Lagos attempting to “colonise” Northern Nigeria – Kwankwaso

Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election and the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, has accused Lagos of attempting to “colonise” the northern region.

The former Kano State governor made these remarks during the convocation ceremony at Skyline University in Kano.

Kwankwaso alleged that Lagos has been a major influence in the ongoing emirate crisis in Kano State, suggesting that its involvement poses a significant threat to the autonomy and interests of the northern region.

“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 is a lot of efforts from the Lagos axis to colonize 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 further raised concerns about tax collection and economic centralisation, accusing Lagos of siphoning resources 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, they are forced to take their headquarters to Lagos because taxes will now have to go to Lagos.”

The NNPP leader 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 rich richer, and I believe this is more dangerous,” he added.

Kwankwaso urged 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.

Reflecting on past legislative decisions, he alleged that lawmakers were once bribed to pass laws that significantly harmed the economy of the northern region and other states.

“We are witnesses to what happened during the first term, 1999 to 2000, where our members of the National Assembly were bribed, were treated into collecting huge sums of money to support offshore in this country. That law put a huge blow into our economy not only here in northern Nigeria but all other states,” Kwankwaso concluded.