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Jagoran Kano First, Kindly Hear Me Out: A Concerned Citizen’s Counsel to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf as 2027 Approaches

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2 months ago

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By Sufyan Lawal Kabo | Political Commentator and Civic Analyst
sefjamil3@gmail.com

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The most valuable counsel a leader can receive is rarely the most comfortable. It does not arrive wrapped in flattery or delivered through the careful diplomacy of those whose proximity to power has made honesty a professional risk. It comes, instead, from those who have no personal stake in the leader’s approval, whose only investment is in the success of the larger cause, and who understand, from the clear-eyed distance of genuine civic concern, what the leader’s inner circle is too close, too cautious, or too compromised to say plainly. It is in that spirit, with deep and sincere respect for the leadership of Kano State and genuine appreciation for the efforts of His Excellency Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, the Jagoran Kano First, that these reflections are offered. Not as an open letter, but as a general meditation on the political moment Kano finds itself in, so that everyone with a stake in the state’s future, governors and governed, appointees and ordinary citizens alike, can benefit from an honest reckoning with where we are and where we are headed.
The political landscape of Kano State has shifted dramatically in recent months. Governor Yusuf’s alignment with the All Progressives Congress has reconfigured the state’s political geometry in ways that are still working themselves out, generating new alliances, reopening old wounds, and producing the kind of charged political atmosphere in which the temptations of reactive communication are at their most dangerous and the need for strategic wisdom is at its most acute. A significant number of politicians have moved with the governor, drawn by conviction, by calculation, or by the simple pragmatism that has always characterized Kano’s political culture. But the alignment has also generated intense opposition, particularly from within the Kwankwasiyya movement, whose supporters feel a sense of betrayal that is as emotionally powerful as it is politically consequential. As the 2027 elections approach, that opposition will not diminish. Every credible political analyst agrees that the coming contest between the Abba camp and the Kwankwasiyya will be among the most competitive and consequential Kano has seen in recent memory, quite possibly more intense than the earlier rivalry between the Kwankwasiyya and Gandujiyya camps.
The evidence of this intensifying contest is already visible in the digital public square. Social media comment sections beneath posts related to the governor’s activities have become battlegrounds of competing narratives, some constructive, many not. Critics deploy phrases like Falle Daya Ce, meaning one tenure only, with the rhythmic insistence of a political chant. The Kano First Agenda, championed with such intellectual seriousness by the Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Comrade Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya, widely and respectfully known as the Limamin Kano First, has been met with the sarcastic counter-phrase Kwano First, a deliberate attempt to trivialize a governing philosophy whose substance deserves engagement rather than mockery. These are the realities of a competitive democratic environment, and they demand a response. The question, and it is the most important political question facing the administration right now, is what kind of response.
The answer that too many supporters, aides, and communication officers around the governor have been providing is, to put it plainly, the wrong one. There is a pattern of engagement with critics and opposition voices that relies on emotional intensity where intellectual authority is required, on personal attacks where factual correction would be far more effective, and on the language of political combat where the language of governance achievement would be infinitely more persuasive. The public exchange between Dr Yusuf Kofar Mata, a former Commissioner for Higher Education and Science and Technology who departed after the political realignment, and Comrade Saidu Dakata of the Kano State Signage and Advertisement Agency, is instructive in this regard. Dakata’s approach, grounded in facts and delivered with composure, represents the model that every government communicator and supporter should study and emulate. Dr Kofar Mata’s departure and subsequent criticism represent a pattern of political transition that is entirely normal in democratic politics, and the appropriate response to it is not personal hostility but the patient, evidence-based demonstration that the administration’s record speaks for itself.
This brings me to a point that I consider the most urgent communication lesson facing the Yusuf administration as it navigates the approach to 2027. The individuals who occupy communication roles around government do not speak only for themselves. They speak, whether they appreciate this or not, for the government they represent and for the governor whose vision they are entrusted to project. When their language is undignified, when their responses are emotional rather than evidential, when they mistake noise for effectiveness and aggression for strength, they do not merely embarrass themselves. They inflict reputational damage on the administration that no subsequent clarification can fully repair. A government spokesperson, a ministry official, a strategic appointee, these are not party supporters free to conduct themselves as partisans in a street argument. They are, in every public utterance, the voice of governance itself, and the standard to which that voice must be held is the standard of statesmanship, not political thuggery.
There is a deeper strategic error in the adversarial approach to opposition that I want to name directly, because it is one that has cost many Nigerian administrations dearly in the critical period before a contested election. Fighting the opposition, particularly a well-organized and emotionally motivated opposition like the Kwankwasiyya, does not weaken it. It energizes it. Every confrontation becomes a recruitment tool. Every insult directed at a critic generates sympathy among the undecided. Every demonstration of governmental arrogance reminds citizens who are watching carefully that power, when it forgets its purpose, becomes indistinguishable from the very thing it replaced. The comment sections and social media threads that carry intense opposition to the governor are not primarily problems to be suppressed. They are political intelligence to be read, understood, and responded to with the kind of persuasive, patient, dignity-preserving engagement that converts skeptics into supporters rather than driving them deeper into the opposing camp.
History offers an instructive parallel that transcends cultural boundaries. When Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, defeated the rival warlords who had contested the collapse of the Qin dynasty, he faced a choice that every leader in a contested political environment eventually faces: humiliate the defeated or absorb them. He chose absorption. He extended dignity and opportunity to former rivals, integrated their networks and constituencies into his growing coalition, and in doing so built a political foundation that sustained one of the most consequential dynasties in Chinese history. The lesson, ancient as it is, has lost none of its relevance. Strong leaders do not multiply enemies. They convert rivals into partners, or at the very minimum, they manage the relationship with former allies and current critics in ways that leave open the possibility of future reconciliation. The Quranic wisdom is equally direct and equally applicable: good and evil are not equal, and evil repelled with what is better produces a transformation that no amount of force or confrontation can achieve.
There is also a matter of democratic principle that deserves honest acknowledgement. From the moment a person is sworn in as governor, he ceases to be merely the leader of a political movement or the champion of a particular constituency. He becomes the governor of an entire state, responsible to every citizen within its boundaries regardless of how they voted, what party they support, or what they said about him during the campaign. The Kano First philosophy itself, in its most intellectually serious articulation, embodies this understanding. It insists that the interests of Kano must always take precedence over the interests of any party, any faction, or any individual. That principle cannot be selectively applied. It cannot mean Kano First when it is politically convenient and NNPP or APC first when political loyalties are under pressure. Its credibility depends entirely on its consistency, and its consistency depends on the willingness of the governor and everyone around him to hold themselves to the standard it sets, even when, especially when, it is politically costly to do so.
I want to address, with particular directness, the tendency among some government-aligned voices to disparage citizens and political figures who do not hold appointments, as though proximity to power were a measure of worth, wisdom, or loyalty. This is a dangerous and ultimately self-defeating attitude. Many of the individuals who supported this political movement through its most difficult years, who spent their own resources, sacrificed professional opportunities, and in some cases faced genuine personal risk because of their commitment to a cause, occupy no position today. The reasons for that are varied and are not, in most cases, a reflection of their competence or their loyalty. When those who have recently arrived at the table of power look down upon those who helped set it, they reveal not strength but insecurity, not confidence but the brittle arrogance of those who have confused the accident of appointment with the substance of achievement.
Kano politics has always been won through coalitions, through the patient assembly of diverse constituencies, interest groups, and political networks into a broad enough tent to command a democratic majority. The governor’s own political journey is a testament to this truth. His rise was built on the foundations of a movement that was itself a coalition, and the loyalty and hope of the people who believed in that movement were the currency with which his political capital was purchased. As 2027 approaches, the question is not whether opposition will intensify. It will. The question is whether the administration will respond to that intensification with the wisdom, dignity, and strategic intelligence that the moment demands, expanding its coalition where it can, managing its critics with composure, and allowing the genuine achievements of the Kano First Agenda to make the most powerful argument that any government can make: the argument of visible, verifiable, citizen-felt results.
Our elders captured this wisdom with characteristic economy: Mai hikima gada yake ginawa ba bango ba. A wise person builds bridges, not walls. The administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has the vision, the intellectual resources, the policy framework, and the genuine achievements necessary to make a compelling case to the people of Kano. What it must also cultivate, with urgency and deliberate discipline, is the political maturity to pursue that case through persuasion rather than confrontation, through the steady demonstration of competence and integrity rather than the noisy prosecution of political rivalries. History remembers those who unified more fondly than those who divided. Kano deserves a government determined to be remembered well.

Sufyan Lawal Kabo is a political commentator and civic analyst based in Kano State.
Contact: sefjamil3@gmail.com

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Opinion

Kano North Must Not Get lt Wrong : Why Returning Senator Barau Jibrin CFR is a Strategic Imperative

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1 hour ago

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May 1, 2026

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By Muazu A. Ishaq

In moments of electoral decision, societies are often confronted with a choice that goes beyond sentiments and party affiliation to the deeper question of consolidation and continuity versus disruption, a moment when the electorate must pause, look beyond the noise of detractors and ask a fundamental question; can we afford to make this costly mistake? For the good people of Kano North Senatorial District that moment is now, the coming 2027 electoral cycle presents such a moment one that demands careful reflection, not sentiment. The stakes are not about party loyalty or sentimental rhetoric, it is about avoiding a mistake whose consequences could reverberate for years.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Barau I. Jibrin PhD CFR, has, over time, built a record that is both visible and measurable. His re-election, therefore, is not merely about sustaining a political career; it is about preserving a strategic advantage that Kano North currently enjoys within Nigeria’s national power structure.

As the number five citizen in the country, his position offers the zone direct access to influence, opportunities, and federal preseence, assets that are neither automatic nor easily replaced.

One of the most remarkable aspects of Senator Barau’s stewardship is his deliberate investment in human capital development.
While some politicians are busy sponsoring mudslinging campaigns to tarnish his growing national image, Senator Barau has been busy building a future for Kano youth.

Recently, the first batch of his foreign-trained scholars returned home; 16 graduates in Cyber Security and Forensic Science and 10 graduates in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. These are not ordinary certificates. These are the tools of the 21st-century economy, and they are now in the hands of sons and daughters of Kano North.

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Subsequent batches are on the way. This is a pipeline of excellence. Lose Barau, and you lose the architect of this intellectual revolution.

If anyone doubts the scale of Senator Barau’s grassroots reach, let them examine the events of April 19, 2026. In a continuation of his legendary mega empowerment programmes, the Deputy President of the Senate distributed 47 brand new cars and 282 motorcycles to critical stakeholders and grassroots mobilizers across the 13 LGAs in Kano North including party chairmen, party secretaries, primary school headmasters, and secondary school principals among others. This was a strategic injection of mobility and dignity into the very fabric of the zone’s leadership.

Just five days later, on April 24, 2026, Senator Barau proved that his empowerment is not a one-off event but a continuous process. He announced the continuation of yet another significant programme that was launched previous month; a cash donation of ₦100,000 each to 100 beneficiaries in every single one of the 13 LGAs of Kano North.

Taken together, these initiatives reflect a leadership approach that is both strategic and people-centered. They are not isolated gestures but components of a broader vision aimed at uplifting communities, strengthening institutions, and preparing the next generation for global competitiveness.
It is, therefore, not surprising that such a rising profile at the national level may attract political opposition and attempts at distraction.

However, elections should ultimately be guided by evidence, performance, and the long-term interests of the people not by transient narratives.
Kano North today occupies a position of relevance in Nigeria’s political and developmental landscape. This is not accidental; it is the product of deliberate engagement, years of strategic alliances, and consistent delivery. To risk losing this standing would be to step back from a trajectory of progress that is already yielding results.

The decision before the electorate is therefore clear. It is a choice between consolidating and sustaining democratic gains or starting afresh; between sustained access to national influence or uncertain repositioning. In making that choice, the people must ask themselves a simple question: which path best secures their future?

Avoiding a regrettable mistake requires clarity of purpose and fidelity to facts. The record speaks for itself. Continuity, in this instance, is not just desirable, it is essential.

As Kano North looks ahead, the imperative is to protect its voice, preserve its advantage, and ensure that the momentum of development is not interrupted. Re-electing Senator Barau Jibrin is, therefore, not just a political decision it is a strategic investment in the future of the constituency.

Muazu A. Ishaq
+2348038981655
muazuabdullahi29@gmail.com

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Opinion

DSP Barau and “Abandoned Projects” : An Appraisal

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2 days ago

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April 29, 2026

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By Abba Anwar

Only those who know and understand the sluggish nature of budget implementation under different administrations, can understand whether projects are deliberately abandoned by their initiators and facilitators. Or whether the onus is on the pattern of implementation and implementors.

If Kaduna Eastern Bypass, initiated 2002, Abuja-Lokoja highway started in 2006, Kano-Maiduguri of 2007, Sokoto – Tambuwal- Jega-Kontagora, flagged – off in 2009, Abuja-Minna of 2010, among other abandoned federal projects, are not marked as noise making hubs, why then is Kano-Gwarzo-Dayi, that was flagged – off in June, 2021, can deliberately be tagged as point of condemnation by noise makers?

Kano-Gwarzo-Dayi federal road, as facilitated by the Deputy President of the Senate, His Excellency Barau I Jibrin, CFR, since 2021, though abandoned at a point, up to January, 2026, the work has resumed since February, 2026, this year.

Senator Jibrin worked hard and made sure that, the sum of Thirty Seven Billion Naira (N37,000,000,000) only was appropriated in 2026 Appropriation Bill, which has now become Act. After that he also pushed, very well for the additional Six Billion and Three Hundred Million Naira (N6, 300,000,000) only.

Unlike DSP’s facilitated federal road project of Kano-Gwarzo-Dayi, which was flagged – off in 2021, as contractors are back to site, since February, this year, there are many abandoned federal road projects, scattered around the country, whose resumption of work, with so many of the projects, is still elusive.

Such as Makurdi-Naka-Adoka-Ankpa federal road flagged – of in 2012, Calabar-Itu-Ikot Ekpene, of 2010, Benin-Sapele-Warri road, which was flagged – off in 2009, Enugu – Onitsha road, of 2013, Kano-Katsina dualization project, that was started in 2013, as contractor left in 2022, among many other abandoned federal roads.

Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano federal road is another case of study, in this context. The project has been in limbo for many years, with touch-and-go strategy.

So to me, castigating or rather blaming DSP for this singular Kano-Gwarzo-Dayi road is either premature or not necessary at all. In his own case, the work has resumed. And look at what he pushed to be reflected in 2026 national budget. Which has already become, 2026 Appropriation Act.

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Another constituency project for DSP Jibrin, is E-learning Centres across 5 local governments from his Kano North Senatorial District, in collaboration with National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), was facilitated by the Senator in 2015.

The Centres are across 5 local governments, Tofa, Gwarzo, Kabo, Bichi and Dambatta.

Some people erroneously blame the Senator, advancing that, the E-learning Centres were abandoned by him, since 2015, which, according to them, shows his “negligence” over his constituency. As a matter of fact, the truth of the matter is this, all the 5 E-learning Centres were converted to become Study Centres for National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). Amongst other locations from the remaining local governments that constitute Kano North Senatorial District.

Another great project that some are blaming His Excellency DSP is Barau Initiative for Agricultural Revolution in the North West (BIARN). Many things were said about it by opponents. But the truth of the matter is this, that the project is yet to take-off fully due to the issue of cash flow from the end of the partner agency. Which is Bank of Agriculture (BOA).

Coincidentally I came across a press statement issued by the
Special Adviser to the Deputy President of the Senate on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir, narrating that, the Chairman of the Initiative, Prof. Bashir Fagge Muhammad, disclosed that, “Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the BOA management, applicants were invited to participate in the initiative. However, implementation was stalled due to challenges relating to cash flow.”

As the programme was unveiled March, 2025, it aims to revolutionise agriculture and encourage young Nigerian graduates to venture into farming.

Part of the statement reads, “Specifically, the programme was designed to empower 558 young farmers with loans ranging from N1 million to N5 million for rice and maize cultivation across the seven North West states in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on food security and youth empowerment.”

Adding that, “Applicants are therefore urged to remain patient, as the Board of the Initiative, under the chairmanship of Professor Bashir Fagge Muhammad, is working closely with the BOA management to resolve the issue.”

So we can now understand that the programme is not, and can never be, abandoned, as some started speculating while peddling rumors around.

It is not the intention of this piece to start cataloging DSP’s long standing achievements as the Senator representing Kano North, in many areas of human endeavor.

From his Scholarship scheme where hundreds of students were sponsored for their undergraduate studies, across Nigerian universities and dozens, who were sponsored for Postgraduate studies abroad, as some completed their studies and started coming back. As thousands students from his constituency are given scholarship for their upkeep. Not to talk of his intervention in all other areas of education.

I’m not cataloging his intervention in the security sector. As he is the single individual from across North West whose intervention in the sector supersedes that of many. A Senator like no other.

His effort in sports development is unmatched. Apart from aiding football clubs and players, his completion of stadium in each of the 13 local governments under his constituency, is something to write home about.

All his interventions in such areas will come our way shortly.

Anwar writes from Kano
Wednesday, 29th April, 2026

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Opinion

The Ink Dried Up: An Open Letter to Matthew Hassan Kukah-Prince Daniel Aboki

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3 days ago

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April 28, 2026

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Dear Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah

I write you with the utmost sense of respect.

Permit me to begin by congratulating you. Not in the usual way, but in a manner that reflects a keen observation of recent developments in our country. Since the emergence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President, and coincidentally since your assumption of office as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Federal University of Applied Sciences Kachia, there appears to have been a remarkable shift in the narrative of insecurity across Nigeria.

From Zamfara State to Sokoto State, Katsina State, Benue State, Plateau State, Kwara State, and indeed across several troubled parts of our nation, one might be tempted to conclude that the k!llings have suddenly come to an end. The silence is striking. The headlines have softened. The urgency has waned.

It is this very contrast that compels this letter.

You will recall, Bishop, your powerful and courageous interventions during the administration of Muhammadu Buhari. Your voice rang loud through a series of open letters that captured national attention and stirred both conscience and controversy.

On Christmas Day, December 25, 2018, you wrote with piercing clarity about a nation drifting, warning of a “nation at w@r with itself.”

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Again, on December 25, 2019, your message, “A Nation in Search of Vindication,” questioned the moral and political direction of leadership, calling attention to bloodshed and division.

On December 25, 2020, in “A Nation in Search of Peace,” you spoke even more bluntly, addressing the worsening insecurity and the growing despair among Nigerians.

And on December 25, 2022, your letter once again raised concerns about governance, justice, and the value of human life in Nigeria.

These interventions were not just letters. They were moral signposts. They reminded leadership of its duty and the nation of its conscience.

It is against this backdrop that your current silence, or perhaps restraint, becomes more noticeable.

Has the situation improved so dramatically that the urgency of those words is no longer required?

Have the forests suddenly emptied?
Have the highways become safe?
Have the cries of victims ceased?

Or is it that the burden of national admonition must shift depending on who occupies the seat of power?

Lord Bishop, sir, your voice has always carried weight not because it was loud, but because it was consistent. Not because it was critical, but because it was principled.

Nigeria still needs that voice.

Not selectively. Not occasionally. But steadfastly.

If indeed peace has returned to the troubled lands of Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Benue, Plateau, Kwara, and beyond, then you deserve commendation for witnessing such a transformation. But if, as many still believe, the reality on the ground has not changed as dramatically as the silence suggests, then your voice is needed now as much as it was then. Unless there is something we are not seeing that you would want us to see, could it be a case of “Tinubu I love, Buhari I hate”? Or should we begin to wonder whether conviction has given way to convenience?

Bishop, sir, would you recommend that we keep silent when we benefit and speak up only when we do not?

Over time, we have seen that history is kinder to those who remain constant in truth than to those who are convenient in silence.

I write not in condemnation, but in expectation.

Prince Daniel a Concerned Citizen and Head of cool Wazobia And Arewa Radio on Kano

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