By Eric Elezuo
The Governor of Kano State, Kabir Abba Yusuf’s quest to become governor in 2019 was generally rebuffed by a combination of factors, many of which have not been easy to decode. It is worth noting to Yusuf clearly defeated the then incumbent governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, leading with 26, 000 votes before INEC declared the election inclusive, calling for a run off in 28 local government areas in the state. Ganduje won at the end of the day with 9, 000 votes. The development, no doubt cast a lot of ill feelings in the hearts of Yusuf, his political godfather, Rabiu Kwankwaso and the entire Nigeria National Peoples Party (NNPP) family. This, many observers believe, has become one of the many reasons for the no love lost situation between the new governor and his predecessor, necessitating in a whole lot of undoing of the former administration’s policies, including demolishing their infrastructural achievements. Yes, physical demolition, prompting the title of the piece. Yusuf has inevitably taken the title of Marco Brambila’s 1993 science fiction dystopian action movie, Demolition Man, featuring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes.
Stallone, the key cast, was nicknamed Demolition Man because of his penchant and reputation for causing destruction while carrying out his official duties as a police officer, and so has become our amiable governor in the ancient city of Kano.
Lamenting the governor’sdemolition streaks, the National Director of Publicity and Advocacy of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, in an opinion piece, advised the governor, whose tenure is just in its first 40 days to tread with caution, adding that power is transient as it is now the lot of Ganduje, who wielded it as he wished while his eight years in office last.
He wrote: “You have embarked with gusto and a sense of mission to destroy buildings which offend propriety, even if not, strictly, the law. Your predecessor had allocated, sold-off or alienated land and properties under fancy names which sought to give them legitimacy. In all probability, people whose structures have been destroyed all have pieces of paper that invoked the powers of the former governor, powers which you now possess, to build, as we hear, in or around cemeteries, mosques, schools and ancient monuments.
“They have documents that gave them approval to take over government assets and turn them into private property. You have even pulled down a monument outside Government House because it blocked views of road users. You did all these because the law gives you the powers to do so, the same powers the former governor had to allocate them or construct them. You appear to have operated with the belief that wrong is wrong, no matter how much you dress it to look right. The truth is, no one can or should fault a leader who comes to correct wrongs. What distinguishes good leaders from others are their motives and the degree to which they weigh their obligations on the demanding scales of justice.”
Baba-Ahmed’s assertion therefore raises the question of the motives behind the deconstruction of Ganduje’s administration and demolition of the former governor’s legacy in the form of infrastructural development.
Yusuf had assumed the office of Kano State like a bull rearing to settle scores as shortly after his inauguration on May 9, 2023, he ordered through an executive order, the sacking of all government officials appointed by his predecessor, Abdullahi Ganduje. This affected all political appointees heading government MDAs and companies. He also dissolved all boards of MDAs, companies and institutions of higher learning with immediate effect. The actions appear to portray a governor who was ready to hit the ground running, having made preparations prior to the time, but stakeholders have questioned the rationale behind his inability to settle into office, and take a cursory look at the situation before taking certain decisions he took. Some have dismissed his actions as premeditative and vindictive.
Another angle to the sacks is the fact that the decision affected public officers appointed into organizations that are tenure-based, and whose tenure has not expired as stipulated by relevant laws governing their appointments. The governor also directed security agencies in the state to immediately take over all public properties sold during the Ganduje administration
He said: “I am announcing, today, that all these public places and assets that were immorally plundered and sold by the Ganduje administration should be taken over by law enforcement agencies, led by the Police, the DSS, Civil Defense, and Hisbah pending the final decision of government.
“Lands in and around schools, religious and cultural sites, hospitals and clinics, graveyards and green areas, and along the city wall of Kano, as well as other landed properties and assets belonging to Kano State within and outside the state (sold) to their cronies and agents.”
While shutting down the landmarks of the past administration, Yusuf also set in motion the environmental rebeautification of the state, stating that “In the coming days, I will officially launch a state-wide campaign with self-help groups to drive the operation. In the next few weeks all the dumps will be cleared, all our streets will be clean, all our drainages will be desilted and a sustainable system of maintaining the cleanness and clearing the dumps will be in place.”
In just his first week in office, the governor Yusuf-led administration commenced demolition of some structures in the state built under Ganduje’s tenure which the current government termed illegal structures.
The governor followed up with the dismantling of the Ganduje legacies with the demolition, a few days after the sacking of Ganduje’s appointees, of the gigantic roundabout which was renovated by the immediate past administration.
Another unfortunate structure that suffered that same fate was a three-storey plaza on Race Course Road in the sate capital. This was among the early structures demolished by the current government.
The building which belonged to the state government was allegedly sold to private individuals during the Ganduje-led administration.
In the wake of the demolition spree, the Duala Hotel structure developed by Lamash Property Limited was also demolished. The developers have however, announced their intention to sue the government and demand N10 billion in compensation.
The company’s Director of Sales, Aliyu Abubakar, in a statement to reporters, criticised the government for disregarding the principle of fair hearing.
A Kano resident, who spoke to The Boss on the condition of anonymity, reasoned that Gov Yusuf is behaving like he had been penciling down structures with the signature of Ganduje to demolish, to spite him rather than for administrative purposes.
“It’s just a case retaliation. Yusuf is not just a student of the Kwankwasiya movement of the former governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, he is also an in-law of the NNPP leader. Do not forget that Ganduje practically ran Kwankwaso out of town when he became governor as a result of a fallout they had, owing to administrative exigencies. His respect for his former boss was relegated. Yusuf is just paying him back in his own coin.
“Everybody knows that the 2023 election was between Ganduje and Kwankwaso just as it was in 2019. While Ganduje presented Yusuf Gawuna, Kwankwaso fronted Yusuf Abba Kabir. So while the two Yusufs were slugging it out on the ballot paper, the real fight was in the strategy boardroom between the two godfathers,” the source said.
It is not to be forgotten in a hurry that the present governor is also not just a sympathiser of the deposed Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, but his cousin. It is possible he is still fuming from the humiliations the former Sanusi was through by Ganduje from decimating the Kano Emirate into four, thereby stripping Sanusi of his powers to deposing him as an emir, and finally banishing him to Nasarawa State on exile.
Yusuf had knocked and accused Ganduje of insensitivity to the plight of the people over his decision to create four additional emirates.
“At a time when our major concerns in Kano State were centred around upgrading critical infrastructures such as schools and hospitals to accelerate rapid development, the enemies of the state are determined to create additional liabilities to squander public treasury,” Abba said via his spokesperson.
“We learnt that Governor Ganduje plans to spend hundreds of million naira to build palaces and purchase royal cars to the newly crowned emirs at the expense of common citizens who barely can’t afford to pay school fees of their children. We want to clearly draw the attention of the Governor that these are misplaced priorities”
But in its defence however, the Kano State government explained in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Sanusi Tofa, that the roundabout was destroyed because it was substandard.
“This is because it is done with used foam work and too much sandy materials instead of normal cement concrete.
“Also, the structure is too tall to be placed in front of the Government House as it defaces its main gate which blocks the view for security surveillance.
“Additionally, it poses traffic challenges around the area because of its size, blocking the view of drivers accessing all routes linked through the roundabout.
“The government wishes to make it clear that it became very necessary to take down the structure for the purposes of immediate reconstruction and downsizing to ensure visibility of the government house entrance and safety of motorists,” the statement explained.
Further to the sacking of employees, the Yusuf administration has also stopped the salaries of 10,800 workers employed by his predecessor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. The new administration had accused Ganduje of illegally employing over 10,000 workers when it was about leaving office.
Speaking to journalists during a briefing, the Accountant General, Abdulkadir Abdusalam, said the governor ordered his office to remove the affected workers from the state’s payroll.
Formerly a personal assistant to Kwankwaso, Yusuf Abba was born on January 5, 1963 in Gaya LGA of Kano State. He attended Sumaila Primary School and Government Secondary School Lautai in the old Kano state. His former secondary education is now in present day Jigawa State.
In 1980, he was admitted into the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi, where he obtained his National Diploma in Civil Engineering in 1985.
At the turn of the 4th Republic in 1999, he became personal assistant to Kwankwaso, and was for 12 years, also serving with him at the Ministry of Defence. He was also Commissioner for Works and Housing in Kano State.
Ganduje, who said he would have slapped Kwankwaso if he had come across him at Aso both of them visited President Bola Tinubu, on the same day, and his supporters believe that all Yusuf’s action are the body language of Kwankwaso. It is a case of the hand of Esau, and the voice of Jacob.
The administration is just 40 days old; it is not known how much of demolitions will still take place before the four years tenure of the Demolition Man will expire, and possibly another four years in the bargain.
