By Nigeria Democracy Working Team
One should ‘ve overlooked the press briefing by the former Secretary to the Government of Kano State, Alhaji Usman Alhaji under the banner of “APC Patriotic Volunteers”, in which he accused the government of Kano State of lack of clear policy direction, petty sentiments, and incompetence in managing the state affairs.
His assessment of the 2-Year NNPP Administration in Kano State, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, was unjustifiably harsh on Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf’s administration, accusing it of bad governance and non performance.
However, while ignoring such weighty accusations without clarifications, it will amount to giving it a tacit approval. In essence, it is like supporting the misinformation and distortion of facts.
Alhaji Usman Alhaji’s vituperation is like “the ranting of an ant.” As a “political figure’ who held various political positions, there is no doubt experiencing a fall from grace to grass, is indeed painful
It is obvious that he is gasping for political relevance, hoping to bounce back into the circle of politically relevant personalities in the State and in the country, at large
The best way to describe his predicament is the Hausa proverb that says “Tururuwa in taso lalacewa fukafuki ta kan yi,” meaning “if an ant is about to lose relevance, it will develop wings.”
A cursory look at Alhaji Usman Alhaji’s political history would reveal like an ant whose time was up, how he has been gradually losing relevance due to his serial election loses and lack of political impact even at the lowest grassroots level.
Although Alhaji Usman Alhaji
This is a man who has assigned to key important positions in politics. He was General Secretary of National Republican Convention (NRC), a National Political Party. He also served as Education Commissioner in Kano State and later became Secretary to the State Government, yet it was evident all these positions he held were never impactful, as they were all acquired not through dent of hard work but through political consensus and negotiations. All his records of political contests had resulted in failure, a development that perhaps explained his deep frustrations and why he is suddenly drifting to the depths of irrelevance and is currently hanging on a Kangaroo and Mushroom Political Support Group to regain his feet.
A further close examination of Alhaji Usman Alhaji’s political life would reveal how he is gradually undergoing a sense of political decline with diminishing relevance and is equally experiencing a fall from prominence to irrelevance
How can a politician who has occupied key positions in political parties at national and state levels lack a visible political structure but are suddenly reduced to holding a banner of a support group?
His tale is a perfect description of a person experiencing a significant decline and downfall from a position of success as appointee, holding a position of power and influence to a state of minimal importance, effectiveness and relevance.
A politician who has been reduced to such level and is now gasping for air through a pressure group can best be described as someone drifting from political peak to a political pit.
The misinformation and distortion of facts he rather chose to profess is perhaps borne out of these political frustrations, which is associated with his sudden decline and irrelevance, as he is currently experiencing.
In the year 2007, Alhaji Usman Alhaji ran for the Senate under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but lost to Senator Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya
He equally contested for the Senate under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in 2011, yet he lost the election.
During the 2015 election, he was one of the most visible aspirants in terms of publicity, but unknown to many, he was a paper tiger, bargaining for an appointment. He stepped down for Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje who was in the gubernatorial election but was compensated with the position of SSG.
Psychologists are of the view that the psychological impact of repeated electoral defeats can lead to increased stress and anxiety levels, as they can potentially affect a person’s mental health and decision-making abilities.
While serial losses of elections may erode a politician’s confidence and his abilities to perform, it thus makes it more challenging for him to bounce back and regain momentum in his political career. His situation can also lead to the loss of public support and can add to the stress and pressure on his political life and emotional distress, which can be substantial, and can potentially lead to feelings of disappointment, frustration, and despair, as in the case of Alhaji Usman Alhaji, who had a free fall from national relevance to a state of obscurity.
For almost eleven years, Alhaji Usman Alhaji had held the position of secretary to the Kano State Government (SSG).
The first four years were under Engineer Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso and the remaining years under Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Let’s look at his antecedents and performance. His performance has been dismally low, falling short of expectations, with no record of significant achievements and policy direction. Engineer Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso tolerated him and gave his administration a clear direction, while the Ganduje administration caved into failure along with him.
This is a man who was privileged to hold key positions in his educational career and later in political circle, but, one can see how desperate he is holding to a Kangaroo political support group to gain prominence.
It’s worth noting that politicians like this are not immune to the emotional and psychological effects of repeated failures. Hence, there is no doubt that Alhaji Usman Alhaji has been the case. His narration is a tale of a politician betraying his State while biting the figures that fed him, showing a difference between dignity and political desperation.
However, despite his antics, if you keep your ears to the ground, you will hear the footsteps of NNPP Administration, under Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf on education, healthcare development, agricultural revolution and a lot more.
The impact is clear and palpable. The people of Kano State are happy with the leadership of His Excellency, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, and the administration performance is outstanding.
Muhammad Salis
State Coordinator,
Nigeria Democracy Working Team
12th June, 2025