Kano is not its old, Aminu Kano inspired radical self today. But neither is it any less rebellious in orientation. The red cap phenomenon masterminded by Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso is neither radical in the sense of any established dogmas nor does it allow itself to be trifled with. Or the incumbent governor might no longer be the governor anymore. Unlike 2003, the 2023 governorship election result has had to be.
But in the midst of this ambivalence comes a book that recalls the Sawaba narrative of politics. Edited by 5 academics associated with the Bayero University Kano, the book title connects anti-colonialism to struggle for democracy in Northern Nigeria. That’s a whole lot in title selection. Should the content successfully tie the different elements together- space, temporality, prolonged military rule, elite crisis of mission, etc – to establish the connection, then Kano might as well be issuing a clarion call. This is because, although a book cannot in and of itself produce a radical outcome, it can be interpreted to produce such an outcome. Any set of actors can accomplish this.
At over 400 pages, this is a physically hefty text. It can be ideologically even more so although without any functional version of NEPU or the PRP now, how the text can be weaponised against alternative ideological ferments in Nigeria is the puzzle.
Anyway, the book presentation is due on April 17th, 2024 at the 41st anniversary of the passage of the sage, Mallam Aminu Kano. And who and who will be the defining faces at the event? Governor Umar A. Namadi of Jigawa State will be on the Chair. The image he has cultivated is that of a gentleman governor. Although the word gentleman has no permanent meaning, he is not the ideological fire-for-fire type. Of course, he could surprise everyone.
Dr. Dauda Lawal Dare, his counterpart from Taraba State, will also be at Mambayya House by which Bayero University, Kano’s Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Studies, is known. The Taraba governor started his tenure with very promising radical pronouncements on free education and gender balancing but only for the decibel to become completely inaudible. The former military officer is hardly heard again. Would Aminu Kano recharge him at the event? He is serving as the Special Guest of Honour.
Kano State governor, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, will serve as the Chief Host. He will be wearing a red cap but it is still not clear what the red cap signifies in the Kwankwaso camp. Is it another variant of Aminu Kano’s ‘Democratic Humanism’ or something completely different? Has this been explained so well?
Will something come out of Kano at this event, something ideologically connected to anything we knew before in an ideologically impoverished Nigerian politics? Might yesterday be speaking to today or this is just a warming up?
