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My relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari – Salihu Tanko Yakasai

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Yakasai and Buhari

In light of recent events that transpired over my recent comments about the government of President Buhari, I think it is absolutely necessary to shed more light on my decades of relationship with the President, and how I am not doing anybody’s bidding with my remarks but simply reacting to issues that are happening in my country.

What is more, my comments were not aimed at casting aspersion against the person or government of Mr. President.

Far from that!

I joined partisan politics in December 2000 at the age of 24, when I officially became a member of the defunct APP at my ward, Kawaji in Nasarawa Local Government Area of Kano State.

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At that time, Kano State was PDP-controlled under the then governor, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso.

So, I entered politics as an opposition member in my state. As at that time, I was contesting for the position of a councilor at my ward, which ended with my losing the primary election in 2004.

Pioneer Buharist

In 2002, I was in All Progressives Party (APP) when President Buhari picked the membership card of the party and officially joined politics to run for the presidency in the 2003 elections. At that time, I and millions of people particularly from the north welcomed this decision by the President with enthusiasm and zeal and we supported him 100%.

We were basically the 1st set of the so-called ‘cult-like followership ‘ of the President, simply because we believed in him to deliver and lead this country to prosperity.

He came into politics as someone people trusted and whom they see as an upright person that they can vouch for, earning him the nickname ‘Mai Gaskiya’.

We campaigned for him through thick and thin, street to street, the young and the old, and when it was election time, I was assigned by my party leaders at my ward to be the returning officer of our party, APP, for the presidential election which Buhari was contesting for.

We fought PDP hard at my ward to ensure that we delivered the ward to him in the election.

I did not sleep for almost 48 hours then, because I had to accompany the results to the local government collation centre to ensure that the results were not altered.

President Buhari did not win the 2003 general elections, but our party, the defunct APP won the governorship election in Kano State, which ushered in Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau as the new governor of the state.

But soon after that, there was friction between his camp and that of President Buhari, which later on after the 2007 elections led to the creation of a new political party formed by Buhari, that is Congress for Progressive Change, (CPC).

First meeting with Buhari

I, and my political leader at that time, Hon. Balarabe Wakili, a former member representing Nasarawa Local Government in the House of Reps (2003 to 2007) decided to pitch our camp with the President and not with Mallam Shekarau, and it was through Hon. Wakili that I first visited the President on a solidarity visit back in the early stages.

It is still in CPC that I contested for the State Assembly, which we suffered a lot because of the factionalization of the party that led to a lot of bickerings.

Ultimately, I neither got the ticket nor did our party win the election.

May I use this medium to thank the current Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Hajia Sadiya for the role she played in my election back then when she was the National Treasurer of CPC.

My surrogate father-in-law

The President, also served as my wife’s guardian during our wedding in 2006 on behalf of her late uncle, AVM Mukhtar Mohammed who was a very close associate of the President.

May I use this opportunity to tell my wife’s guardian that 14 years after he gave her hand in marriage to me, we are still living peacefully and blessed with 3 children.

We thank him for his fatherly role during the nuptial rites.

Back to politics, at the presidential level, I served as a member of the Welfare Committee of the Presidential Election of Muhammadu Buhari, with the current Minister of Water Resources, Hon. Sulaiman Adamu Kazaure as the chairman of the committee, during the 2011 presidential election.

After the formation of APC, I also served as a member of the Youth Committee during the 2015 elections, crisscrossing this country to campaign for the President which we eventually won and Buhari was ushered into government with popular national support.

Now having given the background of the long-term relationship between me and the President spanning 18 years to be precise, I have never known a political leader throughout my political career other than Buhari, even though I can count the number of times I’ve met him.

NEPU blood

I did not only wish for his success but I equally worked hard with everything that I’ve got for almost two decades to see his dream become a reality, and I will continue to stand by him.

When I see things that are going not the way they are supposed to, I naturally have that urge to try and express my concern about them, because I want things to work right.

I can understand, if by virtue of my position as an aide to a governor in the same party as the President’s that I have limitations and somehow the spotlight is always on me.

But occasionally, despite suppressing my opinions,

I find the NEPU blood in me triggering me to react.

This is in no way, meant to undermine the President or my dear party, APC.

Apologies to Ganduje

To my boss, His Excellency, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, OFR, I want to use this opportunity to apologise for putting Your Excellency in an uncomfortable position due to my personal opinions.

It is indeed something that I never intended to happen, and I am not happy about it a bit. I do not have a boss-and-aide relationship with Your Excellency; I rather have a father-and-son relationship with Your Excellency.

Indeed, I appreciate the support Your Excellency has been according me in the last five years, and I will continue to remain loyal to you and serve my state and my country through your government and in whatever other capacity.

At the end of the day, our prayer is for Nigeria to be great.

In the words of Barack Obama “Do we participate  in a politics of cynicism, or in a politics of hope?”

I am an optimist, and it’s our ardent HOPE that we will have the Nigeria of our dreams in which development and prosperity will be the norm rather than the exception; a country we can build a secured future for our children and generations yet unborn.

May we continue to do our best in ensuring this is the Nigeria that our forefathers sacrificed their lives for to lay a solid foundation.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Salihu Tanko Yakasai, Governor Ganduje’s suspended media aide writes from Kano.

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Anti-corruptions Day: PCACC launches mobile app to fight corruption

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Mukhtar Yahya Usman

Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-corruption Commission, PCACC, has launched a mobile application, developed for receiving information from whistle-blowers.

KANO FOCUS reports that the application, ‘Shawarata’ was launched at the commemoration ceremony of International Anti-corruption Day, held at Coronation Hall, Kano state government house on Saturday.

Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Commission, Muhuyi Magaji Rimin-Gado, said the application was part of the agency’s resolve to employ technology to check the excesses of corrupt practices in the state.

Rimin-Gado said the event was a strategy to enlighten the public on the dangers of corruption, which according to him, has negatively affected all strata of development in the country.

“Part of our resolve to strengthen the fight against corruption and check the excesses of corrupt practices in the state is the introduction of technology by our agency.

“This is why we have developed a mobile app for receiving opinions, views, and suggestions from members of the public.

“This event is key to the fight against corruption as it enlightens the public about the dangers of corruption. Corruption has affected all strata of development,” he said.

In his presentation, Sadiq Yaya, PCACC’s Head of ICT, said the app is a platform where information could be received from members of the public.

According to him, the platform contains features to upload videos and pictures by a user, adding that it is user-friendly and fast.

He explained that the platform had also provided a feature to keep information providers anonymous by providing options for the anonymity of the user.

Yaya disclosed that the app has recorded 20 downloads so far, urging the general public to download it to provide suggestions, opinions, and other information to the commission.

In his remarks, the state governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf said his administration had zero tolerance for corruption, which is why it had soft far recorded some giant strides.

According to Yusuf, represented by his deputy, Comrade Aminu Abdulsalam, the state government has recorded achievements so far as a result of blocking leakages since the inception of the administration.

He explained that the administration has resumed payment of salaries to civil servants without illegal deductions as it was done by the immediate past government.

He added that public properties illegally acquired by individuals in the immediate past government have been recovered and put to public use, citing Hasiya Bayero Paediatric Hospital.

He said the government had also prioritized the creation of Anti-Corruption units in government agencies.

Governor Yusuf described the Kano anti-graft agency as “one of the best, if not the best in the country”.

 

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How we saved billions of public funds by blocking leakages – Gov Yusuf

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Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim

The Kano State Government has said that it has blocked leakages and fraudulent siphons of the public treasury, saying in just a few months in office, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has saved billions of Naira.

KANO FOCUS reports that the Government alluded that hundreds of leakages had led to the misuse of public funds by those in authority, while institutions, government offices, and the general well-being of the public suffered neglect.

Delivering an address at the commemoration of the 2023 International Anti-Corruption Day, Saturday, hosted by the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC), the State Governor Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, represented by his Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo says the government has zero tolerance for corruption.

The Deputy Governor, who represented Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf at the event, explained that some of the giant strides taken by the state government towards ensuring a better life for the people of the state are evidence of the fact that it does not tolerate corruption.

He explained that the regime has resumed payment of salaries to civil servants without unnecessary deductions introduced by the immediate past regime.

He added that public properties illegally acquired by individuals in the immediate past regime have been recovered and put to public use, giving an example of the Hasiya Bayero Paediatric Hospital.

He said the government has also prioritized the creation of Anti-Corruption units in government agencies while ensuring it pays pensions and gratuities of retirees neglected by the immediate past regime worth N6 billion.

In his opening address, the chairman of the Kano anti-graft agency, Muhyi Magaji Rimingado described the agency as the most vibrant subnational anti-graft agency in the country.

Muhyi Rimin Gado hints that as of today the State Anti Graft office has become a source of inspiration with many other State Governors seeking technical advice on how to create and sustain their own.

He explained that the day is commemorated with the view of mobilizing the public towards fighting corruption.

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Kano guber tussle: Tinubu, APC using judiciary to destabilise the northern commercial center, Arewa coalition

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Aminu Abdullahi

 

 

A pan Arewa movement known as Northern Coalition Youths Movement Initiative (NYMI) has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led administration and the ruling All progressives Congress (APC) of an hidden agenda to destabilize the Northern commercial nerve center in order to weaken the economy of the region.

KANO FOCUS reports that this was disclosed in an elaborate world press conference at Arewa House in Kaduna state on Saturday.

The secretary general of the movement, Comrade Ibrahim Mohammed Inuwa, pointed to series of moves being made by the government to undermine the region using judiciary to subvert the people’s mandate in Kano, Plateau and Zamfara.

He said, in recent times, they have observed with dismay, how the much esteemed judiciary has become the lapdog to the executive arm of government which they said is expected to check as an independent entity.

“Gone are the days when judges dish out logical judgments that are acceptable to the litigants in any disputes. It is however sad that the administration of Pres. Bola Tinubu and APC has resorted to using the judiciary to snatch what it has lost at the ballot.

“Under the APC, the votes of the people no longer count, this is because the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has become an extended part of the ruling party. In a bid to do the bidding of the APC.

“Judiciary has now become the rubber stamp to the massive scale of electoral robbery in the country. Where the INEC fails to award victories to APC candidate, the same courts are the avenue where the victories of the opposition parties are now only arrested but also stolen and given to the APC.

“Nigerians are living witnesses to what is going on in the Court of Appeal with respect to the governorship poll in Kano, Plateau and Zamfara States where the opposition parties have won the state at the ballot box and the attempt by the Federal Government to snatch these states from the winning political parties.

“What is even more embarrassing is the case of Kano where the Court of Appeal is still finding it hard to defend its verdict on the election which many have come to see as very ignoble and horrible. The fact that the verdict is tainted was further shown aa the NNPP try to secure the certified true copy of the judgment revealed the underhand dealings that must have happened with the document revealing contradictory outcomes.
While some paragraphs upheld the election of Gov Abba Kabir Yusuf of the NNPP as duly elected.

“The embarrassment created by the nasty scenario is yet to abate as we address you as the action has further put the judiciary in the negative spot in the minds of right thinking Nigerians who have lost faith in that vital arm of the government.

“The most laughable verdict also is the issue of internal affairs of each political parties which is clearly enshrined in our electoral act and which the supreme court has long settled, yet that is the issue the same judiciary is using to upturn Kano’s mandates which was freely given to NNPP”,

The coalition accused the Tinubu’s government of waging war against leading political lights from the region in a bid to destroy or whittle down their relevance before the poll.

He said the coalition has been monitoring the development for some time, he however urged leaders in the North to live up to their responsibility of protecting the interest of their region.

He added “We wish to draw the attention of the people of the North to an ongoing sinister plot by Pres. Tinubu and the ruling All progressives Congress APC to politically decimate the North and render it impotent ahead of the forthcoming 2027 general election.

“The coalition lamented the fate of the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufa’i in the hands of the current government despite the support it gave to President Bola Tinubu during the electioneering campaign.

“One individual whose support and assistance to the emergence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufa’i who worked on his colleagues in the North to sway victory for President Tinubu.

“What did he get in return? The former governor was rubbished by the government when his nomination was rejected by the Senate during confirmation allegedly on spurious claims of not scaling security screening,” the group wrote.

They also listed those who have been humiliated by the current government include, Senators Danjuma Goje, Abdulazeez Yari.

The statement further reads that “The former Zamfara State Governor was subsequently rubbish by the government when he tried to become the Senate President of the country. He was hounded and cowed to submission by the agents of the government and the state.”

Not done, they added that “Another Northerner who has also been humiliated since coming into being of this governmen

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