“We Will Accept Gov Yusuf Back If He Returns To Political Family”, Kwankwaso Assures

By Suleiman Anyalewechi 

Despite  committing what he described as “the mother of all betrayals”, Leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement has not ruled out the possibility of forgiving, and accepting back his “prodigal son” Governor Abba Yusuf if he decides to come back.

Kwankwaso emphasized the imperative of tolerance and forgiveness in political leadership and associations.

The Source reports that the hitherto cosy political and personal relationships between Kwankwaso and Governor Yusuf spanning over two decades became ruptured a couple of months back following the unbelievable defection of the Governor from his original political nest– the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, to the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC.

So shocked, rattled, and embittered by the development was  Senator Kwankwaso,  who was also a former Governor of Kano, that he described Yusuf’s action as  befitting of a space in  the Guinness book of records.

But speaking on a BBC Radio Hausa interview, Kwankwaso who is pairing with Peter Obi, the Presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, for the 2027 Presidential polls, said he has forgiven and forgotten all realignment-induced political betrayals, and is willing to accept back any of his eirstwhile associates or beneficiaries that turn a new leaf.

 Kwankwaso further  explained that Governor Yusuf was not chased away, but left the political family on his own volition.

Referencing his long political association with the immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement highlighted the significance of tolerance and forgiveness in political relationships.

According to him, in the many years of association with Ganduje, there were instances of disagreements, which were nevertheless amicably resolved.

“As a Leader, you need to have an open mind and forgiving spirit. You can not 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.

“I still love Abba, and I didn’t reject him. He was the one that abandoned the group. So, not just Abba, if anyone who has left decides to come back, I won’t be unforgiving.

“Look at Ganduje. In the many years we worked together, we also fell out on many occasions and still reconciled . That is how politics works” Kwankwaso noted.

The NDC 2027 Vice presidential candidate , emphasized that Governor Yusuf, being a product of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, will be highly welcomed back to its fold, anytime he genuinely wishes to come back.

“We (Kwankwasiyya Movement) picked Abba to contest under the NNPP in 2023 and we won, and thereafter, he left to join those we defeated.

“Now some people say Abba decided to defect because he was afraid to lose re-election. But he knows that there is no way we would have been defeated in Kano State. If that were the case, we would have lost when he contested under our party”, Kwankwaso added.