Abba Anwar, Ganduje and the politics of convenience, By Ibrahim Zakari

I have followed with keen interest a story which appeared on an online platform credited to Abba Anwar, former Chief Press Secretary to Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the immediate past national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in which he launched a wave of criticisms against the former governor of Kano state.

To say I was taken aback would be an understatement. This is the same Abba Anwar who, during his years in service, spared no ink in celebrating Ganduje’s policies and achievements. Today, however, he has turned the pen in the opposite direction, not in the spirit of honest critique, but in the shadow of shifting loyalties and old grudges.

Let me say upfront that no leader is beyond criticism. Ganduje, like every public servant, has his strengths and weaknesses. But what troubles me is not the fact that Anwar is criticising him, but the glaring inconsistency in his position.

When he was in Government House, Ganduje was to him the visionary, the performer, the reformer. Now that circumstances have changed, suddenly Ganduje is painted in dark colours. Should the people of Kano and the APC family take such criticism seriously, when it so clearly contradicts the very record, the same Anwar once defended?

If this sudden turnaround is simply the product of Anwar’s personal grievances, then perhaps we can dismiss it as the bitterness of one man seeking to remain relevant.

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But if, as many suspect, his attacks are being carried out with the knowledge or encouragement of Senator Barau Jibrin, the Deputy Senate President, then it becomes a more serious matter.

Senator Jibrin is a man of high political standing whose reputation should not be dragged into the petty resentments of his former press aide. He must, in the interest of decency and party unity, call Abba Anwar to order.

The APC in Kano does not have the luxury of internal rancour. With 2027 drawing closer, the party cannot afford to waste energy on unnecessary infighting or the rewriting of history for the sake of personal vendetta.

Both Jibrin and Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, who are eying the gubernatorial seat, have their loyal supporters. The rivalry between these camps is well known. But introducing Ganduje into the line of fire by using a former aide as the attack dog will only deepen divisions and weaken the APC’s prospects in the next election cycle.

For the record, Ganduje remains one of the most impactful governors in the history of Kano state. His achievements in education, infrastructure, health, agriculture, and governance are visible across the state.

These achievements cannot be erased by a few bitter articles. Flyovers and roads that ease congestion in Kano city, hospitals that continue to serve the people, projects in agriculture, women and youth empowerment, are not stories, they are realities. They stand as monuments to his years of service. No article, however bitter, can erase them.

One sector that deserves special mention is education, where Ganduje demonstrated an uncommon commitment that even his critics must acknowledge.

Under his leadership, Kano launch free and compulsory basic and secondary education, ensuring access to millions of children. He oversaw the construction and rehabilitation of hundreds of classroom blocks and established new schools, including Mega Secondary Schools in the five Emirates, as well as a Gifted and Talented School in Dawakin Tofa Local Government. Teachers’ welfare was also enhanced, with regular promotions and even a dedicated housing scheme for teachers.

On tertiary education, Ganduje upgraded the State premier college of education to a University of Education, and the College of Arts and Remedial Studies to an NCE-awarding institution.

He secured accreditation of several courses for the state-owned universities and other higher institutions, backed by major infrastructure projects such as lecture halls and laboratories.

He also paid back the backlog of foreign scholarship debts left by his predecessor, strengthening the system, paying both local and foreign scholarships for indigent students. Above all, Ganduje consistently gave education the highest allocation in the state’s annual budget, underscoring his conviction that education is the bedrock of development.

Even Senator Barau Jibrin, whose work in expanding educational opportunities in Kano North is highly commendable, would agree that education is a lasting legacy. And that is why it is disappointing to see Abba Anwar, who once praised these very policies, now seeking to dismiss them as if they never existed.

Politics in Kano has always been competitive, and rivalry is part of democracy. But rivalry should be principled, not destructive. Ganduje and Barau may have their differences, but both men remain pillars of the APC in Kano. Bringing down one to elevate the other serves no one, not the party, not the people.

At a time when the APC must consolidate its strength, reconcile factions, and present a united front ahead of 2027, such acts of character assassination are nothing but distractions.

The danger of allowing Abba Anwar’s writings to stand unchallenged is that they may embolden others who think loyalty can be traded cheaply for personal gain. Aides and associates must learn that loyalty is not just about serving when in office; it is about maintaining integrity when circumstances change.

To praise a man when you are under his payroll, and then vilify him the moment you are out of office, is the very definition of political opportunism.

I therefore call on Senator Barau Jibrin to rise above this pettiness. He is too experienced, too respected, to let his name be tainted by the actions of a former press secretary.

If Abba Anwar is doing this on his own, let Barau disown it. If he is doing it with Barau’s knowledge, then let him be cautioned. Either way, silence will only be interpreted as consent, and that would be unfair not just to Ganduje, but to the APC family as a whole.

As a concerned observer of Kano politics, I must emphasize that this is not about silencing dissent. Ganduje’s record, like that of every leader, is open to critique. But critique must be honest, consistent, and grounded in fact not in the bitterness of personal grudges or the opportunism of shifting loyalties.

Ganduje’s contributions to Kano remain, just as Barau’s contributions to Kano North remain. Each of these men has a role to play in strengthening the APC, and it is in combining their strengths, not exploiting their differences, that the party will thrive.

And as someone who has watched this drama unfold, my candid view is that Abba Anwar may choose to rewrite his own history, but he cannot rewrite the history of Kano under Ganduje.

And Senator Barau, if he truly has the interest of Kano and the APC at heart, must distance himself from any effort to malign a fellow leader. Our politics should be about building bridges, not burning them. As 2027 approaches, unity is not just desirable, it is indispensable.