eyeing the Government House in Shekarau’s camp in 2015. Prominent among them are Malam Sagir Takai and Hon Kawu Idris Sumaila, a member of the House of Representatives.
Kwankwaso has pledged to treat every member of the party with fairness. He also promised to carry everyone along in the decision making. He has urged them to join hands with him for the progress and success of the party.
The party elders are not relenting in their bid to reconcile the two leaders. A source said that truce is possible, but added that confidence building may take some time.
Already, party sources said that Shekarau has reconciled with Buhari. The reconciliation, according to sources, was facilitated by former Minister of Agriculture Alhaji Sani Zango Daura. A deal was struck that Shekarau should drop his presidential ambition for Buhari, the source added.
Currently, Odigie-Oyegun and his team are in Kano. The former Edo State governor has said that both leaders will work together for the party in an atmosphere of oneness. The APC interim Publicity Secretay, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, also said that the APC will not neglect crisis resolution.
“To take care of some of the grumblings and protests that may come up in the affected states, we have set up some committees that will take care of the concerns of our leaders in those states and ensure a seamless integration of the new members. The committee will take care of whatever crisis that may ensue in the on-going process of integration,” he said
