The Smear That Will Not Stick: Why Kano’s DG Protocol Stands Tall Amid Shadows

By Abubakar Garba

There is a saying among the elders: “When the wind blows, it only exposes the fowl’s rump, but it cannot change its feathers.” In the storm of Nigerian politics, reputations are often tested, names are dragged, and shadows masquerade as light. Yet, through the noise, truth stands firm like the baobab tree that neither wind nor drought can uproot.

Such is the case with Hon. Abdullahi Ibrahim Rogo, the Director General of Protocol to the Governor of Kano State, who now finds himself at the centre of a fabricated tempest. Accused of diverting ₦6.5 billion, his name has been tossed into the marketplace of lies by opposition elements desperate for survival. But those who know the man, his work, and the system he represents, understand too well that this is not about money it is about politics, and more dangerously, about the deliberate attempt to smear the integrity of a government that has refused to play the old game of plunder.

Across history, men who choose service over self are seldom spared by detractors. From Socrates who drank poison rather than betray his principles, to Nelson Mandela who endured prison rather than bow to injustice, the story is familiar: truth-bearers become easy targets. Here in Kano, a government that has committed itself to transparency and people-centered policies is under the same fire. And the weapon, as always, is propaganda dressed as journalism.

The Directorate of Protocol now unfairly demonised is an administrative organ, not a vault of hidden treasures. It handles logistics, state ceremonies, itineraries of the Governor, and the welfare of visiting dignitaries. Nothing more, nothing less. Every financial responsibility it manages is already tied to budget codes, subjected to approvals, and aligned with due process. To paint this office as a den of diversion is like accusing the town crier of stealing the message he announces.

But what makes this attack even more ironic is the history of its accusers. The loudest voices of condemnation are echoes from a recent past the same hands that once squandered over ₦20 billion in just three months after losing elections, the same characters that turned land grabbing into a family enterprise, the same regime whose dollar-laden pockets became global spectacle. Now, those same architects of waste attempt to wear robes of morality and accuse others. As Achebe would say, “The man who brings ant-infested firewood should not complain when lizards pay him a visit.”

For Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and his team, integrity is not a slogan it is a practice. In less than two years, the administration has restored confidence, attracted investors, and received recognition across national and global platforms. The Kwankwasiyya philosophy of prudence and people-first governance is alive in Kano, and Abdullahi Rogo is one of the quiet pillars sustaining that vision.

The opposition’s new strategy is clear: when you cannot fight progress with ideas, you attempt to suffocate it with scandals. Digital platforms have become their chosen battleground, where rumours are manufactured and lies are dressed in attractive headlines. But the people of Kano are not naive. They know the smell of deceit when it floats, and they know too that “A lie may travel for twenty years, but truth will catch up with it in a single day.”

To those orchestrating this smear campaign, one truth remains: no amount of mud can stain clear water for long. Abdullahi Rogo is a man of service, a loyal aide who has shown discipline and sincerity in his role. His accusers have mistaken silence for weakness, but history has always vindicated the honest.

In the end, this story is larger than one man—it is about the soul of governance in Kano. Will lies win over truth? Will shadows bury light? Or will the people, as they always have, separate propaganda from reality? The answer lies not in the noise of detractors but in the daily work of governance that continues in Kano: schools being built, roads being rehabilitated, hospitals receiving attention, and citizens regaining hope.

Smear campaigns may wound reputations temporarily, but they cannot derail a vision anchored on sincerity. The well of service in Kano will continue to flow, because “ba a hana rijiya zubar da ruwan ta” you cannot stop a well from giving water.

And so, while the opposition exhausts itself chasing shadows, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and his team, with men like Abdullahi Rogo, will continue to chase progress. For in politics, as in life, the truth may bend, but it does not break. And in Kano, truth is standing tall.