Kwankwaso’s Move to APC: A Recipe to Political Pottage?

By Adamu Aminu

It’s no more an insinuation now that a national leader of the red-cap ideology in Kano, Senator Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso of NNPP, and his mentee, Governor of Kano State, His Excellency Alh. Abba Kabir Yusuf, and the generality of red-cap die-hard disciples are waiting for the cock to crow at dawn for them to pitch a tent in their new political destination – APC.

As reported by a national daily, consultations and paperwork are moving in the pipeline.

This political development coincided with yesterday’s Kano APC stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, which rumors suggested was to ruminate on the possibility of the impending defection of NNPP national leader Senator Kwankwaso and the entirety of his die-hard followers to the APC.

Although the immediate past APC national leader, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, says that the stakeholders’ meeting held in Abuja was for a serious recalibration of the party’s successes and failures in the last couple of years since losing the election and to solidify the Kano APC’s unflinching loyalty to the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the developmental projects and political appointments brought to Kano State.

Despite this, Dr. Ganduje says their party’s red carpet is well dusted, ready to roll out for anyone willing to pitch their tent in the APC domain – simply meaning that anyone is welcome to the party at any time of the day or night.

Whatever the case may be, as proverbially said, “there’s nothing secret under the sunshine”; sooner or later, the true story of both parties would be fully blown up to the public glare.

The true contextual reason for this piece is largely related to the NNPP and the alleged intentions of defection to the ruling party spearheaded by its leader Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, with regard to every intention having an impact and consequences – regardless of the positive outcomes or the negativity that may boomerang someday.

Undoubtedly, Senator Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso is seen, particularly from his followership, as one of the front-row and influential political leaders commanding huge followership in Kano, which a lot of people see his possible defection to the ruling party – APC – being an icing on the cake, signaling chances of success and victories in the 2027 general elections.

But I have a bunch of questions to ask, which I think would possibly widen the horizon of my political perspective on taking such a possible defection stance by Dr. Kwankwaso and his followership to the ruling party, as follows:

a. Does Senator Kwankwaso sense a dead end in the political path of NNPP, seeing that his followership wouldn’t materialize in the future, and the only solution is to join the political gravy train to keep and sustain his influence in national politics?

b. Is he willing to trade his widely known values for a political pottage?

c. Is Kwankwaso’s mind well-armed to take the political gambit, heedless of the outcomes when the tough get going in APC?

d. Is Senator Kwankwaso ready to drop the maverick approach to leadership, as he did in steering the Kwankwasiyya movement, if he’s welcomed to APC?

But the uppermost question is: Is Kwankwaso’s move to APC, for principles or to pursue a political pottage?

Well, whatever the case might be, the aforementioned questions would be responded based on each reader’s political perspective,but time would be the best responder to the questions I put in my piece.

I know that very soon, Kano and the ruling party’s political climate will surely change as soon as the much-talked-about possible defection of Kwankwasiyya leader Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso is fully materialized in the distant or near future.

Adamu Aminu writes from Kano.