By Senior Political Editor Abbas Yushau Yusuf
Senator Barau I. Jibrin, the Deputy Senate President, has been in the headlines since assuming office, proposing initiatives and policies that will win over his senatorial area, Kano North and the state at large. Despite the Kwankwasiyya Tsunami that swept the 2023 polls in Kano, Senator Barau Jibrin scaled through and won his election. Can this be attributed to past projects he completed for his constituency?
keen political observers understand that after emerging as the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin has come up with another strategy which was employed by the Kwankwasiyya political movement when it clinched power in the 2011 general elections in Kano which is offering foreign scholarships to the sons and daughters of the less privileged in the state.
Below is the breakdown of the recent scholarships offered by Senator Barau Jibrin to Kano indigenes as released by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudaahir.
“One week after sponsoring 70 students for postgraduate scholarships abroad, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, is set to offer scholarships to 300 students to pursue master’s degrees in Nigerian universities.” the statement reads
“Through the Barau I. Jibrin Foundation (BIJF), 70 students selected from across the three senatorial districts of Kano State departed the country via Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) for India on December 29th, 2024.”
In addition, the Deputy President of the Senate, who is also the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, announced that 300 students will benefit from his domestic postgraduate scholarship program this year.
To this effect, the foundation opened applications for “postgraduate domestic scholarships for the 2025/2026 academic session.”
“The foundation, dedicated to fostering academic excellence and providing educational opportunities to deserving Kano State graduates, aims to support 300 outstanding graduates from recognized universities in pursuing their postgraduate studies at selected universities across the country”.
Secretary of the Postgraduate Scholarship Committee of the BIJF, Maikudi Lawan, PhD, said the program offers a unique opportunity for academic growth, research, and human capital development in various fields of science and technology, which will empower the country’s next generation.
He said the programs include: M.Sc. Artificial Intelligence, M.Sc. Robotics Technology, M.Sc. Cyber Security, M.Sc. Data Science, M.Sc. Information Technology, M.Sc. Software Development, M.Sc. Mineral Exploration, M.Sc. Hydrogeology & Environmental Geology, M.Sc. Oil and Gas Operations, M.Sc. Applied Geophysics, M.Sc. Metallurgical and Material Engineering, M.Sc. Climate Change Management, M.Eng. Mechatronic and M.Eng. Intelligence System.
He added that six universities, Bayero University Kano, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and University of Nigeria Nsukka, have been selected for the program.
Every political observer in Kano can attest to the success of Kwankwasiyya movement’s politics of offering scholarships to the sons and daughters of the less privileged. For example, when the NNPP national leader, Engineer Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, bounced back as Governor for the second term in 2011, he came up with foreign scholarships for Kano indigenes who had a minimum of second-class upper degrees. when such laudable project was announced many people then didn’t believe it was going to happen.
The Kwankwasiyya Government sequentially sponsored 501, 502, and 503 set of students on foreign scholarships sent abroad on different batches to study in different fields. This set of people sponsored by Engineer Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s administration traversed many parts of the world, including India, Cyprus, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, and other parts of the world.
By the time Governor Kwankwaso finished his second term in 2015, most of the students sponsored had already returned from their studies. Many analysts believed that this life changing opportunities offered by his administration was one of the reasons for the unconditional loyalty of many of the beneficiaries and their families to the Kwankwasiyya movement.
This among other things was one of the reasons that gave Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje an easy ride leading him to win the 2015 governorship election with a landslide. however, the relationship between Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and his former boss and political ally deteriorated over time and currently do not see eye to eye due to political differences.
In 2019, the Kwankwasiyya Governorship candidate, Engineer Abba Kabir Yusuf, won the Governorship election in the first round by defeating incumbent Dr. Ganduje, whom they accused of abandoning their programs in which he was the grand Deputy commander of the Kwankwasiyya movement in 2015. it is becoming apparent that Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf who is the current governor of the state will continue the legacies laid by the leader of the movement including the sponsoring of students on foreign scholarships.
A lot of people are of the opinion that the current strategy employed by Senator Barau I. Jibrin in offering scholarships to the indigenes of Kano, including the less privileged, is a sign that the Deputy Senate President is eyeing the Kano Governorship seat in the 2027 general elections. Will this be a plot to dislodge the Kwankwasiyya Government under the NNPP led by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf in the coming elections?
