Thwarting the Perfidious Activities of Self-Proclaimed CSOs in Kano Politics

By Abdulmalik Suleiman

A recent publication by Daily Nigeria newspaper purportedly implicated several high-ranking officials of the Kano State Government in egregious financial malfeasance under the stewardship of His Excellency, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf. So far, I have noted that some groups have disassociated themselves from the faceless league of 20 civil societies led by the likes of Comrade Ibrahim Na-Rogo of Joint Action Front (JAF) and one Youth Empowerment Development Initiative (YEDI) led by Muhammadu Yahaya.

This development is a testament that has unequivocally alluded to the fact that the actions were phantom falsehoods and satanically orchestrated, with more revelations being awaited.

The officials named in the publication included Abdullahi Ibrahim-Rogo, Director General of Protocol; Sani Lawan Malumfashi, Chairman of KANSIEC; Anas Mustapha, the commission’s secretary; and Ado Garba, a deputy director of which are all political witchunt.

According to the publication, the ICPC and EFCC allegedly uncovered a staggering N6.5 billion linked to Ibrahim-Rogo, with accusations of brazen public fund speculation between November 2023 and February 2025.

It is important to refrain from engaging directly with Daily Nigeria newspaper, hence it is vital to note that these allegations appear to be a calamious ploy orchestrated by a clique of individuals for selfish purposes.

Notably, these individuals and their cohorts have unfettered access to the Governor, which they exploit to concoct nefarious schemes against the government. Some of these clandestine organizations that masquerade as champions of transparency and accountability, seeking to distract the state government from its core mandate of serving the people are nothing but a bunch of desperate attention seekers.

While the state government may welcomes legitimate scrutiny from public institutions, every right thinking and patriotic Nigerian would object against the deployment of spurious accusations as a tool for harassment and intimidation, it is important to emphasize that ethics and code of professional conduct in activism is the linchpin to integrity and professionalism.

Kano State government under the able leadership of His Excellency, Gov. Abba Kabir Yusuf is among the best governor in the country in terms of transparency, accountability and due process. His sterling leadership quality has earned him many local and international accolades and today Kano is a reference point to other states in terms of good governance.

My reservations stem from Kano State’s unfortunate history of machinations by powerful politicians hidden under federal government cover, motivated by partisan bias given our state’s governance by an opposition party, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), this is unacceptable and condemnable.

These reports may be part of a larger, but more insidious scheme by opposition elements and self-styled activists to sabotage the Governor Yusuf-led government’s developmental agenda for partisan gain.

I appeal to the good people of Kano State to be wary and cautious against all manner of ant-democratic forces masquerading as activists or watchdog.

Several instances illustrate the perfidious intent behind the publication, including the ongoing emirship tussle and a concerted campaign of negative media propaganda against the state government.

However, I advise the government not to underestimate the gravity of these actions and should take decisive, lawful measures to counter these media provocateurs and enemies of the state.