Kwankwaso alleges Lagos interference in affairs of Northern Nigeria
Former Kano State Governor and presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 election, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has raised concerns over what he describes as efforts by Lagos to “colonize” northern Nigeria.
Speaking at the convocation ceremony of Skyline University in Kano, Kwankwaso accused forces based in Lagos of meddling in the governance and economic affairs of Kano State, including the selection of its emir.
He alleged that the Kano emirate has been reduced to a puppet institution, with decisions allegedly influenced by external forces from Lagos.
“Today, we can see very clearly that there is a lot of effort from the Lagos axis to colonize this part of the country. Lagos wouldn’t allow us to choose an emir; Lagos has to come to the centre of Kano to impose their own emir,” Kwankwaso said.
The former minister of defense also criticized Lagos’s role in tax collection, claiming that the region’s revenue is being funneled to Lagos through unfair practices.
“Today, 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. Even telephones registered here in Kano have their taxes diverted to Lagos,” he said.
Kwankwaso further alleged that northern-based businesses, including factories and banks, are pressured to relocate their headquarters to Lagos, thereby diverting significant revenue from the region.
He urged lawmakers from northern Nigeria to be vigilant against policies or legislation that could disadvantage the region. Recalling past incidents, he accused northern representatives in the National Assembly of succumbing to external influences to pass laws detrimental to their constituencies.
“We are witnesses to what happened during the first term, 1999 to 2000, where our members of the National Assembly were bribed and pressured into passing offshore laws. Those laws delivered a huge blow to our economy, not only here in northern Nigeria but in other states as well,” Kwankwaso said.
He called for unity and proactive measures among northern leaders to protect the region’s interests and resist what he described as economic and political marginalization.
