By Faruk Umar
If you understand the forces that determine competitive strategy, then you will understand that Kwankwaso’s moves are one of the best political moves at the moment. Some merely think it’s solely about presidential ambitions and I tell them to reconsider their verdict and look at the bigger picture. I wish I can explain the concept of two issues, one in politics and the other in competitiveness that even giant blue chip companies adopt such strategies for survival and relevance in their market space.
First of all, in politics there’s what we call “ political relevance “. You can be Governor, senate, minister or even president and later become irrelevant forever. The case of Ganduje (Dollar Saga) should serve as an example for those who have the vision to see the future ( trust me, after he relinquishes power). You can attain the pinnacle of political office and yet be as irrelevant as a street or stray dog after you leave office. We shouldn’t forget this. Now what could lead to such a tragic end in politics? The answer is simple. You wrongly defined societal welfare and you had no manifesto, in other words you had no vision and mission from the cradle.
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As i write, I believe I do not need much rigmarole to convince to those who took their time to read my write up that even President Buhari ( himself will be so much politically irrelevant after he leaves office because of his inability to have a unique political strategy as anticipated by most of his cohorts and admirers ( count me out, because I’ve never been). An extensive explanation on this will only open up a Pandora’s box for incessant and baseless arguments.
I therefore rest my case. Kwankwaso has numbers ( just like napoleon bornapati). He believes in numbers, however doesn’t have the backing and support of the oligarchs at the echelon of affairs in both major political parties. What should he do as a strategist who lacks a bargaining power and who has been in the game for over 30 years? Cry about it like some desperate pretenders do? Or take a bold step?.
I believe he should take a calculated bold step because I knew from our days in the military school “No guts no glory”. Trust me, if Aliko Dangote never had guts, vision , mission and a unique strategy he would’ve have probably ended up as a trader in one of the major market places in kano. So I don’t know where the panic comes from. In summary, what kwankwaso is planning for is a “sustainable strategy for political relevance” which will give him a long term bargaining power which will serve as his lethal weapon against any external force in the political space. Let’s not forget to think like a politician before we jump into conclusions. A career politician is different from a normal politician. Just as Machiavelli said “ in order to understand the mindset of the subjects one must be a ruler and in order to understand the mindset of the rulers one must be a subject”.
Secondly, on the issue of competitive strategy, I mentioned in retrospect the issue of “Bargaining power”. Some will assume bargaining power in politics is not as important as holding a political office. Trust me, what most of your religious manipulators are doing today is solely for their political aggrandizement and they’re strategically maintaining their bargaining power. Manipulating your intellect to attain their goals. And the more followers they have, the more likely they remain relevant because those in power will surely give them a listening ear. Because they have a bargaining power ( The hausa man called it ban gishiri na baka manda).
Therefore, for those who merely think and view situation at just presidential ambition, I think they should reconsider their verdicts. However, this is solely based on my understanding about kwankwaso himself, political strategy and a sustainable relevance in any kind of space you may find yourself, be it political or in market space. I’m solely entitled to my opinion and as I always say, I will always maintain an independent critical attitude towards issues and off course give an opinion that neither hurts no one nor pleases anyone.
