Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election and leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, has accused Lagos of planning to “colonise” the northern area.
Speaking during the convocation ceremony at Skyline University in Kano, the former Kano State governor said that Lagos had a big part in the state’s ongoing emirate battle.
“Let me note our situation here in Kano and indeed northern Nigeria,” Kwankwaso said.
“The emir is just being a stooge at this very difficult time, especially in this part of the country (northern Nigeria).
“Today, we can see very clearly that there are a lot of efforts from the Lagos axis to colonise this part of the country. Today, Lagos wouldn’t allow us to choose an emir; Lagos has to come to the centre of Kano to put their own emir.”
Kwankwaso also expressed concerns about tax collection and economic centralisation, accusing Lagos of syphoning funds from Kano and other northern states.
“Today, we are aware that the Lagos young men are working so hard to impose taxes and take away our taxes from Kano and this part of the country to Lagos,” he stated.
“Even the telephones that we make or register here in Kano, efforts are there to take all the taxes to Lagos.
“Even our sons and daughters who have brought factories—many of them here in Kano and northern Nigeria—and even banks, somehow, are forced to take their headquarters to Lagos because taxes will now have to go to Lagos.”
The NNPP chieftain also decried the widening gap between the rich and the poor, describing the situation as perilous for the nation.
“We have seen the efforts of some people to make the poor poorer and the richer, and I believe this is more dangerous,” he added.
He called on northern lawmakers to remain vigilant and resist policies that might disadvantage the region.
“At this moment, I would like to call all our National Assembly members to keep their eyes open so that they don’t do anything that would cheat the people of northern Nigeria, especially here, Kano,” he said.
