By Abubakar Yunusa
A chieftain of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) and leader of the influential Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), Balarabe Rufa’i, has joined the Kano governorship race on the platform of African Democratic Alliance (ADC).
He vowed to change the permutations across all the political parties in favour of the ADC, a hitherto largely unrecognized party in Kano if elected governor.
He said politics is an honourable calling that must not be allowed to be toyed with by people who are ill-prepared and ill-equipped to provide meaningful leadership in the context of the current fast-phased global trend.
He said, “If Nigerians and in particular the people of Kano state wish to hear the truth, they should be told that for too long, they have staked their fortunes in the hands of a handful of persons who are apparently ill-prepared and ill-equipped to lead, except for their personal quest for power and acquisition of wealth.
“My main motivation for seeking the ADC governorship ticket is the realisation that younger northern Nigerians have a major role to play in rescuing our region from the margin of irrelevance, impotence, inconsequence and decay in the context of the Nigerian nation which currently runs on the basis of values and practices that we need to understand, adapt to or create alternatives that suit our cultures, circumstances and interests,” he said.
Affirming the support of women and the youth of Kano State to the Rufa’i governorship project, Hajiya Shamsiyya Salisu, Chairperson, Women United for Change and Good Governance (WUCGG), noted that the aspiration of such focused young people like Rufa’i is a definite reassurance that the future of Kano youth and women could after all be secured.
She said “At the risk of overstating the obvious, we can safely and proudly say that with the singular involvement of Rufa’i, the ADC, a hitherto obscure party in Kano, is today making a mark with every significant component of Kano, society, making steady inroads with women and youth and its presence is felt among the Kano intelligentsia, community leaders, students in higher institutions, as well as the business community”.
The Women Leader hinted also that Rufa’i’s presence in the field has, apart from increasing the popularity rating of the ADC, also rattled other political opportunists vying for the same position across all political parties in the state.
