Those who are following the unfolding political events in Nigeria will agree that the presidency pendulum may eventually swing to the north as a two-term governor, former Minister and Senator, Eng. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has outsmarted the two major political parties; the Ruling All Progressive Party, APC and the opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, and PDP as they battle to manage their zoning agreement.
Eng.
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who is a presidential candidate of the third force party
known as the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), has positioned himself for
victory while the other two major parties are still trying to find their
bearing as they solve the internal crisis caused by conflicting zoning
agreement and massive aspiration for the number one seat.
Speaking
to Channels TV political anchor, Seun Okinbaloye, former Governor and Chief
Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu warned the ruling All Progressives Congress
(APC) against underrating the recent defections of high-profile individuals to
the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), especially in the North-West
geo-political zone.
He
warned that if the APC and the opposition PDP field their candidates from any
other zone aside from the South East or North East, the silent majority who
have a working conscience could protest this injustice by supporting Engr.
Rabiu Kwankwaso to clinch the presidential seat in 2023.
The
former Governor said: “Our problem is Kwankwaso, not APC or PDP because
Kwankwaso is already a presidential candidate. That was what I saw when I
pulled out. If they had given me the ticket in APC, I would have lost and it
would not be good for us.
“If
PDP or APC gives their ticket to southern Nigerians, Kwankwaso is already a
president waiting. I can assure you that knowing the mentality of what is the
truth on the ground unless you are telling yourselves lies. I don’t tell myself
lies. I’m a student of realism.
“So,
Kwankwaso is the problem, because if PDP goes to the North and APC goes to the
south it’s as well telling me to pack my luggage and go. I will not have a job
in the national assembly. I won’t have a job in the federal government of
Nigeria. That’s the truth because we want to change the thing that will be for
the people. “I’m speaking the truth from my heart. My party will be fooled if
they don’t go to the north.”
Not
many political spectators are also aware that the NNPP had reportedly enlisted
over 1,000 non-governmental organisations and civil rights movements that would
support them in the 2023 general elections.
Presently,
RMK has wooed the serving Director-General of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s
campaign, a young and dynamic former lawmaker, Abdulmumin Jibrin, out of the
APC and into the NNPP. He has also succeeded in bringing another strong
political influencer from Kano State, former Governor and lawmaker, Senator
Ibrahim Shekarau into the new party.
Senator
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has built a formidable political machine that is waxing
strong by the day.
In
Kano politics, Kwankwaso is a force to reckon with. He controls a large chunk
of followers who believe in him and who are ready to work for him anytime, any
day to achieve his political ambition.
Though he has been at loggerheads with the incumbent governor, Ganduje, who is his
political godson, Kwankwaso’s influence within the party is still very strong.
It’s because of his political machine called The Kwankwanssiya Movement. He
didn’t just set up the group. When Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the then
Governor of Kano State initiated the Kwankwassiyya Group as a distinctive group
within the PDP then, not many people knew the reasons behind this.
They
assumed a distinct way of dressing. They wear red caps and have a badge of
their own as well as their own logo. They have also been registered as a
political organization. By the time the former Governor came out to vie for the
presidency in 2014, it was obvious that a brand had emerged within the APC. It
was the Kwankwassiyya brand.
The
Kwankwassiyya has not been limited to Kano. Indeed, there are rumoured to be
many more members of the group outside of Kano than inside the State. At
airports in both Lagos and Abuja, it is not uncommon to meet young men
The
Kwankwassiyya badge or cap is coined out of Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s surname and
it is a movement that claims to share and believe in the doctrine of Kwankwaso.
Up North, it is not uncommon to have groups like that especially religious
groups sharing the same philosophies, bearing the names of its founders.
Kwankwaso has proven many times that he’s not a pushover. He was defeated by
President Buhari at the APC primaries in 2014, but he came second, leaving
Abubakar Atiku in third place.
Things
have changed since then, Kwankwaso has left office as Governor and gone into
the Senate and out. He has fallen out with his erstwhile deputy who he
single-handedly installed as the Governor of Kano State and he has also been
severally shown that he is persona non grata in Kano, a state he had ruled for
eight years.
Despite
all these, his foot soldiers have continued to show that he is still on the
ground. Indeed, all efforts by Ganduje, who has also created the Gandujiyya to
position himself have met a brick wall.
To
cap it all, he has been moving around other states of the Federation especially
the South East and South-South, rallying supporters for his presidential
ambition. He is believed to be one of the major headaches of the APC.
The
former Governor has a strong backing of top political figures in the state. To
assume that he is a pushover simply because he has left power is to refuse to
face the obvious.
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