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The Political Economy of Cryptocurrency

Published

5 years ago

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M A Iliasu

 

 

-By Muhammad Ahmad Iliasu.

 

One would have to wonder how huge the work rate of economic theory must be to astonishingly liberate existential debates on the possibility or otherwise, the undertones and the future of currency digitalization – which has been the major talking phenomenon since the slump in 2008. Nevertheless, a free flow of theoretical opinions and treatise prescriptions by established economists, prophecies of doom and suggestions in persuasion by ecosystem commentators is only expected when the phenomenon is a determining factor on the future of money and the role of government.

 

Cryptocurrency as the so-called apolitical and decentralized digital currency is an economic phenomenon like any other, unlike what many people think, and therefore has a meaningful context inside the economic theory. On its own merits, its warranted to say that the economic relevance of the phenomenon takes the courtesy of massaging the idea of the monetary economists who hold immense reservations upon the centralization of money supply and government intervention in general, along the line rattling the scrutiny of the neo-Keynesian economists and their sensitivity to the centralization of money supply and government intervention generally.

 

Predicting the major stand of the two distinguished schools would economically speaking, be as easier as tracing the economic backgrounds of their distinctive arguments. The neo-Keynesians would naturally be anti-cryptocurrency for the threat it cast upon centralization and the policing of financial bubbles. While the monetarists would be more inclined to be pro-cryptocurrency for the opportunity it brings their thoughts on fixation and decentralization. Why they hold their stands should be discussed later in the essay.

 

-What is a cryptocurrency and why has it been introduced?

 

The 2008 global financial crisis was a moment in history during which bankers’ hubris blew out spectacularly. The big number of jobs, businesses, houses and assets lost to crisis crushed people’s optimism to the level where the trust between economic society and bankers alongside their politicians allies arrived under radical scrutiny. People felt the impact of the crisis and therefore no longer trust the engineers that created it – the bankers and the politicians. As a response, the Central Bank governors of the G-20 organized a meeting to discuss how the bankers were to be rescued from the financial disaster. The concerned populace who understood how banking hubris works and what the bailout could turn out to be, began to exercise the hope and thoughts of having a medium of exchange (read: currency or money), that get affected neither by the hubris of bankers nor by the skeptical government intervention. An apolitical money that can’t be controlled by the central, and democratically decentralized in a nature that it’ll be a currency of the people, for the people and by the people.

 

In an attempt to satisfy people’s wish for apolitical currency, an email was received bearing the signature of Satoshi Nakamoto (who is still yet to be to identified) carrying an algorithm that meets people’s ideals, what we currently call “Bitcoin”. The beauty of Nakamoto’s algorithm was that it did away with the ledger run by a central authority but still managed to ensure that a single currency unit could never be copied or spent twice. The whole community using Bitcoin would share in the task by each making available a small part of their computer’s capacity for this purpose. Everyone would observe everyone else’s transactions, ensuring their validity, while at the same time no one would know whose transactions they were observing, safeguarding privacy. Many people around the world were enthused and signed up. Until a large scandal perpetrated by entrepreneurs who exploited people’s fears against fraud to collect their quantity of Bitcoin for safeguarding only for them to run away with it. And with the absence of a centralized controller, people lost their money without insurance or bailout.

 

That was the inception of cryptocurrency and the reason behind its introduction. But as any logical thinker could guess, the nature of the currency and the reasons behind it are all pending the complexities of an ecosystem that doesn’t get easily overrun by the wildness of popular fantasies. Some of those complexities were explained inside the economic theory, experienced in the past, and are the skeletal frameworks forming the arguments of the monetarists and Neo-Keynesians.

 

-Crisis and Logic of History.

 

When the hell of economic crisis broke loose in Europe and America back in 1929, a policy prescription that aimed at controlling inflation was introduced which convinced the US and the European economies to print only the quantity supply of money that corresponds to the same amount of gold reserve, the so-called “Gold Standard”. Through Gold Standard, economies were cuffed to hinder the reckless printing of money – which was the determining factor in the surge of inflation. For if countries are obliged to print money with respect to gold reserve – something with limited, though intrinsic supply – the velocity of money in circulation would be reasonable and the money supply is tied to a commodity that doesn’t get assassinated by inflation. That way, the countries found a standard and common dictator of their currency value, just like the dollar nowadays. But a few years later, the demand for money began to exceed the supply, due to the limited supply of money as a result of printing per unit of gold. And shortly afterward, the story changed. Inflation – an occurrence when the quantity of money in the economy chases the same quantity of a commodity, causing the prices to unhealthily rise – culminated into what the economists call “Deflation” – an occurrence when too less quantity of money chases significantly higher quantity of commodities, causing a significant a fall in the price of goods and services below their actual and reasonable value.

 

The deflation in the US forced the hands of the then government under President Roosevelt, and the European economies, the emissary of which was the famous John Maynard Keynes, to abolish the “Gold Standard”. It was later adopted and abolished once again by President Nixon in the 70s. The underlying rationale behind the consistent execution and abolishing of the policy during the 20th century was informed by the standard economic theory that asserts and has been proven accurate that when money supply is fixed below the rate of public demand, deflation will strike. In the same way, when it is left uncontrolled beyond the public demand, inflation will strike.

 

Along the same curve, the decentralized nature of Cryptocurrency means it can’t be policed by any institution, rather a blockchain that comprises of different unidentified individuals with an asymmetric chance of arriving at a consensus. And when Satoshi Nakamoto (who is yet to be known) explained his algorithm in 2009, it was specified that the total supply of Bitcoin was certainly fixed, with the mining only certain to grow slowly until it reaches a maximum number of 1 million Bitcoins sometime in 2032. That means the digital currency is problematic in two ways; first it makes crisis more likely and secondly it offers no room for government to alleviate the crisis. So the prospects of any economy that gets into bed with cryptocurrency resemble the pre-1929 unpoliced economy that was crushed by absurd inflation. The same way its limited supply renders the prospects of any economy that adopts it to face the threat of post-1929 economy that was plagued by Gold Standard deflation. So in short, with cryptocurrency, it’s either deflation or inflation, with price and currency stability extremely unlikely.

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That was the viewpoint of the Neo-Keynesian economists, mostly the alumni of Harvard. The most vocal being the American economist and crisis expert, Professor Roubiel Roubini from the University of New York, who even believes that cryptocurrency has no feature of money. And the Greek economist and author, Professor Yanis Varoufakis from the University of Athens. The latter dedicated a whole chapter to discussing the issue extensively in the prolific crisis-dissecting book, “The Brief History of Capitalism”. While the former is quite consistent with podcasts and interviews.

 

-Modern Sensitivity to Technology and impact of Optimism.

 

In contrast to the belief of the Neo-Keynesians, the most influential figure in the monetary school, Milton Friedman, originally proposed a fixed monetary rule, called Friedman’s k-percent rule, where the money supply would be automatically increased by a fixed percentage per year. Under this rule, there would be no leeway for the central reserve bank, as money supply increases could be determined “by a computer”, and business could anticipate all money supply changes. With other monetarists, he believed that the active manipulation of the money supply or its growth rate is more likely to destabilize than stabilize the economy. So the most important area of concentration is price stability rather than currency stability as proposed by Keynes.

 

The mention of computers by Friedman, and the fixed increase rate of money per year, agrees with two of the three most important features of cryptocurrency, which are digitalization and the fixed increase rate of Bitcoin until 2032. While the consistent castigating of the Central Bank by Friedman and Schwartz skews their idea closer to decentralization than otherwise.

 

The monetarists who are mostly anti-Keynes and subtly pro-decentralization arrived fierce to debunk what they call nostalgia that was inspired by an obsession with post-crisis literature, mostly the contributions of Keynes that comprises of “The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (1932)” and “A Treatise on Money 1930”. The mainstream among their economic commentators debunks the thesis in some of the post-2008 contributions of Yanis Varoufakis that discussed the economy and future of capitalism. Books like “The Brief History of Capitalism (2014)”, “Adults In the Room: My Battle with Europe’s Deep Establishment (2017), “And The Weak Suffer What They Must: Europe, Austerity and the Threat to Global Stability (2016)”.

 

-Music and Musing; where do I stand?

 

Having observed the possible major stands of the two distinctive schools, the argument of pro-Keynes that revolves around the fixated supply of cryptocurrency was debunked once again by the creation of other types of cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Dodge, which unlike Bitcoin are of unlimited supply. So one of the two problems of digital currency is said to be eliminated. Meanwhile, while decentralization remains a concern for any individual household that understands the importance and need for government intervention, major technologically-innovative countries like China and Japan are already paving the way for decentralization of their financial institutions to accommodate the cryptocurrency. And the decision is being backed by lucrative optimism from the buyers of Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency, which is driving its value crazily higher than expected. For what that’s worth, it’s certain that cryptocurrency is surging for a reason, the same way it could be said it’s here for a reason. To quixotic commentators, it’s more like the introduction of the computer in the ’80s, so it’ll be correct if termed inevitable. Therefore judging from the flow, perhaps in the grand scheme of things the digital currency would have to be accommodated if it continues to dominate the economy. The question is when?

 

The rhetoric also begs the question; maybe the economists that are using Keynes to reject crypto are indeed plagued by nostalgia and fear that was bred due to consumption of post-crisis literature judging from the way cryptocurrency has been gathering incredible optimism and momentum. The reception it receives from rational and visionary capitalists like Elon Musk suggests so. But equally important are the questions: what would be the future of government without its ability to regulate money supply? What would be the response of America to a phenomenon that could dwarf the demand for the dollar and the democratic nature of which could swindle the dollarization policy? What would be the second reaction of Third World countries whose democracies are so young and fragile, economies too unstable and inconsistent as to give-in to decentralization? What solution is there for the possible reoccurrence of the 2008 e-Theft?

Privatization of Public Spaces: A Tragedy for Land Use Planning in Kano Metropolis

Currently, not enough has been said or shown to indicate the wavering of governmental institutions as to give up their power on the money supply. Chinese and Japanese economies are too advanced to be the sample of inference while judging possible decentralization in countries like Nigeria that has been fighting its second recession in a half-decade, accumulating large chunk of debt and abject recession for almost a decade despite surprisingly being one of the highest traders of the cryptocurrency. It’s no wonder that the CBN banned it outrightly. First for being ignorant of its dynamics as was learned from the governor. And second for having neither the efficient economic environment nor the institutional strength to accommodate it. Likewise, where the accommodation of decentralization is concerned, banking sectors will have to restructure for the death of their last resort – the Central Bank. And when all the transactions are fiat, an existential crisis looms in the employment department of the banking sector.

 

There’s also the case of cryptocurrency as a simultaneous medium of exchange and investment. When it becomes dominant the economic society may fall victim to the fallacy of composition and paradox of thrift, because more people would rather save their money in crypto to enjoy its speedy appreciation in value than do otherwise. And that would put the multiplier effect of disposable income and immediate consumption in jeopardy. The circular flow of income may turn into a vicious circle of rational economic households looking to outsmart themselves for profit but are subconsciously crushing the entire ecosystem. The digital running of the currency as an investment medium will remain the major avenue of investment, and little do we forget that it’s greatly influenced by speculation. And like Keynes said in the prophetic “General Theory: “Speculators may do no harm as bubbles on a steady stream of enterprise. But the position is serious when an enterprise becomes a bubble on a whirlpool of speculation. When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill done.”

 

The Keynesian prophets of doom should do kindly as to exercise patience. In the same way, the monetarists should enjoy their giant leap forward towards decentralization. Who is right shall be vindicated by time. If it’s the Keynesians the status quo lives on. And if it’s the monetarists we can look back to 2008 and say the crisis is indeed the laboratory of the future. But personally, I don’t think money can ever be apolitical, governments are as old and their influence as lasting as the social contract itself. In the same way, I believe in the strength of optimism, which is driving all the possibilities of cryptocurrency. After all, as Keynes said: “Investment is dedicating our intelligence in predicting what average opinion expects the average opinion to be”. If the blockchain behind Nakamoto’s algorithm keeps getting the mind of the global economy spot on, Cryptocurrency are more than capable of being here to stay. But where an error occurs all hell would break loose. Whatever happens, we shall live to witness.

 

MA Iliasu studies economics at Bayero University, Kano.

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Opinion

How DSP Barau Rescues North West Development Summit

Published

29 minutes ago

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January 31, 2026

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By Abba Anwar

The patriotic posture and genuine love for regional development from the side of the Deputy Senate President, Distinguished Senator Barau I Jibrin, CFR, saved face for the just concluded and One-Day North West Stakeholders’ Development Summit, that took place at Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Conference Centre, Murtala Mohammed Square, Kaduna.

With the theme “Advancing A Coordinated Regional Development Agenda For North-West Nigeria.” To see the visible hands of the DSP in a more glaring way, the Summit was organized by the Senate and House Committees’ on North-West Development Commission, in good collaboration with North-West Governors’ Forum and North-West Development Commission.

The shabby representation of political leaders, especially at the state levels, was too defeating and undermining of the original objective of the Summit. But when the Deputy Senate President, arrived, the Summit was injected with life and survival strategy.

To understand how important, is the region in the sight of the DSP, he had an occasion to attend, as a representative of the Senate President, His Excellency Godswill Akpabio, almost the same time with that of the Summit’s.

He was billed to represent Akpabio at a grand event to receive the Governor of Taraba state, Agbu Kefas, in Jalingo, the state capital. But DSP ATTENDED THE SUMMIT IN KADUNA, BEFORE PROCEEDING TO JALINGO. That was a show of concern and love for the region. Bravo DSP! Bravo!!

The Kaduna Summit, was meant to create corridor for a high level platform for working hand in hand among federal, states actors, development partners and other meaningful stakeholders. To also strengthen regional coordination between the National Assembly, state governments, North West Development Commission and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies across the region, for meaningful regional development.

One can see how Distinguished Senator is running helter-skelter to create synergy between the National Assembly and the regional Commission. Out of the zeal to see to the growth and development of the region.

At the Summit, DSP was the highest elected official from the zone, who attended and injected enthusiasm to all who were at the hall. Including an elder statesman, Dr Hakeem Baba Ahmed, who complained bitterly about the absence of all the seven governors from the zone, North West.

Without fear of mincing words, I can add that, part of the reasons why the Deputy Senate President found it specifically important to bless the occasion, was his clear understanding of the Summit’s object that, there is a need to promote integrated and cross sectoral approaches to address key challenges facing the region.

While at the same time, believing that, the idea of encouraging private sector participation and supporting development partners engagement in financing and delivering sustainable development projects, is key in today’s Nigeria, he squeezed his schedules to be in Kaduna, no matter what. This is an excellent exhibition of statesmanship and responsible leadership.

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Distinguished Senator’s zeal and commitment is partly acknowledged in his remarks at the event, when he said, “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞— 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 North West Development Commission (𝐍𝐖𝐃𝐂), 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚.”

One can understand how keen is the DSP concerning the Summit, hence his show of interest and commitment. He said, “I approach this gathering not merely as a political leader or a critical stakeholder, but as a constitutional trustee of the Nigerian project. I stand here with a profound sense of responsibility to ensure that our region does not merely participate in national development, but takes its rightful place in shaping the direction of things.”

Many people at the event believed that, there could be some forces outside the composition of the Commission, that become bottlenecks for the proper and immediate take-off of the Commission, more than a year after the consent of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. Whether true or false, I can’t say. Hence, the none participation of big hands and faces in the Commission’s activities. Including today’s Summit.

That thinking, could be the reason why he further explained that, “It was from this understanding (of regional integration and development) that the idea of the North West Development Commission was conceived. The Commission was not created as another bureaucratic layer, but as a strategic institution—designed to aggregate our regional priorities, harmonize development efforts, and provide a long-term framework for addressing the structural challenges that have historically constrained our progress.”

The Kaduna state Governor was ably represented by his Deputy, Dr Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe. Kano State Governor was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Umar Faruk and Katsina State Governor was also represented by a senior government official.

Observations indicate that, His Excellency Jibrin, has genuine commitment for the Commission. He mentioned part of the reasons why he is so much attached to the Commission. When he said, in his remarks, “As we are aware, the North West is home to tens of millions of Nigerians. It is Nigeria’s largest agricultural belt, a major contributor to food security, commerce, and human capital. Yet we are also confronted by complex challenges—ranging from insecurity and infrastructure deficits to climate stress, youth unemployment, and uneven access to social services. These challenges do not respect state boundaries; therefore, our solutions must transcend them.”

To the chagrin of many, the Summit folded up without any official closure. No Communique no questions and answers sessions. Certificates were not presented to participants and all the highly placed officials were seen in total and absolute shock. While observing a near turn-of-events.

But the appearance of the National Assembly, Senate and House Chairmen Committees on North West Development Commission, Senator Babangida Hussaini and Dr Sulaiman Abubakar Gumi respectively, as well as all the three Senators from Kano state, DSP inclusive, injected some courage to the organisers.

Honourable Minister of State, FCT, Dr Mariya Bunkure’s participation was also another source of courage to the organizers. Not to talk of all the lead paper presenters, who were all around. Not to talk of the very large turn out of participants from all walks of life from the region.

I do not include the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Commission and the Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer, Lawal Sama’ila Abdullahi and Prof Shehu Abdullahi Ma’aji, because their presence is basic and necessary. So they were there live and direct. The presence of the Director General of North West Governors’ Forum, Maryam Musa Yahaya, was another source of hope to the organisers and innocent participants.

Anwar writes from Kano
Saturday, 31st January, 2026

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Opinion

Northern Nigeria at the Crossroads: Leadership, Succession, and the Question of Survival -Zainab Buba

Zaynab Buba Galadima

Published

8 hours ago

on

January 31, 2026

By

Zai

 

 

Northern Nigeria’s leadership crisis is not the absence of leaders, but the absence of structured continuity. From independence in 1960, the North understood leadership as stewardship. Under Sir Ahmadu Bello (Sardauna of Sokoto), and other Northern leaders such as Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Hassan Usman Katsina, Sir Kashim Ibrahim, Chief Sunday Awoniyi, Joseph Tarka and Aminu Kano, governance was anchored on moral authority, regional cohesion, education, and economic productivity. Institutions like the Northern Nigeria Development Corporation (NNDC), Ahmadu Bello University (1962), and regional marketing boards were deliberate tools for sustainability, not personal gain.

The NNDC, funded largely by proceeds from cotton, groundnuts, hides and skins exports, financed industrial estates, textile mills (Kaduna Textiles, Arewa Textiles), and scholarship schemes. Graduates were absorbed into public service, and employment guarantees, official cars, and housing schemes were not populist gestures but outcomes of a planned regional economy. These systems began to weaken after the 1966 coup, and by the collapse of the First Republic, the North lost its ideological anchor.

Military rule (1966–1979) centralized power, dismantled regional economic autonomy, and replaced mentorship with command loyalty. The abolition of marketing boards in the late 1980s under Structural Adjustment further destroyed Northern productive capacity. What followed was survival politics leaders focused on federal allocations rather than regional development.

The North miscalculated profoundly with Muhammadu Buhari. From 2003 to 2015, Northern elites rallied behind him as a symbol of integrity and discipline. He was projected as the solution, but not as the builder of systems. When he finally won in 2015, no clear succession plan or leadership school emerged. Buhari’s personal moral standing did not translate into institutional reform, mentorship pipelines, or a future-facing Northern agenda. The North lived in the moment, not the future.

Yet, Northern Nigeria still possesses experienced leaders who, if united around vision rather than ambition, could arrest the decline; To mention a few:
1. Atiku Abubakar – unmatched private-sector exposure, national networks, and understanding of fiscal federalism and economic restructuring.
2. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso – proven record in education, human capital investment, and institutional continuity.

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3. . Sen. Jonah David Jang (rtd.) – he symbolizes minority participation in both military and democratic leadership, particularly in navigating identity, faith, and regional diversity.
4. Kashim Shettima – crisis governance experience from Borno, exposure to insurgency management and national economic coordination.
5. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd.) – A former Chief of Army Staff and Defence Minister, Danjuma represents moral courage and principled leadership, later channeling his influence into philanthropy, national stability, and institutional support through the TY Danjuma Foundation.
6. Nasir El-Rufai – infrastructure reform, urban governance, and policy articulation.
7. Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara – His leadership symbolized inclusion, constitutionalism, and the political relevance of Northern minorities in national decision-making. As Speaker, he emphasized legislative independence, rule of law, and national unity across faith and ethnic lines.
8. Aminu Tambuwal – legislative depth, constitutional knowledge, and executive experience.
9. Ahmad Lawan – legislative continuity and federal budgeting experience.
10. Bukola Saraki – institutional reform, health sector interventions, and bridge-building across regions.
11. Aliyu Wamakko – grassroots mobilization and state-level governance.
12. Babagana Zulum – security-informed leadership and humanitarian governance.

The tragedy is that these leaders operate in silos, not as a collective Northern brain trust. Most times leadership without ideology, even competence fragments.

Today, Northern Nigeria bears the brunt of capital project neglect, decaying rail and road networks, underfunded schools, overstretched security architecture, and disproportionate poverty indices despite producing the bulk of Nigeria’s political leadership. Federal allocations meant for education, security, and infrastructure have been mismanaged by Northern elites who themselves benefited from free education, scholarships, and social justice structures of the old North.

What went wrong? The destruction of production-based economics. The North abandoned agriculture value chains, textile manufacturing, and vocational education for rent-seeking politics. Mentorship collapsed. Elders stopped acting as moral guardians. Young people were mobilized as political foot soldiers, not future leaders.

More dangerously, the North has failed to interrogate the worst case scenarios. If Nigeria fractures under economic pressure, insecurity, or ethnic fragmentation, what becomes of a region plagued by poverty, porous borders, arms proliferation, and food insecurity? Survival thinking demands preparation for the worst, not blind faith in the status quo.

To rebuild, a credible Northern agenda must incorporate:
• Human capital development (education, skills, research)
• Security sector reform and local intelligence structures
• Regional economic revival (agro-processing, solid minerals)
• Leadership mentorship and succession institutions
• Moral reorientation and civic responsibility
• Intergenerational leadership pipelines

Unity is not optional it is existential. 2027 is not about ambition; it is about survival. For elites, it is the final chance to correct history. For the poor, it is a fight for dignity. For the youth, it is a moment of becoming. Titles must fall. Ego must retreat. The North must sit at the table as equals, not as lords.

History shows what the North built. The present shows what neglect destroyed. The future will judge whether this generation had the courage to rebuild or allowed the house to collapse completely.

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Opinion

Kano Gov’s Defection : As Gov Radda Concretizes Synergy With Kano

Published

3 days ago

on

January 28, 2026

By

 

By Abba Anwar

Immediately after his official decamping to All Progressives Congress (APC), the Kano state Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, the Governor of Katsina state Dr Umar Dikko Radda, described the move as “… strategic for regional unity, stability and development.”

In a press statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, the Chairman of the North West Governors’ Forum, Radda, after congratulating Kano governor for the move, he signaled his intention of working in good synergy with his Kano counterpart for finding lasting solutions to insecurity, political instability and other vices.

He was instructive when he said, according to the statement, “The decision of His Excellency, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, to join the APC is a demonstration of responsible leadership and a strategic step towards deepening cooperation with the Federal Government and advancing the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the benefit of Kano State and the entire North West.”

The statement clearly indicates maturity in governor Radda’s statesmanship position across the zone, his readiness to work tirelessly with governor Yusuf in repositioning and revitalizing the zone for better tomorrow. In areas like sustainable development, enhanced security, fight against youth restiveness and drug abuse.

In his commendation of the Kano state governor, he acknowledged that, “Leadership demands the courage to take decisions in the long-term interest of the people. Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has demonstrated this by placing peace, stability and progress above all other considerations.”

In my estimation and understanding, the way Kano APC received the hitherto New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) governor into its fold, with all sense of dignity, humility and magnanimity, was what moved other APC North West Governors to collectively congratulate him through the able leadership of the governor of Katsina state.

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The statement disclosed that, “On behalf of the North West Governors’ Forum, Governor Radda congratulated Governor Yusuf and assured him of the full support and cooperation of his colleagues across the region and the country, while wishing him wisdom, strength and success in his leadership.”

All who is who in Kano APC was very much around and received the governor with all open hearts. To the extent that, he was assured by the APC leader in Kano, then, former governor Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, CON, that, all paths were set for the new entrant, governor Yusuf, to seek for re-election come 2027.

The same assurance was given by the Deputy Senate President, Distinguished Senator Barau I Jibrin, CFR, that, he jettisoned his ambition and gave way for the incumbent to contest for a second tenure, 2027. Many good wishes and encouragements were transparently stared at the good face of the governor.

Observing how comfortable the Kano state governor was, during the grand event for his decamping, that took place at Government House, Kano, governor Radda believes further that, another good partner for meaningful development is now on board. Hence the unwavering support from other North West governors to governor Yusuf.

Radda’s glaring happiness and show of commitment towards the development of Kano, was what prompted him to acknowledge and accept new political alignment and realignment with Kanawan Dabo at the peak of political cohesion, as governor Yusuf cross-carpeted.

In the referenced press statement, the Katsina state governor hinted that with Yusuf’s exit from NNPP to APC, the synergy between Kano and federal government, which he termed as political realignment would enhance the implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda in critical areas such as security cooperation, agricultural transformation, industrialisation and youth empowerment.

With this, we have nothing to add, as encomium to the people’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, who has energetic state governors under the platform of his party, the APC. Such as Governor Radda, who leads North West Governors’ Forum.

In another way round, Katsina state governor, is very instructive to some basic advances that, Kano state under APC, would receive critical attention from the federal government. This, I observed severally.

This could also mean, Radda’s attention and unwavering commitment for development, are focused on Kano, with the entrance of Yusuf into APC’s fold. This means a lot as build – up to APC’s victory come 2027. It also means his un-arguable commitment to regional cohesion and cooperation.

To fully appreciate and strengthen the courage of other elected officials from Kano, who also decamped to the ruling APC, in the press release, the leader of North West Governors’ Forum, “… welcomes the decision of members of the Kano State Executive Council, the State House of Assembly, National Assembly members and local government Chairmen to also join the APC, describing it as a strong signal of political stability, unity of purpose and shared commitment to development in the state.”

Anwar writes from Kano
Wednesday, 28th January, 2026

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