Kwankwaso called on northern lawmakers to remain vigilant and oppose policies that might put the region at a disadvantage.
Kano, Nigeria – Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election and leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, has made a controversial accusation, alleging that Lagos is plotting to “colonise” the northern region.
Speaking at the convocation ceremony of Skyline University in Kano, the former governor of Kano State expressed concerns over Lagos’ influence in northern affairs.
Kwankwaso specifically pointed to Lagos’ involvement in the ongoing emirate disputes in Kano, claiming that Lagos has interfered with the region’s governance. “The emir is just being a stooge at this very difficult time, especially in this part of the country,” he said. “Today, we can see very clearly that there is a lot of effort 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.”
He also raised economic concerns, accusing Lagos of centralizing economic activities and imposing taxes that drain 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,” Kwankwaso stated. He claimed that even the registration of telephones and the establishment of factories and banks in the north are being manipulated to benefit Lagos economically.
“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,” he added.
The NNPP leader further criticized the economic disparity between the rich and the poor, warning that the growing wealth gap poses a severe threat to national stability. “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 remarked.
Kwankwaso called on northern lawmakers to remain vigilant and oppose policies that might put the region at a disadvantage. “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 urged.
He also revisited past legislative actions, alleging that northern lawmakers were once bribed to pass laws that had detrimental effects on the region’s economy. “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,” Kwankwaso said. “That law put a huge blow into our economy not only here in northern Nigeria but all other states,” he concluded.
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