By Luminous Jannamike, Abuja
Each night time round 9 p.m., Sadiq Bello steps exterior his Abuja condominium to make a cellphone name he by no means used to rehearse. His spouse and youngsters reside in Kano. His mom stays near the palace district. What was as soon as an informal household check-in has turn out to be a ritual of reassurance.
He asks in Hausa: Are the streets quiet? Did the youngsters return early? Any bother close to the market? “After they say all over the place is calm, that’s once I sleep,” he instructed Sunday Vanguard.
Sadiq doesn’t work in politics. However politics now dictates how his household strikes, plans and breathes. When tensions rise between rival political camps in Kano, his kids keep residence from faculty.
When supporters commerce threats on-line, his spouse avoids acquainted routes. Not one of the politicians driving the disaster know his title. Nonetheless, their quarrel has adopted him into his lounge in Abuja.
That is how Nigeria’s godfather–godson politics arrives in atypical lives, not as coverage debates or get together technique, however as worry.
When Mentorship Breaks, States Bleed
Throughout Nigeria, political mentorship is usually packaged as stability; an skilled politician guiding a youthful chief, continuity standing in for chaos. However what’s enjoying out in Kano and Rivers states exposes the darker aspect of that association. As soon as these relationships break down, establishments are was weapons, and it’s the residents who find yourself paying the value.
In each states, the story begins the identical method: a godfather installs a successor; the godson seeks independence. What follows isn’t negotiation however open warfare; performed out by assemblies, courts, defections and federal energy.
From Abuja, the symmetry is tough to disregard. Rivers is locked in paralysis. Kano has been violently realigned. Completely different outcomes, identical value.
Rivers State: A Authorities at Warfare with Itself
In Rivers, the rupture adopted succession. Nyesom Wike, after eight years of dominance, handpicked Siminalayi Fubara as governor, anticipating continuity and loyalty. When Fubara started asserting autonomy, the connection collapsed. The fallout was swift. The Home of Meeting break up. Budgets stalled. Governance slowed to a crawl.
Parallel authorities emerged, every claiming legitimacy. For residents, authorities turned one thing mentioned endlessly on radio whereas tasks froze in place. When a state of emergency was declared, it was introduced as an try to revive order. On the bottom, many residents noticed one thing else: federal energy entering into a private feud. No matter stability returned, belief didn’t.
Rivers turned a case examine in how godfatherism, when challenged, can paralyse a complete state.
Kano: Defection as Detonation
Kano’s disaster unfolded otherwise however minimize simply as deep. In January 2026, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf defected from the NNPP to the APC, taking lawmakers with him and abandoning the motion that produced him. For Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, his political mentor of a long time, the defection was greater than strategic, it was private.
Kwankwaso had groomed Yusuf politically and defended him by troublesome battles. Their alliance was strengthened by lengthy historical past and household ties. To many in Kano, the defection felt like betrayal made public.
The symbolism was stark. Yusuf, who as soon as rejected even the chair utilized by his predecessor Abdullahi Ganduje, now stood overtly endorsed by the identical Ganduje. Yesterday’s enemy turned immediately’s ally.
On the streets, rigidity adopted. Rival emirates hardened divisions. Supporters squared off. Clerics preached restraint whereas politicians reconciled privately. Extraordinary individuals have been urged to steer clear of violence triggered by battles that have been by no means about them.
Abuja’s Quiet Hand
Neither Rivers nor Kano unraveled in isolation. In Rivers, Abuja appeared by emergency powers.
In Kano, it arrived by political embrace and federal incentives.
In each instances, the centre formed outcomes. When entry to federal energy turns into the last word insurance coverage coverage, loyalty shifts away from voters and towards proximity. Politics stops being about persuasion and turns into about survival.
For households like Sadiq’s, the results are speedy. Faculty routines change. Companies sluggish. Anxiousness turns into a part of every day life.
Public Reactions
Igiri Harmless, a Labour Occasion chieftain, stated: “In Rivers State, Wike tried godfatherism, it’s failing already. In Kano State, Kwankwaso tried it, it has failed. In Kaduna State, El-Rufai tried it, it failed. However it’s succeeding in Ebonyi State of South-East for the very first time.”
Usman Suleiman, a journalist, stated: “We actually love Kano, but it surely appears Kano State’s politicians, clerics, and conventional leaders are simply enjoying with the individuals’s minds. Solely in Kano do you see two emirs, every along with his personal supporters, inflicting brothers to struggle one another just because they again completely different individuals. Take a look at the most recent drama between Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. When Abba first took workplace, he refused to sit down on the official chair utilized by his predecessor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and insisted on a brand new one. However now, the identical Ganduje is publicly elevating Abba’s hand in help after his defection to the APC. Sufficient is sufficient for clever individuals. Use your mind and keep out of their drama. Don’t struggle anybody due to them. I’m telling you the reality: these huge males are all the time collectively behind the scenes, regardless of the general public present.”
Ira Andenwui, a public affairs analyst, stated: “What precisely is Kwankwaso not getting proper at Kano? He sacrificed all for Ganduje. He was devoted and dependable to Ganduje since their stroll in governance commenced formally in 1999.
“Kwankwaso has one grave ‘weak spot’: he could be loyal to a fault to his followers. Different godfathers demand respect and loyalty from their followers, rightly so.
“However the man Kwankwaso, a kingmaker in Kano would reasonably be loyal to you than pleasure in your loyalty to him. This has turn out to be a ‘curse’ to his political motion. Once more, the ‘Kwankwaso curse’ struck. Abba dumped Kwankwaso.”
The Folks In-between
From Abuja, these battles are analysed as technique and ambition. On the bottom, they really feel like one thing easier and crueller.
They really feel like nightly cellphone calls. Like kids staying residence. Like households studying to reside with uncertainty.
Again in Abuja, Sadiq’s cellphone lights up. Kano is calm tonight. He exhales. Tomorrow, he’ll name once more, till Nigerian politics remembers that energy is supposed to guard individuals, not flip their lives into collateral injury.
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