The road to the governorship election in Kano State has been rough. The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Alhaji Salihu Takai, are warming up for the poll. KOLADE ADEYEMI examines the fierce battle for power and the chances of the two candidates.
Ahead of the April 11 governorship election in Kano State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), the two major parties with strong candidates, are poised for a fierce battle. The campaign for the election has taken Alhaji Salihu Takai of the PDP and Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje of the APC to the 44 local governments. The die is now cast; there is a stiff contest to capture the attention of the electorates.
The battle has been taken to the airwaves. Supporters of the two candidates are now engaged in a war-of-words at local radio stations. Using blackmail and propaganda, they are castigating one another and selling their candidates to the public. Though the two candidates have consistently urged their supporters to eschew violence, political thugs loyal to them continue to flout this non-violent stance, especially during rallies and road shows. The Kano State Police Command, however, are not taking it cool, as the police have been arresting and prosecuting party supporters who engage in thuggery and violence.
Last week, police paraded 23 suspected political thugs, including a female, alleged to have sponsored the killing of one of the victims during a political clash. The State Commissioner of Police Idris Ibrahim told reporters that a clash between two political rivals in Ladi Makole, Warawa Local Government Area, resulted in the killing of one person and wanton destruction of properties. He said the police and other security agencies are prepared to provide security during the elections, by ensuring that enough men are deployed to the nooks and crannies of the state.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Zone, Alhaji Muhammadu Tambari Yabo, has read the riot act to politicians, saying police were ready to arrest and prosecute anybody engaged in electoral violence, no matter how highly placed. He said: “We have not forgotten the 2011 elections and the violence that followed it. That was a sad experience that no one would want a repeat. So, we should be prepared to have elections that will be free, fair, peaceful and rancour-free. We should make sure that our activities are within the ambits of the law. Let me give the Ghana example where electoral officers and returning officers move freely with electoral materials (on their bicycles) after elections without molestation or harassment from anybody. We should not be seen to be carrying offensive weapons while on political rallies. Don’t carry anything you can use to take advantage of your brother in a way of inflicting injury on him. Our wish is that what happened in 2011 will not repeat itself again and as the custodians of law and order, we will do our best as police men to make sure that we will not record election violence this time round.”
Tambari drew attention to Section 94 (2) of the Electoral Act which prescribed a fine of N2 million or two-year imprisonment or both to persons convicted for being in possession of offensive weapons during political rallies or on the election day. He said he has directed all Commissioners of Police under him to bring the law to full bear no matter, whose ox is gored. Yabo added: “I wish to strongly warn at this juncture that the police and other law enforcement agencies will bring into bear the full weight of the law on all violators of electoral and other national laws. These laws are very categorical in guiding your conduct during electioneering campaigns,” he added.
Ganduje said the APC will record 100 per cent victory in the most populous state. Ganduje who spoke to reporters during an interactive session in his office, also declared that the victory of the APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, in the 2015 general elections is sure, citing calamitous leadership allegedly run by the PDP at the centre. From Ganduje’s calculations, the APC is ready to sweep the 40 House of Assembly seats, 24 House of Representatives seats, three Senatorial seats and the governorship seat in Kano. He added that Buhari’s victory in Kano would be 100 per cent.
He said: “The die has been cast, we are ready for the race and, Insha Allah, and we shall succeed. For our President-in-waiting, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, we are working very hard to give him the maximum votes here in Kano. If possible, all those who registered, even those who are not in the APC, we are begging them, we are soliciting for their support, we are appealing for them to vote for our president because of the different shortcomings, different man-made calamities, we require somebody who is upright, somebody has the political will, somebody who is strong, somebody who can fight injustice — no matter what will happen to him and to any other person. So, we shall continue to do that to ensure that we contribute our quota being the most populous state. We want to lead in giving him (Buhari) the maximum vote, may God help us.
“We are also working very hard to ensure that all our candidates will be able to make it in the forthcoming elections. For the governorship, Insha Allah, we shall celebrate, we shall rejoice together, but we have to work hard before that time. Here in Kano, the issue is continuity, the issue is consolidation — consolidation with new innovations, consolidation with ideas and consolidation with a lot of planning and calculations. Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso has done an excellent job. Hence, there is a need to consolidate and complete those projects that we may not be able to complete within the period of this administration. But, beyond that, we need to introduce new innovations in critical infrastructure in Kano State.”
On his agenda for the state, he said: “We have done a lot in education. My administration, Insha Allah, will consolidate and lay emphasis on qualitative education; because looking at the quality of education all over the country, I am sure you’ll agree with me that it is appalling. Look at WAEC and NECO results, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. So, we shall ensure that there is quality in the system; and of course in terms of quantity, we shall continue to improve. We are even attacking it from so many fronts—even those who are beyond school age are included. We shall introduce adult education, so that we capture all those that cannot read and write.”
He added that his administration will concentrate on the provision of stable power supply under Independent Power Project (IPP), road construction, transforming Kano to a mega-city, integrated rural development, boosting the agricultural sector and increasing Internally Generated Revenue (IGR.)
The Director-General of Kano State Hisbah Board, Alhaji Abba Sa’ad Sufi, said: “Dr. Ganduje has all it takes to succeed our leader, Governor Kwankwaso. As the Deputy Governor and Second-in-Command of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, he is part and parcel of the development we are witnessing in Kano. He was there as the Deputy to Governor Kwankwaso between 1999 and 2003. He is also here now; and he knows how Governor Kwankwaso manages the economy. He has been part of all the decision-making and as a leader with a great mind and great ambition for Kano, Governor Kwankwaso would not have entrusted such an important mantle to somebody who has not been tested and trusted. Everybody in Kano and those who have been visiting the state recently are aware that a revolution is going on; and it will take only a fool to say that these good tidings that are flowing in Kano should not continue. So, Dr. Ganduje is there for continuity. He is there to build on the legacies of his boss and also introduce innovations that will take Kano State to greater heights.
Ganduje is not a small fry in Kano politics. He has been there for over four decades and he is one of the bulldozers in the political landscape. A foundation member of the PDP, he gave up his ambition to govern Kano in 1999, after he was pressured by stakeholders to step down and support Kwankwaso, who eventually picked the ticket and chose him as the running-mate. Ganduje was Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport between 1994 and 1998. He was Kwankwaso’s deputy between 1999 and 2003. Before then, he served as Administrative Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA); Development Secretary of Kwalli Development Area; Sole Administrator of Abaji Area Council; Chairman, Gwagwalada Area Council; Special Adviser (Political) to Kwankwaso when he was Defence Minister; Executive Secretary of Lake Chad Basin Commission and Assistant Secretary of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the Second Republic. Many believe that Ganduje’s wealth of experience in politics and civil service put him at a vintage position to win.
Takai, the PDP candidate, is also not a novice in Kano politics. He has the full backing of the former governor, who is now Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau. Takai is also believed to be in the good books of the Ulamas and some traditional rulers. In 2011, he challenged Kwankwaso under the platform of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), but was defeated with just 60,000 votes. His supporters believe that, this time round, Takai would make it to Government House. He has been campaigning all over the state. But, he may face challenges in some places because of the emergence of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as the APC presidential candidate. Though Buhari is not from Kano, he has a big following in the state; he is loved and cherished by the Talakawas.
Takai was former Commissioner of Local Government Affairs during the Shekarau administration. According to Farouk Iya, the white-beaded Malam remains the only candidate that can defeat the APC in Kano. Iya is a close associate of the PDP candidate. He had to resign as Commissioner of Education when Kwankwaso dumped the PDP because he was not ready to jump ship. Today, he is the Director-General of Takai Campaign Organization.
Takai said that his ambition was not a do-or-die affair, but an art of God and a sincere intention to rescue Kano from “the mercy of a very harsh government that is making life unbearable for all.” He added: “It is a pity that the state government has distanced itself from the population and has been involved in destructive activities, rather than being constructive. They do not seem to have concrete plans to develop the state, but are needlessly engaged in unnecessary waste of public funds.”
Takai said his government would concentrate more on agriculture, education, security, health, commerce and industry, human development, as well as infrastructural development.
The Kano governorship race promises to be an interesting one. The two candidates are popular and with the capricious nature of Kano politics, pundits believe that it would be difficult to make a clear-cut prediction on who will emerge the winner on April 11.