By Lamara Garba

A deep wave of disbelief and sorrow swept through Bayero University, Kano the moment the tragic news began to circulate. Offices fell unusually silent, lectures paused in uneasy whispers, and clusters of staff and students gathered across the campus seeking confirmation of what many feared was true.

Faces reflected shock and grief as the heartbreaking news filtered through the university community that Professor Kabiru Isa Dandago had passed away. For many, it felt almost unreal that a man whose presence symbolised humility, warmth and intellectual guidance within the institution was suddenly gone.

Professor Kabiru Isa Dandago passed away on Wednesday, 4th March 2026, at the age of 63, leaving behind a legacy defined by scholarship, service and compassion. His departure represents not only the loss of a distinguished Professor of Accounting but also the passing of a man whose life was devoted to the pursuit of knowledge, mentorship and the upliftment of others.

Indeed, his passing marks the quiet departure of a quintessential Dandago, a man whose life was woven with simplicity, sincerity and uncommon generosity.

Those who knew him closely often spoke first of his character before mentioning his impressive academic achievements. Despite his towering reputation as a scholar, Professor Dandago remained remarkably approachable. His friendliness was genuine, his humility disarming and his conduct consistently reflected deep respect for others. Titles and positions never created barriers between him and the people around him.

Whether engaging senior colleagues, junior staff members or students, he displayed the same warmth and simplicity that endeared him to many. Above all, he was deeply God fearing. His life reflected strong moral values rooted in faith, sincerity and compassion. In him, intellect walked hand in hand with humility, and knowledge was always guided by conscience.

His acts of altruistic benevolence knew no bounds.

Just about a week before his passing, an incident occurred that now carries deep emotional significance. Members of our Non Governmental Organization, the Raa’ayi Initiative for Human Development, were mobilising resources for one of our humanitarian traditions. The organisation periodically raises funds to purchase food items for families of deceased colleagues who may be struggling silently after losing their loved ones.

Professor Dandago was among the first to respond.

Not only did he send his contribution promptly, his donation turned out to be the highest among more than one hundred members of Raa’ayi Initiative. Even after making his personal contribution, he encouraged other members to support the project so that the target could be achieved and the families assisted meaningfully.

Unknown to him, he was making what would become his final contribution to the Raa’ayi project.

Today, that gesture stands as a powerful reflection of the generosity that defined his life. The man who was helping families of deceased colleagues did not know that he himself would soon be mourned by the same community. In giving comfort to others, he was unknowingly writing the final line of his own story of kindness.

Within Bayero University Kano, his influence was both profound and lasting. One of the enduring legacies associated with him is the strong mentoring culture within the Faculty of Management Sciences, formerly the Faculty of Social and Management Sciences. Several years ago, he played an important role in strengthening a mentoring system that has since guided many young academics and students.

He believed firmly that institutions grow when experienced scholars patiently guide younger minds. Many lecturers today acknowledge that their professional journeys were shaped by his advice, encouragement and fatherly support.

Another notable contribution under his influence was the introduction of the student ICAN programme. Through this initiative, students were encouraged to pursue professional certification with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria while still undertaking their undergraduate studies. Today, more than fifty students have successfully obtained ICAN qualifications alongside their degrees, reflecting Professor Dandago’s vision of producing graduates who are both academically sound and professionally competitive.

According to the Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences, Professor Muhammad Aminu Isa, the faculty has lost a great pillar whose presence contributed immensely to unity and stability. He noted that Professor Dandago consistently worked towards strengthening cooperation among staff while always seeking ways to advance the growth and progress of the faculty and the university.

Born on April 5, 1963, in Dandago Quarters of Gwale Local Government Area of Kano State, he joined Bayero University in September 1990 and rose through the ranks to become Professor of Accounting in 2007. Over more than three decades of service, he held several academic and administrative positions including Head of the Department of Accounting and later Dean of the Faculty of Social and Management Sciences.

A prolific scholar, he authored over thirty books and published more than eighty five academic articles while supervising numerous postgraduate students, including doctoral candidates. His intellectual contributions extended beyond the university, as he also served as Federal Commissioner at the Tax Appeal Tribunal and earlier as Commissioner for Finance in Kano State.

Only days before his passing, Professor Dandago delivered what would become his final public lecture. On Saturday, 28th February 2026, he spoke at the 10th Ramadan Lecture organised by the Islamic Forum of Nigeria. In that lecture, he reflected on the pathway to economic development of the northern region, carefully identifying the roots of the region’s economic challenges while proposing thoughtful solutions for sustainable progress.

In mourning the distinguished scholar, the Vice Chancellor of Bayero University Kano, Professor Haruna Musa, fsi, described the late Dandago as a complete gentleman, an honest and committed academic whose contributions significantly shaped the growth and reputation of the university.

The Vice Chancellor noted that Professor Dandago was more than a scholar; he was a mentor and a steady hand in university administration whose calm disposition, integrity and willingness to support colleagues earned him admiration across the institution.

“His passing leaves a vacuum that will be difficult to fill,” Professor Musa said, while praying that Almighty Allah forgives his shortcomings and grants him Aljannatul Firdaus.

Thousands of mourners later gathered for his funeral prayers in Kano, reflecting the deep respect and affection he commanded across academic, professional and community circles.

Yet in reflecting on the life of Professor Kabiru Isa Dandago, one timeless truth quietly emerges. Life is not measured by the length of years alone, but by the depth of the footprints one leaves behind. Some lives pass like fleeting shadows, barely touching the edges of memory. Others, like that of Professor Dandago, glow with purpose, kindness and service, leaving behind a light that continues to guide long after the bearer of the light has gone.

Though his years were sixty three, the influence of his life stretches far beyond the boundaries of time. In the minds he shaped, the hearts he inspired and the values he lived by, the quintessential Dandago will continue to endure.

May Almighty Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant him eternal rest in Aljannatul Firdaus. Ameen.

Lamara Garba, Director of Public Affairs, Bayero University, Kano

By Mohammed Babagana Abubakar
28 February 2026

In the theatre of Nigerian politics, certain actors have mastered what analysts call the distraction technique: generating maximum noise about injustice at precisely the moment their own relevance is slipping away. The recent outbursts by Alhaji Buba Galadima against His Excellency, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, and the Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Kano State is a clear demonstration of this manoeuvre. The claims of midnight justice and the systematic arrest of opposition voices paint a dramatic picture of a state in crisis. The facts, examined honestly, tell a fundamentally different story.

It is not coincidental that Galadima’s public offensive against the Governor and the DSS intensified immediately following his removal as Chairman of the Governing Council of Kano State Polytechnic in February 2026. Governor Yusuf, acting under the stated policy of his Kano First Agenda, a governance framework oriented toward institutional performance and the prioritisation of Kano’s developmental interests, relieved Galadima of the position, citing the need for optimal performance and institutional repositioning. The role was subsequently conferred on the Emir of Gaya, Alhaji Aliyu Abdulkadir, a figure whose stature and local relevance align directly with the Governor’s repositioning objectives.
For a public figure who held a senior institutional appointment in a state of which he is not an indigene, a graceful and dignified exit would have been the appropriate response. Instead, Galadima chose retribution. His subsequent media campaign, escalating in intensity and in the seriousness of its allegations with each successive interview, is not the behaviour of a disinterested democratic advocate. It is the behaviour of a man whose access to institutional privilege has been withdrawn, and who is determined to exact a political cost for that withdrawal.

The specific allegations Galadima has advanced, including claims about the arrest of a radio personality and the characterisation of security agency actions as politically motivated persecution, represent a calculated misrepresentation of the constitutional and operational realities of governance in Kano State. Kano is navigating a complex security and political environment, one shaped by the Governor’s strategic realignment with the APC and the accompanying need to stabilise the state’s politics within a new national power configuration. In that context, the actions of the DSS have been directed, as they should be, by federal law, institutional mandate, and specific credible complaints, not by partisan instruction.
Freedom of expression, guaranteed under Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a right the Governor’s administration has consistently respected. However, no constitutional guarantee of free expression extends to the use of media platforms to incite public disorder, spread demonstrably false information, or engage in conduct that, under the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act of 2015, constitutes a criminal offence. When security agencies invite individuals for questioning in response to credible complaints under these provisions, that is the rule of law functioning as designed. Characterising it as political kidnapping is not democratic advocacy. It is deliberate and legally questionable misrepresentation.

While Galadima has been constructing his narrative of persecution, the administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has been constructing something considerably more consequential: a governance record. The administration has pursued the reform of Kano’s tertiary institutions, addressing years of accumulated structural dysfunction. It has moved to clear long-overdue gratuity obligations to retired civil servants, a commitment to public workers that previous administrations allowed to languish. And it has taken deliberate steps to dismantle the architecture of godfatherism, the entrenched system of patronage-based political control that has historically subordinated Kano’s public institutions to the interests of political power brokers rather than the citizens those institutions exist to serve.
It is precisely this dismantling of godfatherism that illuminates the deeper logic of Galadima’s campaign. His objection is not fundamentally to the governance philosophy of the Yusuf administration. It is to a system in which access to public institutional positions, and the patronage and influence those positions confer, is no longer guaranteed by political connection alone. The removal from the Polytechnic board was not merely an administrative decision. It was a signal that the old arrangements no longer apply. Galadima’s response has been to attempt to demonstrate, through sustained public aggression, that such decisions carry a political cost. Governor Yusuf and his administration must, and should, remain undeterred by that calculus.

The people of Kano are neither passive observers nor easily manipulated audiences. They are a politically sophisticated electorate with a long institutional memory and a demonstrated capacity to distinguish between genuine democratic advocacy and the grievance politics of displaced privilege. Galadima is not fighting for the common people of Kano. He is fighting for a lost title, a withdrawn appointment, and a diminished political footprint. That is his right. But it should be named honestly for what it is.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf was elected to govern Kano in the interest of its people, not to preserve the access arrangements of those who regard public office as personal entitlement. His administration, the DSS, and all institutions operating within their constitutional mandates must remain focused on that mission, undistracted by the noise of those whose loudness is inversely proportional to the credibility of their arguments. Kano’s future will be built on governance, performance, and accountability, not on the manufactured grievances of those left behind by the end of an era they benefited from and now seek to restore.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mohammed Babagana Abubakar is a political commentator and analyst with a keen interest in governance, accountability, and the democratic development of Kano State and Northern Nigeria.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not represent the position of any organisation, party, or institution.

The Unifier Project, a national civic organization committed to democratic accountability, responsible public discourse, and peaceful coexistence, has taken note of the recent media interview by Alhaji Buba Galadima, in which he advanced allegations against His Excellency, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, and the Department of State Services (DSS) in Kano. He alleged, without verifiable evidence, that opposition voices in Kano State are being suppressed through the instrumentality of federal security agencies.

After a thorough review of the substance, context, and timing of these claims, the Unifier Project states unequivocally that the allegations are devoid of credible foundation and are driven by narrow political considerations rather than genuine democratic concern. We make this statement because the deployment of unsubstantiated allegations against public institutions carries measurable consequences for the stability of our democratic order, social cohesion, and public confidence in institutions.
The Unifier Project has examined Alhaji Galadima’s claims with the seriousness they demand. Our conclusion is unambiguous: not a single allegation is supported by documentary evidence, sworn testimony, or any verifiable account that could withstand independent scrutiny. What has been placed before the Nigerian public is a collection of assertions coloured by personal grievance, political frustration, and the rhetoric of a man whose relationship with the current political order in Kano has undergone a well-documented deterioration.
Allegations of political interference in a federal security institution such as the DSS are extraordinarily serious. They implicate constitutional principles, the rule of law, and citizens’ fundamental rights. Precisely because they are so serious, they demand an equally serious evidentiary standard. A press interview saturated with political animus and bereft of supporting documentation does not meet that standard. The Unifier Project calls on the public, the media, and the political community to treat these claims with the scepticism they deserve, and to resist amplifying unverified allegations simply because they are confidently stated.

No responsible analysis can proceed without examining context. It is public record that Alhaji Galadima was recently removed from the board of Kano State Polytechnic. It is equally public record that these intensified allegations emerged immediately after that removal, and against the backdrop of Governor Yusuf’s association with the APC.
The Unifier Project does not suggest that political disappointment forfeits the right to speak. Every citizen retains constitutional freedom of expression, unconditioned by political loyalty. However, when a public figure who has suffered an identifiable political setback immediately turns to making sweeping, institution-threatening allegations against those who administered that setback, the burden of proof rises sharply, and the public’s obligation to interrogate motive rises with it.
The pattern of timing is neither subtle nor coincidental. It is the familiar architecture of a grievance campaign dressed in the language of democratic concern. The Unifier Project calls it by its proper name.
The DSS is a constitutionally established institution charged with protecting Nigeria’s internal security. To allege, without evidence, that it is being weaponised for partisan purposes in Kano is not merely to criticise a governor. It is to invite the public to regard a pillar of national security as corrupt and undeserving of trust.
The consequences are not abstract. Citizens who distrust security institutions cooperate less with them, report fewer threats, and become more susceptible to criminal, extremist, or vigilante alternatives that fill the resulting vacuum. In a state as significant as Kano, with its population density, economic centrality to Northern Nigeria, and historical vulnerabilities, the erosion of institutional confidence is not a political game. It is a security hazard.
The Unifier Project calls upon Alhaji Galadima and all who have amplified these allegations to reflect on their consequences, and to consider whether any personal or partisan interest is worth the institutional damage they risk inflicting on the Nigerian state.
The Unifier Project affirms without qualification that freedom of expression is a democratic value we defend, including when exercised by those whose motives we question. We do not seek to silence Alhaji Galadima or any citizen with grievances against authority.
However, freedom of expression has never been a licence for evidence-free, potentially defamatory targeting of individuals and institutions. The Nigerian Constitution, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and international democratic standards all recognise that expression carries responsibilities of accuracy, fairness, and proportionality. Public commentary making serious allegations without factual grounding risks crossing into defamation, with all the legal consequences that entails.
We call upon political actors, commentators, social media influencers, and media organisations to uphold responsible communication. Verify before you amplify. Question the motive behind the message. The coordinated spread of unverified allegations through digital platforms is information warfare with real victims, real consequences, and real costs to our democracy.
Alhaji Galadima’s allegations did not emerge in isolation. They are part of a pattern of coordinated negative messaging that has intensified following recent political developments in Kano State. Across Facebook, X, WhatsApp, and TikTok, a campaign of narrative warfare has been waged against the person, record, and administration of Governor Yusuf, drawing on fabricated claims, decontextualised information, emotional manipulation, and strategic amplification of partisan voices.
This is the architecture of a disinformation operation. Its goal is not to inform but to destabilise, manufacturing a political reality so saturated with negativity that truth becomes difficult to locate and public confidence impossible to sustain. The Unifier Project calls on regulatory bodies, civil society, and responsible media to take a stronger, coordinated stand against the weaponisation of digital platforms for political disinformation.
The Unifier Project calls upon political actors of all affiliations to commit to evidence-based communication and refrain from making or endorsing unsubstantiated allegations. We call upon the media, traditional and digital, to apply rigorous editorial standards to politically charged claims, demand evidence before amplification, and uphold their responsibility as gatekeepers of the public information environment.
We call upon civil society, religious leaders, traditional rulers, and community influencers across Kano State and Northern Nigeria to resist divisive narratives and serve as anchors of reason and social cohesion. We call upon citizens to engage critically with political information, ask who benefits from the narratives placed before them, and demand the same standard of evidence from political actors that they would demand from any other party.
The future of Nigerian democracy will be determined not only by the quality of its leaders, but by the quality of its public discourse. That discourse is under sustained attack. The Unifier Project is committed to defending it, and we invite every Nigerian of goodwill to stand with us.

Issued and authorised by:
NAJEEB NASIR IBRAHIM
National Director-General, The Unifier Project
Abuja, Nigeria | 28 February 2026