2023: Why Presidential Candidates Are Focusing On Kano State

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu donated N100 million to flood victims in Kano at a dinner organised in his honour by the Kano business community council on Saturday.

It is painful that up to 23 people lost their lives to flooding and windstorm in twenty-five local government areas in Kano on Thursday, as confirmed by the Kano State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

The region is not the only state overpowered by flood today; Benue, Jigawa, Cross River, Delta, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom are some of the other states in the federation that are also battling deadly floods and daunting consequences of climate action.

But Kano State is receiving the national outlook the rest of the other states in the country deserve to put together because the state is of greater political relevance than others in Nigeria.

Thunderous Voting Strength 

In 2019, the voter register made available by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to party leaders revealed that Kano State has a formidable number of registered voters, with 5.4 million, second to only Lagos with  6.5 million.

According to INEC, Kano has 6,026,850 registered voters for the 2023 general election, which is more than twice what Anambra State can gather in the coming election.

As stated earlier, it trailed Lagos in 2019 and still does but remains a vote home for any serious candidate. 

All the presidential candidates in 2023 are mapping out every 'every machiavellian' strategy at their disposal to appeal to people within voting age in Kano. 

Kano Houses Politically Informed Voters

Kano has remained a target because it is the voting capital of northern Nigeria. The state has arguably become the voting epicentre of Nigeria.

Some of the presidential candidates believe that good records with the Kano people will paint a satisfactory public image and form an excellent public opinion of the polity. 

The state also has the country's highest number of local government areas.. 

Home Of A Strong Presidential Contender

Like a football league with season wonders, pretenders and contenders, the 2023 presidential election also shares the features (look forward to our in-depth analysis of the Presidential game in January 2023).

Former Governor of Kano State and presidential flagbearer of the Nigeria National Peoples Party (NNPP), Dr Rabiu Kwakwanso, is a strong force in the coming election, according to insiders of the Nigeria political space.

Other parties need a fair share of Kano State votes, which might be difficult because validation based on ethnicity or family ties has not departed Nigerian politics. 

The Clear Antecedent 

History has not failed over the last five elections; every winner of the presidential seat in Nigeria since 1999 has garnered at least 15% of total valid votes in Kano State. 

It is much consequential to state that the last two winners in the presidential race in Nigeria have come out victorious in Kano State. 

The voting pattern in Kano has been ethnic. 

It becomes safe to conclude that Bola Ahmed Tinubu donated a whopping N100 million to Kano state flood victims to disrupt Kano's voting pattern. 

Muhammadu Buhari, then of CPC, took 60.77% of the votes in 2011, 89.44% in 2015 and 77.45% in 2019, which could be attributed to his contest with another northerner from Adamawa State, Atiku Abubakar.

Presidential candidates from northern extraction have won in Kano State over the years. 

The Fact 

It is a sound political strategy to appease a voting population that has always been uniform and ethnic in their vote cast.

It is also deceptive if a political candidate's premium is rubbing succour to the potential voters in Kano State alone.

Written by Yusuf Adua