Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement and presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 election, has alleged a plot by Lagos to dominate northern Nigeria.
Kwankwaso made this bold claim during a speech at the convocation ceremony of Skyline University in Kano.
The former Kano State governor accused Lagos of interfering in the emirate system and controlling the economic activities of the North.
He described the alleged plans as an attempt to colonize the region and weaken its autonomy.
“Today, we can see very clearly that there is a lot of effort from the Lagos axis to colonize this part of the country,” Kwankwaso declared.
He claimed that Lagos has imposed its influence on Kano’s traditional leadership by determining who becomes the emir.
“Lagos wouldn’t allow us to choose an emir,” Kwankwaso alleged.
He accused Lagos of meddling in the affairs of the North, saying, “Lagos has to come to the center of Kano to put their own emir.”
Kwankwaso also criticized Lagos for allegedly diverting taxes generated in Kano and other northern states to itself.
“Today, Lagos young men are working so hard to impose taxes and take away our taxes from Kano to Lagos,” he said.
The former governor expressed frustration over the economic imbalance between the regions.
“Even the telephones that we register here in Kano, efforts are there to take all the taxes to Lagos,” he claimed.
Kwankwaso also accused Lagos of forcing businesses in northern Nigeria to relocate their headquarters to the southern commercial hub.
“Many factories and banks owned by our sons and daughters in Kano are forced to move their headquarters to Lagos,” he lamented.
Kwankwaso described these developments as part of a broader scheme to impoverish the North.
“We have seen efforts to make the poor poorer and the rich richer, and I believe this is more dangerous,” he warned.
The senator called on lawmakers from the North to defend the region’s interests and prevent further exploitation.
“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 in Kano,” he said.
Kwankwaso also criticized northern lawmakers for past decisions that he claimed hurt the region’s economy.
He referred to legislative actions from 1999 to 2000, accusing lawmakers of being bribed to pass laws that harmed the North.
“Our National Assembly members were bribed to support offshore policies, which put a huge blow to our economy,” he alleged.
Kwankwaso painted a bleak picture of the challenges facing northern Nigeria.
He highlighted issues such as insecurity, poverty, hunger, and poor healthcare.
“Our situation in Kano and indeed northern Nigeria is very difficult,” he said.
Kwankwaso urged northern leaders to rise to the occasion and fight for the region’s survival.
The senator’s comments come amid longstanding concerns about regional inequality in Nigeria.
Northern Nigeria has faced criticisms of underdevelopment despite being home to significant agricultural and human resources.
In contrast, Lagos, as Nigeria’s commercial capital, generates the largest share of the country’s internally generated revenue.