Ganduje polarizing Kano APC – Aminu Abdulsalam
Alhaji Aminu Abdulsalam was a Commissioner for State Affairs in Kano State under the administration of Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso. In this interview, he explained why the crisis between the followers of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and Senator Kwankwaso has
Alhaji Aminu Abdulsalam was a Commissioner for State Affairs in Kano State under the administration of Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso. In this interview, he explained why the crisis between the followers of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and Senator Kwankwaso has deepened and how it could be resolved. He also spoke on the issue of mass wedding in Kano.
Efforts to reconcile the followers of Governor Ganduje and Senator Kwankwaso have not yielded positive results so far; why?
I think the Gandujiyya people should be asked why the reconciliation efforts are not yielding positive results. This is because, in the first place, we did not start it. As far as we are concerned, Ganduje is the one fighting the former governor. This is evident in his actions and utterances. We have never said anything against the governor or his government. We are only trying to shed light on areas that are being misrepresented to the people. For instance, they complained that a very huge debt was deliberately left behind and allowed to accumulate so that they won’t be able to do anything. That, to my understanding, is an admission of failure. It was an apologetic kind of statement. It is believed that this government is a continuation of the immediate past administration. The incumbent governor was a deputy for four years. And as God would have it, almost 70 per cent of the major projects executed by that government went through his office. But unfortunately, as soon as he was sworn in as governor, he set out to dismantle all the achievements of the past administration.
Whether Ganduje likes it or not, we are part of the present administration because we have contributed immensely. There is the need to tell people the truth.
I think we don’t have any crisis per say; the governor is trying to create imaginary problems and attribute them to Kwankwaso.
It is alleged that the Kwankwasiyya group has failed to accept the fact that there is a change of government in Kano. How true is this?
We know there is a change of government in Kano. It was Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso from Madobi Local Government Area in the southern part of the state; and it is now Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje from Ganduje in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area in the northern part of the state. These are two different people. It is a sheer mischief to say that we don’t accept the fact that there is a new government in Kano. Don’t forget that we were part and parcel of Ganduje’s campaign committee. We delivered our respective constituencies to the All Progressives Congress (APC). In fact, all the poling units in Gwarzo were won by the APC. That was not achieved for nothing; it was a result of our hard work and deep strategic plans. We are active players in the game. Unfortunately, those who cannot point at any particular thing they did have now surrounded the governor and are concocting stories and singing praises.
The governor should be able to carry people along, not necessarily as commissioners, managing directors or other Ganduje is the one fighting the former governor. This is evident in his actions and utterances. We have never said anything against the governor or his government. We are only trying to shed light on areas that are being misrepresented to the people. For instance, they complained that a very huge debt was deliberately left behind and allowed to accumulate so that they won’t be able to do anything appointees; he should recognise that we are part and parcel of his success.
What is the way out of this crisis?
Governor Ganduje should accept the fact that he was part and parcel of the Kwankwaso administration. Let him build up on the projects he inherited. He should not be selective. Let him be straightforward because he was the Number Two in the Kwankwasoled administration.
Whichever way you look at it, Kwankwaso remains a leader in this state, so Ganduje should give the former governor his due respect. Whether the incumbent governor remains in the APC or not, Kwankwaso remains his mentor. Since the crisis started, Senator Kwankwaso has not uttered a word, but Ganduje has been all over the place saying so many unpalatable things. He never misses any opportunity to attack Kwankwaso. The governor has been polarizing the party unnecessarily.
There is the fear that if the crisis continues, it may scuttle the chances of the APC in subsequent elections in Kano State. What is your take on this?
We don’t pray for that to happen; but the Kwankwasiyya group is combat ready. We can easily go back to the drawing board to correct our mistakes for the good of our great party, the APC and the people of Kano.
The concept of mass wedding was introduced by Kwankwaso when he was the governor of Kano State. But your recent efforts to marry off 100 divorcees under the umbrella of the Kwankwasiyya Foundation raised a lot of dust; why?
When we left, another mass wedding was slated. Unfortunately, it could not hold because a lot of activities were going on. A year after, some organisations such as the Zawara Group, under the auspices of Kungiyar Zawarawa, kept on pressing and demanding that the wedding should hold. But the Ganduje-led administration kept on saying it didn’t have money to do it. At the end of the day, because of its importance and level of acceptance, Kwankwaso decided to go ahead and hold it under the Kwankwasiyya Foundation. But to our surprise, the Ganduje-led administration scuttled our efforts. He organised a youth empowerment programme, which he said would take place the same day of the mass wedding. They planned the event in such a way that Kwankwaso would not be able to come to Kano because they said the minister of sports would come for their event. In view of that, we shifted our programme to Sunday so that there would not be any clash whatsoever. But unfortunately, in its desperation to stop the wedding, the state government prevailed upon the Commissioner of Police in the state to stop it by all means.
We were cautious not to create any situation that would lead to a breakdown of law and order in the state. We were left with no option than to suspend the programme and calm down our supporters and the would-be couples. We directed the would-be couples
Since the crisis started, Senator Kwankwaso has not uttered a word, but Ganduje has been all over the place saying so many unpalatable things. He never misses any opportunity to attack Kwankwaso. The governor has been polarizing the party unnecessarily
to go and get married in their respective local governments. And that was done. But when we asked them to come to the Lugard House to collect the furniture and food items donated to them by Kwankwaso, the police were deployed to prevent them from doing that. We were really amazed and went to the Commissioner of Police again to know what was wrong. He apologised to us, saying that he got information that something was happening there; hence he deployed the police to protect the lives and property of citizens. At the end of the day, he withdrew the police and the couples collected their items.
When the Kwankwasiyya Foundation set some inmates free some months ago, the gesture generated debates in the state; what happened?
I wonder why those in government should be provoked by such gesture. This is something that anybody can do. Government should encourage people to embark on such projects. They have said times without number that this government could not do it because of the current economic crisis. As a responsible citizen, former governor and serving senator, Kwankwaso is duty bound, socially and religiously, to extend his support and assistance to the less privileged. That has been his character. He also did it at his home town. It is the same thing with school feeding, free uniform to primary school pupils and the women empowerment programme. So government should not be provoked because many groups and individuals are doing it in this state and everybody knows that. So why not Kwankwaso? Why is it that whenever he does something, they will not take it in good faith? They should not be jittery. I can’t understand why the government is not happy with our initiatives even when we are improving the lives of the people. Nobody can stop us from assisting the less privileged in Kano.