The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 election and leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has alleged plans from Lagos to colonise the northern region.
Kwankwaso, who made the allegation while delivering a speech during the convocation ceremony of Skyline University, Kano, also claimed that the same forces are seeking to impose an emir on them.
Kwankwaso said, “Let me note our situation here in Kano and indeed northern Nigeria. The emir is just being a stooge at this very difficult time, especially in this part of the country (northern Nigeria).
“Today, we can see very clearly that there is a lot of efforts from the Lagos axis to colonize this part of the country. Today, Lagos wouldn’t allow us to choose an emir, Lagos has to come to the centre of Kano to put their own emir.”
Kwankwaso also spoke on tax collection, saying, “Today, we are aware that the Lagos young men are working so hard to impose taxes and take away our taxes from Kano and this part of the country to Lagos.
“Today, as we have seen, even the telephones that we make or register here in Kano, efforts are there to take all the taxes to Lagos.
“Even our sons and daughters who have brought factories many of them here in Kano and northern Nigeria and even banks, somehow, they are forced to take their headquarters to Lagos because taxes will now have to go to Lagos.
“We have seen the efforts of some people to make the poor poorer and the rich richer and I believe this is more dangerous.
“At this moment, I would like to call all our National Assembly members to keep their eyes open so that they don’t do anything that would cheat the people of northern Nigeria, especially here, Kano.
“We are witnesses to what happened during the first term, 1999 to 2000, where our members of the National Assembly were bribed, were treated into collecting huge sums of money to support offshore in this country. That law put a huge blow into our economy not only here in northern Nigeria but all other states.”
But the former spokesperson to Abdullahi Ganduje, Salisu Yakasai, also known as Dawisu, has knocked Kwankwaso over the claim of Lagos plotting to colonize Kano.
Dasiwu made this known on Monday in a statement on his X account.
According to him, in 2014, Kwankwaso and the ‘Lagos Axis’ aligned to impose Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi on Kano people to spite the former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“It’s funny how we quickly forget history. In 2014, when Emir Ado Bayero died, this same “Lagos Axis” flew into Kano, met with you as the then Gov of Kano, and lobbied for SLS to be made the Emir against the wishes of the majority of Kanawa, just to spite Jonathan (SLS wasn’t even part of the 3 contenders nominated by the Kingmakers then). You agreed to it after “the Lagos Axis” promised to support your presidential ambitions in 2019.”
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