In Politics, is it a Betrayal to Betray a Betrayer
By Bala Ibrahim
It’s Thursday, the 1st of January 2026, and thank God for the gift of another brand new year, which has come to the people of Kano State with a lot of political anxiety. Grapevine communication has it that, any moment from now, the Governor of Kano state, H.E. Abba Kabir Yusuf would announce his decampment from the opposition NNPP to the ruling APC. This is a long awaited announcement, that has since introduced an added term in town- betrayal. Abba is being accused by the supporters of his Godfather, Eng. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, of being a betrayer. Yes, if he decamps, Abba may be guilty of betrayal, but only if we can place the word in it’s appropriate place, with respect to the words nemesis and karma. And this article would do an overview on the subject, with special bias to the political trajectory of Abba’s mentor, Eng. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. It may help us understand the meaning of the saying-What goes around comes around. By the law of karma, what you put out into the world will come back to you, necessarily.
Indeed Kwankwaso is Abba’s mentor that helped him to mount the seat of the Governor of Kano state. This is not contestable, because he has admitted time without number that, he owe his ascension to the position of the Governor to God, and the helping hands of Kwankwaso. So, if disloyalty in the pursuit of power, which is creating the fragility of alliance, is regarded as political betrayal, then Abba is guilty and deserves to be reprimanded. He can be said to have betrayed his mentor.
But let’s do a little historical review on the political rise of Kwankwaso, Abba’s mentor, starting from those who helped him to the political prominence that took him to the position of Deputy Speaker at the House of Representatives in 1992. As advanced by Dr. Sagir S. Buhari, in his article, Kwankwaso: A Tale of Power, Betrayal, and Political Consequence, late Senator Hamisu Musa mentored Kwankwaso and helped him to political limelight. Ditto late Musa Gwadade and late Eng. Magaji Abdullahi. They were Kwankwaso’s political mentors. Kwankwaso betrayed them all, in a manner that is more painful than what Abba is accused of planning to do. Gen. Akilu and late Maj-Gen Shehu Musa ‘Yar’adua, who literally made him Deputy Speaker, were all betrayed by Kwankwaso. The same happened to late Abubakar Rimi, who, almost single-handedly gave Kwankwaso the ticket to run for the House of Reps, against the victory of Sa’adu Kwankwaso of the SDP. Late Dauda Dangalan died with the political pain of Kwankwaso’s betrayal, as outlined in the article.
The history of the rupture of PDP, the party that boasted of remaining in power for upwards of sixty years, can not be written without a chapter dedicated to Kwankwaso’s betrayal. It was Kwankwaso that led other six governors of the party, under the banner of the new PDP (nPDP) to join others and form the present day APC. Those close to people like Sule Lamido said he is still feeling betrayed by that. Sardaunan Kano, former Governor, former Minister and Senator, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, had accused Kwankwaso of betrayal and manipulation, as a result of which, he threw away his re-election to the Senate by joining the PDP. “Betrayal and outright disregard, outright manipulation,”- Mallam said on Channels Television. One of the Atiku Support Organisations had also accused Kwankwaso of betrayal. According to the then National publicity secretary of the Atiku Support Group, Victor Moses, Kwankwaso betrayed Atiku for Bola Tinubu because he was expecting ministerial appointment. “Kwankwaso betrayed our trust in him by trying to hijack the party from its founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, who facilitated his free ticket for the 2023 presidential election.”
Dr.Abdullahi Umar Ganduje told me verbatim, how he helped Kwankwaso way back when he was a Director at the FCTA, including with accommodation and feeding in Abuja, when he arrived newly as a member of the House of Reps, but later, despite the role he played in his victory in 1999, the same Kwankwaso paid him back with betrayal. The story is similar when one talks to Arch. Aminu Dabo or Alhaji Rabiu Suleiman Bichi. Betrayal is almost always constant, in the political history of Kwankwaso. So, if Abba is Kwankwaso’s mentee, has he done anything wrong, by complying with the doctrine of betrayal, as he was tutored or mentored by his mentor?
Dr. Sagir S. Buhari said Kwankwaso’s leadership is known to be autocratic, because his style is that of complete control, where decisions are made without input from others. This is nothing but authoritarian democracy, that gives way to rebellion. If that is the case, then Abba, the most senior mentee of Kwankwaso, who has chosen to disengage, must be given the accolades of taking the path of emancipation, and not disloyalty. Indeed political betrayal is not limited to disloyalty in the pursuit of power, it can come in different forms. Even dictatorship is a betrayal of democratic trust. Betrayal can also be in the form of an individual that was elected by voters to represent them in government, but decides to use that position for personal gain, through corruption or even outright theft. Many are engaged in such acts, that are fuelled by greed and ambition, which are vices that are more damaging than disloyalty.
So I think, before we crucify Abba, we must find appropriate places for the words nemesis and karma, with respect to the political trajectory of his mentor, Eng. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. Then, and only then, can we do justice in answering the question- In politics, is it a betrayal to betray a betrayer?.
