Kwankwaso Reveals What He Will Do If Gov Abba Yusuf Returns To Him For Forgiveness

Former Kano State Governor and national leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said he remains willing to reconcile with Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf despite their political differences.

Kwankwaso said his affection for the Kano governor had not changed, insisting that he did not reject Yusuf but that the governor chose to leave their political camp.

Naija News reports that the former governor stated this during an interview with BBC Hausa, where he said the door remained open for Yusuf and others who may wish to return to the movement.

Kwankwaso said he would not be unforgiving if Yusuf decided to return, noting that political disagreements were not unusual among allies.

He said, “I still love Abba and I didn’t reject him, he is the one that left. So not just Abba, if anyone who left comes back, I won’t be unforgiving. Look at Ganduje, in the many years we worked together, we fell out several times and got back together. That is how politics works.”

The relationship between Kwankwaso and Yusuf became strained after the Kano governor reportedly left the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), the platform on which he won the 2023 governorship election, for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The move drew criticism from members of the Kwankwasiyya movement, many of whom viewed it as a betrayal of the political structure that helped him to power.

Kwankwaso argued that Yusuf’s victory in the 2023 governorship election was achieved through the strength of the Kwankwasiyya movement.

According to him, the movement deliberately presented Yusuf as its candidate to prove its political influence in Kano State.

“We picked Abba to contest under the NNPP and we won, but he left to join the people we defeated. Some say he did so because he feared losing his position, but he knows there was no way we would have been defeated in Kano. If that were the case, we would have lost when he contested under our party,” he stated.

The former governor said Yusuf was not chosen because he was the most senior or most qualified person in the movement, but because the group wanted to test its political strength at the time.

“We did not choose him because he was the most senior or the most educated. We chose him because we wanted to test the strength and calibre of the Kwankwasiyya movement at that time,” he said.

Kwankwaso also stressed the need for tolerance and forgiveness in politics, saying leaders must learn to accommodate different opinions.

He said leadership required patience, open-mindedness and the ability to manage disagreements without shutting the door against reconciliation.

“As a leader, you need to have an open heart. You cannot force people to think the way you do because we all come from different backgrounds and have different perspectives. Without forgiveness, we would not have come this far,” he added.