How Kwankwasiyya movement abandoned me during my trial – Farouk Lawan

Former House of Representatives member, Farouk Lawan, has said that his recent presidential pardon has offered him a renewed opportunity to rebuild his political career.

Lawan, who represented the Bagwai/Shanono Federal Constituency of Kano State, was among the 175 individuals pardoned by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on October 9. Speaking after the pardon, the former lawmaker expressed gratitude to the president and reflected on the challenges he faced during his years of trial and imprisonment.

The former lawmaker was convicted in 2021 on three counts of corruption after being accused of accepting a bribe in 2012 to remove a company’s name from a list of firms indicted in the fuel subsidy scandal. He completed his sentence and regained freedom in October 2024.

Speaking in an interview with the BBC, Lawan said his imprisonment was a period of reflection that exposed the depth of loyalty within his political circle.

“Whenever God puts you through a trial, He also opens your eyes to see who your true companions are,” he said, lamenting that a prominent figure in the Kwankwasiyya movement never reached out to him during or after his ordeal.

“It’s been a year now. He never called to wish me well or say, ‘May Allah bless you for regaining your freedom,’” Lawan added.

He explained that although he remained a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while in prison, he instructed his supporters to join the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) during the 2023 elections out of respect for the Kwankwasiyya movement.

However, he noted that his outlook on politics has since evolved, describing the NNPP as too restrictive for his current aspirations.

“Politics should be expansive. The NNPP, as it is now, feels too narrow for me,” he said, stressing that he now intends to align himself with “mainstream national politics.”