Opinion
A reply to Dan’uwa Rano’s from makafi to awakai: the display of blind plotics and political idolatry
Ibrahim Bello-Kano
I’ve read Danuwa Rano’s post as a trained and professional critic of prose works, both fictional and non-fictional (the kind of writing in which the writer and the narrator are the same person, and in which there is a direct mode of address to the purported reader of the writing, the text). Thus, my response to this post, shared on this platform, is three-fold.
1. The writer, Danuwa Rano, is a well-known member or sympathiser of the APC in Kano and a supporter of an aspiring APC candidate for the position of the Gov. of Kano State, despite his critical yet digressive comment on the Gov of Jigawa, Namadi, Abubakar Rimi, and Aminu Kano, to cite just those three. In my academic field, we train our students in the literary criticism of non-fictional texts to look for the writer’s MOTIVE for writing. Usually, in this kind of writing, the writer does not reveal his motive (which is usually hidden) for writing directly but takes detours, digressions, and other textual strategies of establishing some nuggets of “authenticity”. Just a ploy to deceive the unsuspecting or the gullible reeader, to say the least. If and where the writer is well known, we also seek to read his previous works, including his podcasts, interviews, or open attitudinal-ideological stance in relation to public discourse.
2. We also probe the text for its linguistic “unsaids” or “non-saids”, namely its TONE and the perspectival presentation of events and people (we call this reading or interpretive strategy “symptomatic reading”). It’s interesting that the writer himself reveals that his text was inspired by a previous one critical of Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiyya movement, written by Auwal Anwar.
3. After a thinly veiled ideological bad faith on the part of Danuwa Rano, he delves into a moralistic discourse, namely that God/Allah has created human beings with dignity and with self-worth, higher than those of the animals such as “goats”; and much more integrative than the blind (“makafi”). But Danuwa Rano is clearly not very educated in how language, in this case Hausa and English, work. In language, in Hausa, we call or regard someone that is a maestro, a highly gifted person, in any vocation or an endeavor, as, or by describing him as “shege” or “maye” in or about something that we admire or value (masterly). Why is that? Language has both DENOTATION and CONNOTATION. In any Hausa dictionary, the denotation of “Shege” would be “bastard” (illegitimate within the marriage-kinship and cultural system). But when used in the context of connotation, “Shege” describes someone with admirable skills, in appreciation of his or her skills, mastery, and distinguished capacities. Alas, this is what Danuwa Rano has missed. So, in every linguistic comminity, symbolism, figuration, and emblematic descriptions are never far away from the symbolic sphere of experience. Here’s another example from the English language. Expressions such as “evil genius” and the Latinate “maestro” exist because symbolisation or figural descriptions are creative, a way of coming into the undecidable space of appreciation and appropriation, including the anxiety about what we denote in the cultural-linguistic game, and in our unconscious.
4. Rather bizarrely and crudely, perhaps even maliciously, Danuwa Rano fails to see, blinded by his ideological moralism, that whenever the Kwankwasiyya people call themselves “makafi” and “awaki” they are, in fact, ENGAGING IN the SYMBOLIC PARODY of their opponents, that is, those who criticise them for being resolute and committed political agents in a certain way. To borrow a metaphor from Michel Foucault, it is the Kwankwasiyya people’s way of “self-presentation” in the political and democratic arena. Indeed, it was the same process at work when the British Workers called themselves “Chartists” (based on their Charter of Demands). But we know that a group of human beings cannot be a List or a Charter. Rather, in language, any group can identify with a colour (“Red” for communists and Marxists; Green for Muslims; or with emblems (the Crescent Moon, The Cross, or the Hammer and Sickle, or just an Effigy; a country’s or a state’s “coat of arms”). Should we assume, then, that the Kwankwasiyya followers are physically, intellectually, or ideologically blind? But if they were, they would not work for someone, Senator Kwankwaso (RMK), that they couldn’t have literally “seen”.
5. Danuwa Rano is such a poor writer, such a poorly educated person on how language and symbolisation actually work, that he mistook a figural statement as intransitively real and factual. What a pity! In fact, I am tempted here to cite the famous argument of the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, that language as such is only a doxa (opinion) rather than (a) truth (episteme). In this view, language is a kind of rhetoric and thus inherently rhetorical. For example, in the Hausa “Kirari” system, any one can call themselves a lion, a mouse, an elephant, or even a fox, or even, indeed, a “merciless killer”, one who does not and would not spare his enemies. I recall, in my youth, my father admiringly calling my mother “uwar garke” (“the mother of the herd”, his herd) but does that mean she was a cow, the female head of a herd of cows? Certainly not!
6. It is a mark of Danuwa Rano’s ideological project that he mistakes linguistic and symbolic parody for the literal thing. Hence, his weak, unconvincing, and flat moralistic attacks on RMK and the Kwankwasiyya people. The latter are saying that they are deeply committed to their political projects, that they are not the typical political opportunists, fortune chasers, and the “fair weather people” that one finds in the Kano APC. In addition, the Kwankwasiyya “Makafi” are also saying that they see clearly where their principled allegiance lies.
7. If Danuwa Rano were a careful, perceptive thinker or writer of political innuendo, he would have seen something prevalent in the history of Kano since the 18th century, namely the tradition of following religious, sectoral leaders, as seen in the mass of committed followers in Kano of the Tariqa, the Shia, and the Izala, to mention just those three. It’s hard not to find a Kano man or woman that is not openly oriented to those three groups.
8. It is, without a doubt, the same temperament that one still finds in the secular political sphere in Kano. Expecting otherwise in the political sphere of the community is either short-sighted or willful blindness or sheer ignorance, all all three. Or, one might ignore all this in furtherance of his un-stated ideological-political agenda.
9. Let me reiterate a point that I have always argued in public: Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is, without a doubt, a veritable political leader for many reasons. There is not one politician in Kano today who has the deep and wide charisma as to draw a huge crowd of enthusiastic supporters, with the charm and grace that can score, or in fact has scored, over one million votes in Kano State in the elections. His party’s candidate for Governor scored well over a million votes in the 2023 elections. Even Tinubu lost in Lagos in the 2023 elections (only scored anout 600, 000 votes). For that reason and many others (RMK’s cosmic patience, personal Promesean and Sysipusian endurance, his political sagacity and capacity for brilliant and moving political oratory— the “Ma-a-ha chant”), he is the target of disgruntled enemies, the object of deep malice but that is obscured or hidden as “objective analysis”.
10. But hate him or love him, despite Kwankwasiyya movement or not, one must accept that RMK is simply the modern expression of the new politics that is gripping the imagination of young people and that of perceptive, politically committed intellectuals, those who know what is at stake in the political future of Kano State and Nigeria as a whole.
11. Imagine a political leader, the one whose previously opportunistic followers had deserted when he left office, the man who stayed out of power and elective office for eight years, the man who founded a political party within eight months to the national elections, and yet him and his party swept the board, won virtually all the elective offices, including the Govenorship. I daresay such a man, RMK, is naturally the target of malice, envy, and bruised political egos. Danuwa Rano’s virtuperations on RMK and the Kwankwasiyya movement is one more example of crudely malicious, badly conceived, poorly written attacks on modern Kano’s most successful person and his movement.
Ibrahim Bello-Kano.
Dr Saleh Adamu Kwaru
Adding a staggering $20.52 billion and €1.05 billion to Nigeria’s debt burden is more than an economic miscalculation; it is a source of heartbreak for a nation already brought to its knees. At a time when millions of citizens are struggling to afford a single meal, grappling with historic inflation and watching their futures slip away, the government’s response appears to be to pile yet another mountain of debt on the country. This raises a painful question for every suffering Nigerian: When will our leaders finally acknowledge the pain their decisions inflict, and when will the bleeding stop?
The timing of this massive loan request is particularly troubling. Seeking to secure huge foreign loans on the eve of intense political activity and election seasons, when public anxiety is high and attention is divided, risks depriving citizens of the robust accountability the country deserves. Rather than looking inward, exercising fiscal discipline and improving public revenue management, the government appears to be rushing to mortgage the nation’s collective future. It feels less like responsible governance and more like a desperate attempt to lock in liabilities before the public can challenge them.
Nigeria’s national debt profile is already a ticking time bomb, placing enormous pressure on every sector of society. Every additional dollar borrowed increases the country’s financial obligations and diverts revenue that could otherwise support schools, equip hospitals and protect vulnerable citizens. Adding more than $20 billion to this burden risks pushing the country closer to the brink of a debt crisis, threatening to leave future generations trapped in a cycle of economic dependence. How much more hardship can ordinary Nigerians endure before the consequences of unsustainable borrowing become overwhelming?
We are repeatedly offered the same promises that these loans will transform electricity, roads, healthcare and education. But good intentions without transparency and accountability are not enough. Where is the visible evidence that previous loans have translated into better living conditions for ordinary Nigerians? Instead of seeing the promised improvements, many citizens continue to grapple with rising poverty while the country’s debt burden grows. When projects fail to generate sufficient economic returns to justify their costs, the burden ultimately falls on ordinary citizens through higher taxes, deteriorating public services and deeper economic hardship.
Before anyone commits future generations to repaying billions of dollars in new loans, the government must look Nigerians in the eye and explain how existing public resources are being managed. Why does borrowing appear to be the easiest option while systemic corruption and inefficiencies in public spending remain major concerns? Nigerians are exhausted by a system that leaves them bearing the consequences of decisions over which they have little control.
The country does not need another mountain of debt built on promises alone. It needs leaders committed to transparency, fiscal discipline, prudent resource management and the welfare of the people they have sworn to serve. Any new borrowing must be justified by clear development objectives, independently verifiable benefits and a credible repayment plan.
Nigeria cannot borrow its way out of every economic challenge. The government must demonstrate that it has exhausted reasonable alternatives, established safeguards against waste and corruption, and put the public interest above political convenience. Without these assurances, further borrowing risks deepening the hardship Nigerians already face and transferring an even heavier burden to generations yet unborn.
Dr Saleh Adamu Kwaru, is former staff of Central Bank of Nigeria.
Imam Murtadha Gusau
The killing of Katsina-based Islamic preacher Sheikh Yahaya Ibrahim Masussuka should serve as a warning against the dangers of religious extremism, sectarian hostility and the reckless attribution of blame before investigations are concluded.
Sheikh Masussuka was reportedly shot dead alongside his associate, Adamu Abubakar, by gunmen in Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State, on Monday, October 26, 2026. His death has generated tension, with allegations circulating on social media and among religious circles that members of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah, particularly the Salafiyyah and Izalah movements, were responsible.
Those allegations have been complicated by an audio statement in which the terrorist group Ansaru reportedly claimed responsibility for the killings. The group was also reported to have cited Masussuka’s religious views, advocacy for interfaith dialogue and condemnation of violent extremism among its grievances against him.
These claims must be properly investigated and independently established. However, they underscore an important point: religious disagreements, however intense, must never become a licence for violence, and suspicion must never be mistaken for proof.
The danger of collective blame
Masussuka was a controversial religious figure whose Qur’an-centred teachings, including his rejection of the authority of Prophetic Hadith, brought him into theological disagreements with mainstream Islamic scholars.
In November 2025, he reportedly petitioned the Katsina State Government over alleged insults and threats from members of the Izalah movement. Such a history of disagreement may explain why some people quickly suspected his religious opponents after his killing. It does not, however, establish their responsibility for the crime.
In a society where religious identity can easily become a source of division, the temptation to blame an entire movement for the actions of individuals is dangerous. It can inflame tensions, provoke retaliation and endanger innocent people.
No religious group should be held collectively responsible for a crime without credible evidence. Equally, no individual or organisation should be shielded from investigation merely because of its religious affiliation or public standing.
The appropriate response to the killing is a thorough, impartial investigation that identifies the perpetrators, establishes their motives and brings those found culpable to justice.
The Katsina State Police Command and other relevant authorities must be allowed to carry out their responsibilities without pressure from partisan interests or religious factions. Members of the public, meanwhile, should resist the temptation to spread unverified allegations or mobilise others against people they suspect.
Justice cannot be secured through rumours, online accusations or reprisals. It requires evidence, due process and the courage to accept the outcome of a credible investigation.
Islam’s position on the sanctity of life
As a Muslim, I consider the protection of innocent life a fundamental obligation. The deliberate killing of an innocent person is a grave offence, and no interpretation of religion should be used to justify murder, intimidation or acts of terror.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption done in the land—it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one—it is as if he had saved mankind entirely.” (Qur’an 5:32)
This teaching places an enormous moral responsibility on every believer. Human life cannot be treated as disposable simply because someone holds a different opinion, belongs to another religious group or challenges a particular interpretation of scripture.
The Qur’an also instructs Muslims to invite people to the way of their Lord with wisdom and good counsel, and to engage them in the best possible manner (Qur’an 16:125).
This principle is particularly important when religious differences become contentious. Disagreement should be addressed through scholarship, dialogue and reasoned argument—not threats, intimidation or violence.
Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah, like other Muslim communities, should be judged by the conduct of its adherents and the teachings they uphold, rather than by allegations that have not been established. Those who identify with the Sunnah must demonstrate through their conduct that their commitment to the faith is inseparable from justice, mercy and respect for human life.
At the same time, the rejection of terrorism must be universal. Violence does not become acceptable because its perpetrators claim to defend a religious cause, and no group can acquire immunity from scrutiny by invoking Islam.
Knowledge must defeat extremism
One of the most effective ways of confronting religious extremism is to promote sound Islamic scholarship and responsible religious leadership.
The history of Islam offers examples of scholars who confronted dangerous interpretations through knowledge and dialogue. Abdullah ibn Abbas, a Companion of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), is widely remembered in Islamic tradition for engaging the Khawarij, an early extremist group, in theological argument and challenging their interpretations of religious texts.
The lesson is that mistaken beliefs should be confronted with evidence, patience and sound scholarship. Violence against people suspected of holding erroneous views only deepens division and makes peaceful engagement more difficult.
Religious leaders therefore have a special responsibility to ensure that their sermons, teachings and public statements do not encourage hatred or legitimise harm against others. They must distinguish between correcting an idea and attacking the dignity or safety of the person who holds it.
This responsibility extends to social media, where provocative messages and unverified allegations can spread rapidly. Religious disputes that might otherwise remain confined to scholarly discussions can become public confrontations when users circulate inflammatory claims without checking their accuracy.
Muslims should refuse to participate in online campaigns that dehumanise opponents, encourage collective punishment or portray entire communities as enemies. The pursuit of truth requires intellectual honesty, while the defence of religion requires good character.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said that a Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand other people are safe. This teaching offers a practical standard by which believers should assess their conduct.
If our words expose innocent people to threats, or our actions endanger their lives, we must examine whether we are truly reflecting the values we profess.
Mercy is not weakness
The distinction between religious conviction and religious intolerance must be clearly understood. A person can hold firmly to a theological position without insulting, threatening or persecuting those who disagree.
Indeed, mercy does not require Muslims to abandon their beliefs. It requires them to uphold those beliefs without violating the rights of others.
The Prophet’s conduct provides a model of restraint and compassion. In a well-known account in Sahih al-Bukhari, a Bedouin urinated in the Prophet’s Mosque, prompting some Companions to react angrily. The Prophet instructed them to leave the man alone and have the affected area cleaned, explaining that people had been sent to make matters easier, not harder.
The lesson is not that wrongdoing should be ignored. Rather, correction should be proportionate, informed and directed towards addressing the problem instead of humiliating or destroying the person responsible.
This approach is relevant to contemporary religious disagreements. A person who expresses a controversial interpretation of Islam should be answered with knowledge and appropriate dialogue. Where conduct violates the law, the authorities should respond through lawful procedures. Neither theological disagreement nor public anger justifies private punishment.
Similarly, allegations of blasphemy, disbelief or deviation must not be treated as permission for individuals to take the law into their own hands. Accusations of this nature can have devastating consequences and must never become instruments for settling personal scores or advancing sectarian interests.
A responsibility shared by leaders and citizens
The killing of Sheikh Masussuka demands more than condemnation. It calls for a collective commitment to prevent further violence.
The police must investigate the killings professionally and pursue those responsible. Religious leaders must calm their followers and reject attempts to exploit the tragedy. Political and community leaders must discourage inflammatory rhetoric, while media organisations and social media users must verify information before publishing or sharing it.
The government should also pay attention to the conditions that allow extremist groups to recruit, intimidate communities and spread violent ideologies. Effective security measures must be accompanied by credible religious education, community engagement and opportunities for young people to seek guidance from knowledgeable and responsible scholars.
Above all, the authorities must ensure that the pursuit of justice does not become a pretext for harassment or reprisals against innocent people.
The killing of one person must not lead to the persecution of another. Nor should the grief of a victim’s family be exploited to deepen divisions within the Muslim community.
Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah adherents have a responsibility to reject violence committed in the name of Islam and to demonstrate that their commitment to the Sunnah is reflected in patience, compassion and respect for justice. Other religious communities and ideological groups have the same obligation to reject violence and hold their members accountable for wrongdoing.
The protection of innocent life is not the exclusive responsibility of one sect. It is a shared moral and civic duty.
Justice, not vengeance
The circumstances surrounding Sheikh Masussuka’s death must be established through a credible investigation. If Ansaru’s reported claim of responsibility is substantiated, the group’s involvement must be confronted through lawful security and judicial measures. If evidence implicates any other individuals, they too must answer for their actions.
Until then, Nigerians must resist the urge to turn suspicion into certainty or religious disagreement into collective condemnation.
The true test of religious commitment is not the intensity with which one denounces opponents, but the willingness to uphold truth and justice even when emotions run high. Faith should encourage self-restraint, protect human dignity and inspire people to seek peaceful solutions to their differences.
Nigeria has already paid a heavy price for violence driven by extremism and communal suspicion. The country cannot afford to allow another killing to become a trigger for fresh hostility.
Let the death of Sheikh Yahaya Ibrahim Masussuka strengthen, rather than weaken, our resolve to protect innocent lives, promote responsible religious dialogue and ensure that every allegation is tested against evidence.
Islam must not be used as a cover for terrorism, and religious disagreement must never become an excuse for murder. The path forward is clear: reject extremism, condemn false accusations, protect the innocent and allow justice to take its course.
Imam Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah Mosque and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosque, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria.
Prof Ibrahim Bello-Kano (IBK)
Malam Ibrahim Mu’azzam is arguably the most influential person and university teacher in my academic and intellectual development. Although I studied Sociology rather than Political Science, I audited his courses and attended his lectures throughout my early and later undergraduate years.
One of the qualities that distinguished him then, and which he has retained to this day, is his charismatic personality and the natural attraction he exerts on students through his wide-ranging knowledge, teaching expertise and remarkable ability to inspire intellectual curiosity. Students passionate about ideas and critical thinking were always drawn to his approach to introducing complex concepts to an often bewildered classroom.
Malam Mu’azzam, as we fondly call him, was a magnet for ideas and a model of critical intellectual engagement. In those days, he probably had one of the largest personal libraries or private studies. Scores of undergraduate and postgraduate students trooped to his home, which he moved to after leaving the university quarters.
We marvelled at his extraordinary collection of books spanning numerous disciplines, far beyond his formal academic specialisation and teaching responsibilities. His study contained, and continues to contain, books on a wide range of subjects, including the philosophy of science, theology, education, English, linguistics and, of course, classic and highly acclaimed works in the social sciences, Political Science and Geography.
I still remember an incident in 1988 when Malam and I travelled to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, for an Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) delegates’ conference. I accompanied him to the university bookshop and watched him purchase books across a variety of academic disciplines. That experience inspired me to follow his example by building a collection of books from different fields—a habit I have sustained to this day.
Despite his formal retirement after a long career at Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Malam remains intellectually active. He continues to work with us at the Ibrahim Mu’azzam Institute of Philosophy, organised by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD).
His continued engagement is a remarkable testament to his enduring contributions to teaching, critical scholarship and the advancement of knowledge within and beyond the academic community. Malam Mu’azzam’s influence extends far beyond the classroom, inspiring generations of students and scholars to embrace intellectual curiosity, independent thought and lifelong learning.
Prof Ibrahim Bello-Kano (IBK), teaches at Bayero University, Kano.
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