Headlines
Opinion: New Kano emirates and 2023 gubernatorial election

Abba Ibrahim Gwale
To the new emirates and their beneficiaries, the creation of the new emirs in Kano by the state governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, is a good development especially for people who used to find it difficult to reach the main Kano Emirate.
There are both positive and negative sides to the creation of the new emirates in Bichi, Gaya, Rano and Karaye local government areas of the state.
But the way and manner these emirates were created has raised suspicions that our politicians may use the opportunity to create more divisions in the state within the political arena.
There were worries when the creation of new emirates in Kano was first announced, but after some months many people that are now direct beneficiaries of it are celebrating and predicting the outcome of the gubernatorial election in the state considering the number of votes from each local government or senatorial zone.

Kano currently has at least 5,457,747 estimated votes according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
But before 2023 general election the commission will conduct further registration for new voters and existing ones who might have lost their voter cards. That means there would be more voters than we have now.
Kano Municipal, Tarauni, Dala, Nassarawa, Fagge, Gwale, Ungoggo, Kumbotso, Dawakin Kudu and Minjibir local governments are all situated within the domain of the main Kano Emirate under Emir Muhammad Sanusi II. These local governments have more votes than Bichi, Gaya, Rano and Karaye emirates combined.
It could be safely speculated that the local governments in the domain of the main Kano Emirate could be deciding factors in 2023 elections due to their numerical strength, political awareness and sophisticated voter education.
It’s too early to start thinking about who will be the next governor of Kano from the main political parties but there seems to be an urgent need to make calculations on how to fill the void created by the inconsequential new emirates.
The notion of “We vs Them” is already in the people’s mind and any party that presented a candidate from the urban area will get a lot of votes from the people in the city while those from the suburbs will also rain their votes to the person that comes from their own domains.
The “Sarkin Birni and Sarakunan Kauye” names-calling will play a notorious role in many people’s mind while the ongoing political crisis that is brewing between Mr Ganduje and Emir Sanusi may intensify.
There are speculations that people who live in the urban areas, will not vote any candidates that come from rural areas as governor while those that live in the city may also support only candidates from the metropolis.
I am optimistic, but the potential pitfalls of these new emirates are alarming. Elders and opinion leaders have a role to play in shaping people’s minds before and during elections’ processes to inform people on the importance of unity and voting for the right candidate. .
But, still, we see the creation of the new emirates as a huge liability as the state government is spending millions of naira for building palaces, buying new cars for the emirs.
Also many people that are working closely with the emirs are now on government pay roles while the government will also provide money for events especially during sallah celebrations.
Many people have criticized the government for deploying huge resources on the new emirates rather than using it for the well being of the masses.
This is especially true considering that there are several communities across the state that lack school buildings, furniture and learning materials as well as decent hospitals, medical equipment or drugs.
Kano state is still lagging behind in agricultural sector despite the fact that the government claims to invest more on agriculture, health and education.
The government is still insisting that the emirates are here to stay despite the court saga, but the fear is the next governor of the state might not be more concerned about the emirates and may continue to recognize the number one emirates even if he is from the same party with the incumbent unless he has the same grudges with the incumbent which is unlikely.
As a result of these new emirates many local governments could not benefit from infrastructural development, loans for farming, proper consideration and benefit for employment and many policies from government that can directly affect the people.
Curiously, people are asking why Governor Ganduje appears to give more priority to Bichi emirate led by Aminu Ado Bayero despite the fact that among the newly created emirates only Bichi did not have a history of being an emirate.
Is it because Aminu Ado Bayero, the son of the late Alhaji Ado Bayero is the emir of Bichi? Or is it true that the governor wants to dethrone Muhammad Sanusi II so that Aminu can replace him as the Emir of Kano?
Regardless of what will happen in 2023 general elections, the new emirates and in fact the whole emirates saga will play a major role in the state’s politics during campaigns and on elections day, especially the gubernatorial poll.
Gwale can be reached at Abbalggwale18@gmail.com

Headlines
Kano Governor-elect pledges to reintroduce Kwankwasiyya free education, healthcare schemes

Aminu Abdullahi
The Kano State Governor-elect, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, has reaffirmed his government’s readiness to fix quickly the problems with the provision of potable water, basic education and good healthcare which are fundamental duties of a responsive government.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Spokesperson to the Governor-elect, Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa revealed this in a statement issued on Friday.
Dawakintofa said, “despite huge tax payers’ money the outgoing administration claimed to have committed to the provision of basic water, Kano households strive in the twenty-first century to access safe drinking water in the State endowed with functional dams and resources to provide basic amenities.”
In his acceptance speech, the Governor-elect reassured Kano people that beyond fixing basic water supply, the incoming government will uphold the Kwankwasiyya philosophy with a wider scope of free education at primary and secondary levels involving provision of school uniform, learning materials, meals, conducive environment, paying SSCE fees for the students, training and motivation for the teachers to impart good quality education.

The incoming administration, which he said will be an off-shot of Kwankwaso administration, will be committed to free maternal and child healthcare programmes just as plans are underway for the upgrading of local health facilities across the 44 Local Government Areas of Kano State.
To bridge the human capital gap in the various public institutions, Engr. Abba administration will rebirth Kwankwasiyya scholarship scheme for tertiary education and terminal degrees in special areas such as medicine, science and engineering in foreign countries.
It is a resolution that the incoming government will complete abandoned projects and continue with laudable populist policies of Kwankwasiyya administrations just as youth empowerment and enabling environment for MSMES and entrepreneurship to flourish will be provided as enshrined in the Campaign Blueprint.

Headlines
TMG, CISLAC, CSOs dismiss report calling for review of Kano Governorship Election

Aminu Abdullahi
The Transition Monitoring Group, TMG, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center, CISLAC and the Kano Civil Society Elections Situation Room have distanced themselves from call seeking for the review of the Kano Gubernatorial Election.

KANO FOCUS reports that Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, Chairman TMG on Saturday told journalists at a news conference in Kano the group which identified itself as Accredited INEC Elections Observers are “fake, faceless and politically sponsored”.
Rafsanjani who was flanked by the Convener, Kano Civil Society Elections Situation Room, Ambassador Ibrahim Waiya lamented that the spread of the fictitious and malicious group at a time when Nigeria is having it’s political space heated up is not only worrisome, but also has the potential to further over heat the polity.
Mr. Rafsanjani, warned that “as genuine Transition Monitoring Group and Civil Society Groups are left without options but to take necessary legal actions against these faceless Group using their names to championed a Criminal minded, Politically Motivated and sponsored missions.”
Rafsanjani, warned that, “as Champions of Democracy, we will not allow smear-campaigners and people with politically motivated reasons drag credible Civil Society Organizations in Kano State and indeed in Nigeria at large into political wars with political parties”.
The CISLAC boss said “TMG, CISLAC and the Kano Civil Society Forum have done incredible Work towards electoral reforms in Nigeria, since 1998, TMG has Championed the Democratic path in Nigeria as the foremost elections Observation group with the widest membership across the Nation”.
He noted, “we will never interfere with the conduct of elections or seek to interfere with the Judicial processes leading up to a Redress of grievances resulting from the elections”.
For that the TMG called on public to disregard in totality the reports making round and using the names of credible organizations and called for the review of Governorship Elections in Kano.

Ambassador Ibrahim Waiya
Also in his speech, the Convener, Kano Civil Society Elections Situation Room, Ambassador Ibrahim Waiya, urged the Media to filter credible Civil Society Groups from faceless, politically motivated sponsored groups who hide under the names of credible organizations to concoct fake stories that suits their narratives.

Headlines
Nigeria recorded 3.9m cyberattacks before, during, after governorship elections

Mukhtar Yahaya Usman
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim aww Pantami has drawn the attention of the digital economy stakeholders and the general public to the ministry’s activities before, during, and after the 2023 gubernatorial and states’ houses of assembly elections.
KANO FOCUS reports that Pantami said the committee, which he inaugurated to monitor Nigeria’s cyberspace, recorded a total of 3,834,244 attacks, originating from both within and outside Nigeria, before, during and after the gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly elections across the country.
According to a statement released yesterday by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and signed by the Senior Technical Assistant (Research and Development) to the Minister, Dr. Femi Adelusi, the daily breakdown of the attacks showed that on Friday 17th March, 2023, there were 1,046,896 cyberattacks; On Saturday 18th March, 2023, there were 1,481,847 Cyberattacks; On Sunday 19th March, 2023, there were 327,718 Cyberattacks and on Monday 20th March, 2023, there were 977,783 Cyberattacks.
The statement further stated that activities on the Nigerian cyberspace during the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections, we’re much lower than those during the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

“This is neither surprising nor unexpected as, Nigeria being Africa’s largest democracy, the Presidential and National Assembly elections are bound to attract much attention of everyone, including cyberthreat actors than during the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections.
“The Minister is confident that the implementation of some recommendations as well as measures taken to fortify our cyber defence mechanisms might have helped in this,” the statement further said.
Pantami reiterated that the attainments would not have been possible without the continued support of President Muhammadu Buhari, in particular, and the administration in general, towards ensuring Nigeria’s successful transition into the digital economy.
“The digital economy sector has enjoyed Mr President’s unprecedented support and it is highly appreciated,” Pantami said.
Based on the Minister’s directives, the committee provided close oversight on the activities of the cybersecurity Centres, from Friday 17th March, 2023 to Monday 20th March, 2023.
During this period and as previously reported, a series of hacking attempts were recorded, including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), email and Internet Protocol Spoofing (IPS) attacks, SSH Login Attempts, Brute force Injection attempts, Path Traversal, Detection Evasion, and Forceful Browsing, the statement further explained.
