After S/Court verdict: Gov Yusuf’s battle to justify Kano masses’ faith begins

The affirmation of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) as the validly elected governor of Kano State by the Supreme Court may have put an end to the Kano governorship tussle, but the heightened political tension, resulting from heated political campaigns, age-long political rivalry and last-minute intrigues, hangs in the Kano ecosystem, Daily Trust on Sunday reports.

Nasir Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Yusuf had locked horns in a fierce legal battle after the March 2023 governorship election and while the latter emerged with the last laugh, the onus is now on him to see how he will prioritise real governance over the politics of governance to bring democratic dividends to the teeming masses who have consistently queued behind him since he first appeared on the ballot in 2019.

His first few months after the 2023 election had elicited several controversies with the demolition exercise his administration embarked upon but observers noted that since he was first given a scare by the Election Petition Tribunal, the focus of the administration had changed to making direct impacts on the lives of the masses with its several populist interventions.

But while many await the direction the administration would take post Supreme Court, the reintroduced call on the governor to reinstate the deposed 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi, and the governor’s indifferent reaction to the call, had given an indication that the rollercoaster of events that constantly put Kano on the map may not be over.

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Recall that following a strained relationship between the immediate past governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Ganduje enacted a law which split the old Kano Emirate into five emirates.

Emir Sanusi was consequently dethroned in March 2020 and banished to Loko and Awe in Nasarawa State.

However, welcoming Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to Kano State after his Supreme Court triumph, the supporters chanted “New Governor, New Emir”, which was a clear call for the reinstatement of the deposed emir.

The governor’s spokesman, Bature Sanusi, had told Daily Trust that while these calls were not new, he could not give an official position of the government on the issue, further fuelling speculation that the government may have something up its sleeves.

Healing process necessary

But setting agenda for the government, Dr Kabiru Sufi Sa’id, a political scientist and analyst, said Kano State needs a healing process after the heated politicking the state had had, especially after the inauguration of Governor Yusuf.

Dr Sufi said, “After the court cases (Tribunal and Appeal Court), there were heightened tensions in the state.

“The appointment of the committee of elders by the governor after the Supreme Court verdict is highly commendable.

“But this has to go beyond mere pronouncement. Healing processes have to engage stakeholders from all nooks and crannies. The policies need to cement the society together.”

On Sunday, Governor Yusuf established the Kano Elders Council (KEC) to serve as an advisory body to the government.

The Council of Elders comprises former governors, deputy governors, Senate Presidents, Speakers of the House of Representatives, Speakers of the State House of Assembly, deputy Speakers, retired Supreme Court justices, retired Appeal Court justices, former Chief Justices of the state, former Secretaries to the State Government, and former Heads of State Civil Service, who are all indigenous to the state.

Speaking further, Sufi added that there are sectors in Kano State in need of urgent intervention including education, health, commerce and security.

He said, “First all, members of the business community are complaining of hostile policies. Medium and small-scale industries complain of some activities of multiple checkpoints and agencies demanding too much from them, making transportation of goods and services too costly.

“Some of them are even resorting to not coming into town. Something has to be done. Engaging stakeholders, business communities and listening to their challenges and coming up with a detailed way of intervening is vital.

“One must salute the resilience of traders. We have seen flooding in Kantin Kwari market, but still people are persisting but there are complaints. Yet it’s obvious that the thing is coming down for example with the exit of Shoprite.

“The government should see how this can be remedied and how they can encourage and fill the vacuum of the exit because some of them are determined not to stay.

“If this fails, the government can encourage the indigenous business owners to replace the existing ones. This means the government needs to engage the business community for the state to return to its glory.”

The government, he added also needs to improve the transportation sector. Tricycle operators have shown for example that they are resilient and contributed to the state’s economy greatly.

“For education, despite the 50 percent reduction of fees in higher institutions, more needs to be done. Tertiary institutions need immediate interventions. The government should look into training and retraining of staff of the education sector at all levels.

“This should be prioritized. Fifty percent reduction in fees has affected the resources used in schools. The government needs to make provision for this.

“The government should make security of lives and property one of its priorities, too. On the day the governor returned to Kano, there were reports of some attacks by phone snatchers which had gone down for some time, but it has the tendency of returning.

“The government has to do something about it, revive neighbourhood watches and support the security agencies. Probably, the state can have its own committees to engage the security architecture of the state.”

Dr Sufi added that rural neglect and agriculture are some of the issues the government needs to quickly address.

“Also, the health sector needs immediate intervention, too. The rural area is complaining of neglect, especially in the last three weeks since the commencement of some mega bridges in the city by the administration generated a public outcry.

“Billions of naira would be committed to these bridges. It is said to be a giant project in conjunction with the local government finances. The local government is saying that it is just like taking their money to develop the capital city.”

The opposition from the local government, Daily Trust observed, may also be debilitating to the government’s infrastructural developmental agenda, especially in the face of shrinking allocation from the federal coffers.

But Dr. Sufi added that concentration of these infrastructures in the urban area may only lead to an increase in rural migration to the urban area, which is a challenge to security.

‘Politics over, time for governance’

Also speaking, Yahaya Umar Bagobiri, a chieftain of the PDP in the state, urged Governor Yusuf to build on the gains his administration recorded before the Supreme Court judgment.

Bagobiri said “the governor should concentrate on human centred projects like creating job opportunities, repositioning commerce, improving health care and education. The government had recorded some successes before the Supreme Court judgment. The governor needs to build on that.

“This is the way to go. Before the Supreme Court judgment, the governor was busy visiting healthcare facilities in Kano State and empowering people.

“Politics is over now. The government should concentrate on governance. The government has realized its mistakes. I think it would not go back to demolition or dethroning the five emirs.”

A citizen, Amir Murtala Adam, urged the administration to focus on security.

He said, “I think Abba’s government should primarily concentrate on curtailing the issue of phone snatching which has been bedevilling the state.

“The fighting of drug abuse should be the next priority. There are also dilapidated primary and secondary schools which need to be renovated. The government needs to employ competent teachers to improve the basics of our education. The idea of constructing flyovers should be suspended for now.”

Another citizen, Yusuf Shuaib Yusuf, said that youth empowerment is the way to.

Yusuf said that unemployment and cost of living crisis is posing a serious security challenge not only to Kano State, but Nigeria in general.

He said, “His Excellency Abba Kabir Yusuf should pay serious attention to youth empowerment to kill two birds with one stone. On one side, youth empowerment through vocational training and employment opportunities would help in addressing security issues in the state and on another, it will boost economic activities in the state.”

Uzair Adam, another citizen, said, “I believe the people of Kano State have high expectations from Governor Yusuf following his recent victory in the Supreme Court.

“As such, he should pay special attention to the development of the state, including education, healthcare, employment, and empowerment initiatives.

“Failure to meet these expectations of the people could lead to a loss of public support, similar to what happened with former President Muhammadu Buhari.”

Another public affairs analyst, Malam Aisar Salihu Musa, also reiterated that there are high expectations of Governor Yusuf, urging the governor to invest in youth and women.

“If you look at the number of votes Governor Yusuf got during the March 2023 governorship election and the millions of people who welcomed him to Kano State after the Supreme Court verdict, it will tell you that the attention of the government should be on human development in all its forms and ramifications.

“Special attention should be given to youth and women. They have contributed enormously to the making of this government.

“The Ganduje administration’s projects centred in the city. This government has to act differently. The needs and aspirations of rural dwellers should be given a special focus. This means capital projects should also be extended to rural areas.

“The few primary schools we have are in a sorry situation. The government needs to rehabilitate the existing ones and build some more to cater for the educational needs of the growing population.

Aisar urged the Kano State government to invest in ICT, saying no government would succeed without the integration of ICT.

He added, “The governor needs to do anything possible to woo investors. But this cannot be achieved without reliable power supply and security.”

While fresh efforts to get a comment from the governor’s spokesman were unsuccessful, the government had reiterated at different fora that it was committed to running the administration according to the blueprint it used to campaign to the people, insisting that its desire is to leave Kano better than it was met.