The National Legal Adviser of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Magaji Mato, SAN, has suggested that Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, may be struggling with his conscience over his continued association with the Kwankwasiyya Movement.
Mato made the remark while speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Wednesday, amid the defection of Governor Yusuf to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Yusuf and some politicians who defected along with him to the APC recently had adorned themselves with the Kwankwansiya’s red cap, claiming they were still party of the Kwankwansiya Movement.
However, Mato said the red cap, which is widely associated with the Kwankwasiyya Movement and its leader, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, represents a political ideology and not just a symbol.
According to him, it is inconsistent for anyone who identifies as a follower of Kwankwaso to belong to a political party with an opposing ideology.
Mato stated that politicians who still associate with the red cap while operating on different political platforms may be finding it difficult to separate themselves from the movement that brought them into political prominence.
He suggested that this could be the reason some individuals appear conflicted about their political alignment.
Mato said: “Wearing red cap, everybody knows that that is the signature of the personality of Kwankwaso and Kwankwansiya. So if you say you are still wearing red cap and you are still a Kwankwansiya and are in another party that promotes a different and direct opposite of the ideology of Kwankwansiya, then you have yourself to answer that question.
“Because definitely it’s not just about the red cap, it is about the ideology that the red cap signifies.
“So you cannot be a Kwankwaso follower and then be in another platform that promotes a contrary ideology from that of the Kwankwansiya. So it’s not possible. It’s not possible.
“So I think maybe their conscience are haunting them, and they are finding it hard to severe themselves from the very roots that brought them to existence. It could be. I cannot say more about the red cap.
“And that it is the same ideology that brought this current governor of Kano State to power. It was based on that basis, because I can authoritatively tell you that it wasn’t Governor Abba that was voted into power. It was Kwankwaso, that I can tell you, and I’m sure even him will testify to these facts.”