2027: ‘Kwankwaso Overreached In APC Talks’ – Baba Yusuf

A policy strategist, Baba Yusuf, has asserted that the former Governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, misjudged his political leverage in his reported negotiations with the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Abia Radio News reports that Kwankwason reportedly demanded control of 20 per cent of the APC’s national structure, the vice-presidential slot and a guaranteed presidential ticket in 2031.

However, Yusuf, in an interview with ARISE News on Friday, stated that Kwankwaso’s purported demands were overreaching, referencing the declining relevance of transactional godfather politics in Nigeria.

According to Yusuf, available political signals suggest Kwankwaso overplayed his hand in the conversation with APC, even as he cautioned that the former Governor’s own account of events should still be heard.

He said, “I will agree with the second outcome you mentioned that Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso overreached. Without prejudice to hearing his own side of the story, Nigerian politics today is such that about 70 per cent of the wheeling and dealing is already out in the open.

“The dice has already been cast. He has lost his key political godson, who incidentally is his son-in-law to his political arch-enemy, former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, and to the APC.”

Drawing parallels with political crises in Rivers State, Yusuf said Kwankwaso’s situation was not unique.

“We are seeing what is playing out in Rivers State. We saw what happened in Kano State before. We saw what played out between Governor Obaseki and former Governor Nasir El-Rufai. This is a lesson for political players that sometimes you need to play the long game.”