By Adamu Mukhtar Unguwar Gini
I read with interest a piece with the above title put down by Abba Anwar, chief press secretary to the former governor of Kano state, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, which I came across on the social media platform. My decision to respond to the article is not to join issues with the writer for whom I have a high regard as a professional journalist and public relations expert. The intention here is just to point at some salient issues skipped by the writer and underscores the need for establishing the imperative for peace and unity in our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
From what I understand, the piece centered around his opinion on what he projects as the chances of our party in the next election. In whichever capacity-a party member, a supporter or public affairs commentator, Anwar has every right to send across his personal opinion or to drum up support for any candidate of his choice.
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Even though he submitted that there could be other factors in some people’s eyes, Anwar outlined nine factors he said must be taken into consideration before one can correctly assess and conclude the fate of the party APC in 2027. Here, I am only going to look at some of the factors and respond to them, as part of my contribution as a stakeholder in the affairs of our party.
To me what the APC needs most now is peace and unity of purpose in order to wrestle power from the ruling New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in Kano. Of course, every political party may have its peculiar internal wrangling, but I insist unity is the only option we have to get what we want.
Our unity should be our strength, for our strength attracts people to us not driving them away. We should be driven by the knowledge that a political party is as strong as those who find accommodation in it. The quality of those who are in the party are also a testament to the strength of the party.
I think we should learn a lesson from our leader and mentor, Dr. Ganduje. When emerged as the national chairman of the APC, he heaved a sigh of relief and democratic comfort. Upon his advent, he set out on a process of winning more people to the party and this has been yielding fruits with chieftains of other parties moving into the APC in droves as result of the high level of confidence that has been restored to the party.
No doubt, loyalty is a pride in political parlance. And Ganduje is an embodiment of loyalty. Rather than to ask his opponent, the question we should ask ourselves is how loyal are we to our leader and mentor, Dr. Ganduje? Do we all agree to his decisions in the event he made them?
While the APC in Kano may have an array of contenders to the office of the governor, the decision to adopt one remains with the party. We should not be bringing out issues that never existed or even if they do, in order to dent the image of others and promote those we support.
From what I understand, Anwar is saying his mind on where his interest tilted to. Neither the gubernatorial and deputy gubernatorial candidate of the APC in the 2023 election nor the current Deputy Senate President have clearly made any official or unofficial pronouncement on their intention to vie for the governor’s ticket. However, the success of our party in the next election will depend on the quality of our candidates.
The three potential candidates mentioned by Anwar from Kano North are forces to reckon with. But the writer shrewdly skipped one very influential politician of national repute from the zone in person of Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi, member representing Bichi Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, who was former chairman House Committee on Works and presently chairing the Committee on Appropriation who has demonstrably shown that he is a leader who had long chosen to be different from others.
Hon. Bichi’s heart of compassion towards his immediate constituents is unmatched, not just in the history of Kano but also in Nigeria at large. Unlike other political actors whose acts of kindness are knotted to political reckoning that they are tailing, advancing calculated support to the people of his native Bichi federal constituency and Kano state, in general, is just certainly a part of Hon. Bichi’s life.
From the jobless, he has empowered, to the underprivileged, he regularly wipes off their tears, the indigents he has given boundless hope by giving them local and foreign scholarships, and the communities in Kano State he has saved from the impending crisis of water-borne diseases. Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi is, no doubt, not in politics for himself but for the people.
Bichi’s bridge-building skill and sagacity in the National Assembly. Hon. Bichi is one politician who receives a loud applause of almost equal measure in any part of Kano state and across Nigeria he visits. He is loved, valued, and celebrated profligately anywhere he finds himself.
Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi has never disappointed his constituents, and in his representative capacity, he brought patriotic zeal and dedication to bear on representative democracy. In fact, during the 2023 election, Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi got votes from all political parties, including the ruling NNPP in Kano.
The writer, while making a suggestion on the consolidation of the party’s strength, spread and unrelenting tempo be left with some hardworking individuals, he, to my understanding, inadvertently forgotten, is the likes of Comrade Muhammad Garba, Chief of Staff to the national chairman of the APC. One of the most influential figures in the two-term administration of Governor Ganduje, Comrade Garba served as commissioner for Information, Youth, Sports and Culture and later Information and Internal Affairs.
With his extensive background in media, leadership, and public affairs, Garba is an excellent conversationalist with painstaking knowledge of the political milieu and his ability to shape captivating accounts helped uplift the public image of the Kano state government.
Garba was known for his astonishing managerial and tactical skills when he was appointed Chief of Staff. His behind-the-scenes efforts, which made sure the APC’s despatch reached its supporters efficiently, were crucial to the party’s operations and electoral campaigns. And being Dr. Ganduje’s close advisor, Garba was essential in shaping the party’s policies and tactics, especially those concerning election and governance.
Another dimension to Anwar’s analysis which I would want to respond to is likening the APC’s victory or lack of it to the lingering Kano Emirate tussle. As somebody who has written widely on the subject matter, I do not think the writer truly believes the APC or its elements are banking on the crisis to settle political scores. If it would, it is already a decided issue between the electorate in the dismantled Emirates and the government that denied them their choice.
It is my firm belief that all the people mentioned by the writer have contributed to the success of the APC in the past and are ready to continue to lend their support to its success in the 2027 election year.
Adamu Muktar Unguwar Gini is the chairman Coalition of APC youth Movement, Kano state and can be reached via email: [email protected]
