Kano APC Crisis: Shekarau Has No Moral Right To Fight Ganduje

Bala Husseini

There is a saying in one of the local Nigerian proverbs that when the basket of an old lady heading to market falls from her head to the ground, she will pick the basket and place it back on her head.

But if the basket falls again two more times, she will count the contents of the basket before placing it back on her head. And another proverbial saying also goes that if a blind man uses his leg to find mango under a mango tree and begins to gallivant and boast, let the blind man come again and try to find another mango with his feet.

 

The two sayings sum up the crisis bedeviling the All Progressive Congress [APC] in Kano State which many spectators are not aware was brewed and served up by the natural inadequacies inherent in the former Governor of Kano State, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau who has shown his distaste for gratitude and peaceful coexistence – when he battled the then would-be Presidential aspirant of the All Nigerian Peoples Party [ANPP], Muhammadu Buhari – pushing him out of the ANPP. The then Muhammadu Buhari was forced to form another party, the CPC after he was forced out of the ANPP. In summative terms, Ibrahim Shekarau could not find the spirit of gratitude to the then towering political figure like Buhari – who had helped carry the party nationally. And so, for selfish inadequacies, Buhari was ejected.

 

While the tussle lasted in Kano, the people of Kano State saw the tussle through the same prism the proverbial old market lady saw her basket when it fell to the ground the first time. She simply picked up her basket without counting the contents of her basket. The people of Kano State did not bother to look deeply into the causative factors or apportion blames for the clash between Buhari and Shekarau, they simply accepted the outcome and moved on.

 

In the same manner, the people did not take stock of the squabble between the then Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso and Ibrahim Shekarau. The squabble resulted in the two political leaders not belonging to the same party. Shekarau who was part of the founding members of the APC had to dump the APC for the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] – to serve as a federal minister under the Goodluck Jonathan administration – because of his inability to share power with Kwankwaso. When Kwankwaso left the APC and returned to the PDP, Shekarau defected back to the APC – to join Gov. Ganduje.

 

Sadly, when Shekarau returned to the APC, he was spent – financially and politically. Totally spent. Unable to operate politically as a major political leader in Kano State. He needed major rehabilitation. He was at a breaking point. “He did not have one Naira to his name”. His political future looked bleak. It took the Governor of Kano State’s intervention. Shekarau came “begging”.

 

It took major courage from Gov Ganduje to act. Ganduje had to swim against the sea current in shark-infested waters. But Ganduje took the rehabilitation of Shekarau head-on. He immediately canceled out all the possible aspirants for the then-upcoming Senatorial contest. The lined-up contestants included – Lago, Rufai Langa, former Principal Secretary Ibrahim Kakarofi, former deputy governor Gawuma. These aspirants were considered stronger than Shekarau at the time. But the Governor who was determined to rehabilitate Shekarau remained steadfast.  As expected, the would-be aspirants became angry with Ganduje – and some exited the party in protest. Rufai Lagan left the party. Ibrahim Kakarofi lost his job.

 

As Shekarau became the candidate of the APC for the same senatorial seat, the campaign and the logistics of the campaign was catered for by the Governor – “Shekarau did not spend one Naira”. And as Shekarau won the election, and became a Senator, Ganduje’s benevolence continued. Ganduje allowed Shekarau to recommend up to four [4] commissioners to his administration – including Finance Commissioner and Rural Development Commissioner. In total, Ganduje allowed and facilitated Shekarau to provide up to 221 aides to the Ganduje administration and for the APC party structure – in an effort to empower Shekarau’s political structure.

 

To show gratitude, Shekarau exhibited his historic inadequacies. He chose to battle the source of his rehabilitation – to bite the finger that fed him. Looking through the prism of the old market lady, our beloved people of Kano State and Nigeria, in general, must stop and take a good look at the contents of the basket before picking the basket to place back on our heads. It is certainly something is amiss.

 

In clear terms, Senator Shekarau has no moral right to fight Gov Ganduje. The same way the blind man has no right to gallivant and boast over the mango fruit he found with his leg under the mango tree.

Bala Husseini, writes from Yankaba Kano.