Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, has likened Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to a migratory bird. He made the comparison while discussing Kano's political landscape on BBC Hausa recently.
Kwankwaso, a former Kano governor and 2023 NNPP presidential candidate, has switched parties multiple times in recent months. On March 30, he defected to the African Democratic Congress, citing internal party strife.
Weeks later, he joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress. Peter Obi, Labour Party's 2023 presidential flagbearer, moved with him to the NDC.
According to Ganduje, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf anticipated these problems before they surfaced. He said Yusuf's decision to join the APC was deliberate and strategic.
"The governor kept close watch on national politics," Ganduje noted during the interview. He believed Yusuf joined APC to anchor himself at the centre and guarantee Kano's stability.
Ganduje outlined their shared political journey with Kwankwaso. "We started at the PDP together," he recalled, adding that circumstances forced them to follow Kwankwaso's lead repeatedly.
He described Kwankwaso's constant party-hopping as a clear sign of political decline. "He's become a political drifter," Ganduje said, "moving from one platform to another like a bird seeking perches."
When asked if Kwankwaso's ADC defection posed a threat to the APC, Ganduje dismissed the concern outright. "The governor is now ours," he asserted confidently.
Ganduje predicted that Kwankwaso's new political home would face internal collapse. He noted that the ADC comprises people with competing interests and ambitions.
"Each member wants the presidential ticket for themselves," he explained during the BBC interview. "That conflict will ultimately tear them apart."
According to him, infighting had already begun within the coalition. State governors were increasingly gravitating toward the APC, he added.
Ganduje highlighted an unprecedented political achievement by his party. "No Nigerian political party has ever controlled 31 state governorships at once," he stated with evident pride.
He expressed confidence that Kwankwaso's frequent defections signalled weakness, not strength. Future elections would reveal the consequences of such political instability, in his view.
Ganduje's comments reflect deeper tensions within Kano's political establishment. The state has witnessed significant power shifts over the past few years.
Kwankwaso's journey through multiple parties contrasts sharply with Ganduje's consolidation within the APC. Whether this positioning advantage translates into electoral dominance remains uncertain heading into coming campaigns.
