The wind of the 2023 general elections has started blowing gently.
But certainly no political party will get over the line on crutches.
There is an urgent need for internal restructuring and repositioning to face these so talked-about elections.
Concerned Nigerians are so troubled with the question: who takes the mantle after President Buhari?
In Kano State the concern is on who has the capacity to take the baton after Governor Ganduje.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) still has the upper hand considering how wayward the opposition party, the PDP, has been in the last six years.
Few weeks ago, during an interview with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), President Buhari expressed his desire to see the APC remain in power as long as possible.
In simple terms the president wants see the party last beyond his administration.
No well-intentioned leader like the president will be happy to see the party he toiled for collapses after he left office.
That is why the political party carried out its membership card revalidation exercise to know how many members it has state by state and local government by local government.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had ruled for 16 years, but the agony and brutality it plunged the country in is unspeakable.
Apart from the speculations about candidates the All Progressive Congress (APC) will field for the 2023 presidential election, in Kano State the major concern is to whom the ruling party will entrust its flag.
Many people are being touted as the possible successors of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, but who has the zeal, political dexterity and the acumen to consolidate on the Ganduje administration’s gains?
This is the question begging for an answer.
While responding to a question during an interactive session with journalists about how prospective APC flagbearers for both governorship and presidential candidates will emerge in 2023 general elections, the governor made a short but powerful statement.
He said, “It will be decided by delegates. It will be resolved democratically.”
I wish everyone had read the governor’s statement in full.
A day earlier, during a mega APC rally in the state, the governor received three former gubernatorial candidates in previous elections under different political parties who had decamped to the ruling APC.
This is show the APC is gathering momentum in Kano State. And this calls for an urgent action to make the party intense.
Why did the governor say that the party’s delegates are to decide on who are more deserving of the party’ flags in 2023?
To make the political party as formidable as possible, power must be given to the members of the party, the people, through delegates.
Also, the governor knows that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is still a mixture of parties and is still on a path of graduating to a single and indivisible party.
During the APC Constitution Review Meeting for the North West, under the chairmanship of Professor Tahir Mamman, the governor highlighted some points.
He said democratic culture in Nigeria abandons the populace, the party members, upon whom political parties ride to power, until after another round of elections.
This is what the governor said no to. Party leaders speak for the members and they have a significant influence over candidates.
It is called party supremacy whereby every member feels at home and the Ganduje administration is giving a pride of place to this idea for the collective good Kanawas and Nigerians.
The governor has already gone far in series of activities to make the party formidable in the state.
No APC issue is taken with a pinch of salt in the state. The political party has strong party caucuses at Ward, local government and state levels.
The governor has made monthly meeting mandatory for the caucuses at all levels.
He regularly meets with the principal officers of the party from all the 44 local governments of the state. The intention is to strengthen the ruling party’s internal democracy.
Why this energy supping task?
When one uses the Ganduje administration from 2015 to date as a model, it’s obvious that Kanawas will not afford to lose the ruling party. It is suicidal.
In the last six years under the leadership of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje the state has witnessed an unprecedented transformation in education, economy, health care, infrastructure, job creation, among others.
Soon the state will start rubbing shoulders with mega cities in the world.
The state is a commercial nerve centre to not only northern states in Nigeria but also some West African countries.
Flyovers, underpasses and roads have been constructed to achieve an easy flow of traffics.
Kano State has become a major reference point in infrastructural development that was why the Nigeria Society of Engineers held its summit in 2019 in the state.
Hospitals have been upgraded and a 400-bed hospital is being built in each of the four new emirates in the state to reduce medical burden on general hospitals in the metropolis.
Education has been declared free as schools received direct funding from the government and primary pupils are fed and provided with uniforms by the government.
No one needs to be told that new classes are being constructed in all the 485 wards in the state?
Because the governor wants end medical tourism he built a multi-billion cancer centre to be commission soon.
A multi-billion skills acquisition Centre named after Aliko Dangote along Zaria road has been completed and is ready for take up.
Governor Ganduje has made security of lives and property one of his top priorities.
First he engaged security agencies in the state for harmonious working relationship.
The administration has constructed a multi-million security control room at the state police command to detect security challenges even from afar.
This was followed by the installation of CCTV cameras on all the major streets of the state.
Community policing has been revived in full. At local government level security meetings between traditional rulers, government officials and security agencies hold every month.
Hundreds of constabularies have been hired and monthly allowances are paid to them to help security operatives in discharging their duties.
The result is that Kano State is one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria.
More so, dividends of democracy are being taken to the doorsteps of the people of Kano State.
The creation of the four emirate councils in the state is part of this policy and is proving to be a success.
The repositioning of the All Progressives Congress in Kano State is part of a move by the Ganduje administration to create a leadership blueprint for the state.
When the next generation of leaders step in, they will have a well ploughed path to march on until the aim, which is to transform Kano State into one of the mega cities in the world, is achieved.
