Why Ganduje, Abubakar fell apart

The eventual resignation of Kano state Deputy Governor, Professor Hafiz Abubakar, on Sunday, is the climax of the lingering love-lost between him and his boss, Governor Umar Ganduje, as well as exposes further cracks and crisis in the government structure, but how Ganduje manages the fallout will tell whether similar scenario will not repeat itself soon.
BASHIR MOHAMMED writes
Ganduje, Hafiz in ideological war of attrition? Kano as a political melting pot in the northern part of Nigeria is currently enmeshed in intense ideological war of attrition, changing the political landscape of the widely acclaimed bastion of power struggle in the name of democracy to defy all prognoses and predictions of notable pundits.
Deft masterstrokes The political pendulum of the state is swinging in a direction even the most gifted political Oracle cannot foretell with ease, given the high level of intrigues, subterfuge and shenanigans of leading political actors, who by employing their deft masterstroke , made everyone guessing the tide of events out of context, not predicting what would exactly become the worst case scenario in the face of the present log-jam.
Any link with Kwankwaso’s defection? However, the eleventh hour resignation of the state Deputy Governor, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, had changed the perception of pundits because of the cordial relationship that had existed between Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and his deputy.
But both men had fallen out in the wake of the defection of Ganduje’s political mentor, Dr.
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Having explicitly read the ominous sign on the political horizon, he would risk being impeached out office, Abubakar treaded the path of wisdom and resigned.
Irreconcilable differences, gross marginalization Explaining his resignation, the former deputy governor said that he took the decision to relinquish power in the face of the exigencies of the present situation, having had some irreconcilable differences with the governor, stressing that he had on several occasions advised the governor on salient administrative issues and that his counsel was never heeded or taken into cognizance.
Besides, he alluded to gross marginalization to back his resignation, which accordingly, had ignited a cacophony of debates and various interpretations by renowned political pundits.
Recall that their relationship was cordial when the journey to control the Kano political power started, at the time Ganduje was convinced that picking Hafiz as his running mate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, was not a bad choice, up till the time the duo found themselves in the saddle of authority, after winning the 2015 gubernatorial election.
A close political associate of former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Hafiz said he resigned his position due to “irreconcilable differences on matters relating to governance and government operations, personal opinion and respect for democratic ideals and values.” He said in the letter: “Your Excellency would recall several instances I had to draw your attention on the need to understand and appreciate these differences in order to avoid drifting into the kind of unnecessary crisis we are facing today, but to no avail.
Instead of heeding to my counsel to save the government from the present state of crises, your reaction was and still is, to prosecute and mete all sort of injustices on me.
“I have endured immeasurable and unjustifiable humiliation for over two and half years without any reason other than my principled position on issues of governance and the desire to keep government on track.
Under circumstances, and given the deteriorating state of affairs and your continued disrespect for the office of the deputy governor as well as your expression of several injustices on my person, I regret to say that I have no option than to succumb to my inner calling with the hope that this decision is in accordance with the guidance and wishes of Allah (SWT) for me and good people of Kano state.” With all these evidences, Hafiz said it would be unfair to his conscience and to the people of Kano to remain in his position as deputy governor of Kano state.
Purported protest to remove deputy gov Also, recall that the sour relationship between Hafiz and Ganduje became public when the former petitioned the police and other security agencies that the Kano State Government has released funds to the 44 local government councils to organise a protest in the state capital to call for either his resignation or removal from office.
But prior to the present scuffle between both men, Hafiz, before assumption of office as deputy governor, along with Ganduje headed the high powered transition committee that uncovered a monumental debt amounting to over N300billion inherited from Ganduje’s predecessor.
How we planned to remove deputy gov On his part, Ganduje while disclosing what he calls the real reasons why Hafiz resigned denied the issues his resignation letter raised.
Spokesman to Ganduje, Commissioner of Information, Muhammad Garba, while confirming the resignation said Hafiz resigned having realised that 30 out of the 40 members of the Kano State House of Assembly have signed to commence his removal.
Ganduje said in a statement signed by Garba said the deputy governor was to be removed for his allegedly false and unfounded allegations as well as undermining the state government.
The statement also accused Hafiz of making unguarded comments capable of causing disaffection particularly in the ruling APC and the state in general.
“The deputy governor, who doubled as commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, has publicly forsake the Ganduje Administration and swore allegiance to his political Godfather, Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso,” Garba said.
On the statement that his life and those of his family were under threat, the state government said it was false.
Allegation of non-payment of entitlements The also expressed dismay over allegation of non-payment of entitlements due the former deputy governor, saying in 2017 alone, over N120 million was paid to him as travelling allowance for local and foreign trips; while in 2018, over N30 million has been paid to him for various travelling allowances.
The statement reads: “Of recent, in July, to be precise, the sum of N7, 409, 575.00 was released to the former deputy governor to travel to the United Kingdom to receive an Honourary Degree from the University of Reading; the sum of N7,800, 000.00 was also paid as his travelling allowance to Khartoum, Sudan for the convocation ceremony of the University of Africa; for a trip to the United Kingdom for the World Education Forum, the sum of N8, 509, 000.00 was paid to him; while his trip to Saudi Arabia for his daughters’ graduation was also sponsored by the state government, among other privileges extended to him’’.
Saying, “The former deputy governor ought to have landed safely and quietly instead of making unsubstantiated allegations just to draw attention,” the state government also challenged the former deputy governor on allegations that the state government has committed resources to sponsor rallies in support of his removal from office, adding that the gravity of the allegation may prompt the government to take appropriate action.
Is history repeating itself? Crisis and conflicts of ideological between an incumbent governor and his deputy in the political history of Kano is not new, right from the second republic, when the late Ibrahim BB Farouk resigned as Governor Muhammad Abubakar Rimi’s deputy, taken an abysmal toll on how the state was governed, and that such a crisis was believed to have been exacerbated by selfish spin doctors who were known and seen to be members of the personality cults pulling the political strings behind.
Keen observers believe that issues of conflict of ideological interest were nipped in the bud at the onset of the fourth republic, when Governor Ganduje was nominated to serve as Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s running mate , leading to their land-slide victory at the polls, which paved the way for the duo to peacefully enjoy a blissful marriage of convenience without animosity and rancour.
With the abortive struggle of the duo to secure another term in office after the 2003 gubernatorial election, Governor Ibrahim Shekarau came on board with his running mate, the late Engineer Magaji Abdullahi, as governor and his deputy , starting on a sound footing and ended with the late Magaji Abdullahi eventually relinquishing the coveted position.
The late Magaji Abdullahi was later succeeded by Engineer AbdullahiTijjani Mohammed Gwarzo, who also on account of ideological differences defected from the defunct All Nigerians Peoples Party(ANPP) to the Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) and still remained on his position of deputy governor up till the time of the 2011 gubernatorial election, which saw the emergence of Dr.
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as governor for the second time.
The political equation in the state took a new dimension with the Peoples Democratic Party sending the defunct ANPP packing, as a result of the emergent renaissance in Kano politics which had given a new leverage to Governor Kwankwaso and Ganduje.
Loyalty on the part of Ganduje had never been questionable and had at no time engaged his boss in ideological polemics or venom spitting for the sake of scoring political capital, knowing that patience has nothing to destroy when it comes to the issue of loyalty between an incumbent governor and his deputy.
As things stand at present, Ganduje appears to have lost his cool in the face of the persistent onslaught by his staunch critics and political gadflies despite his pacifist disposition, realizing the fact that the time is rife for him to fire back, with the 2019 gubernatorial election around the corner.
This is the crux of the matter.