It was triumphant return of a brave hero of Kwankwasiyya moment and the beloved governor of Kano State, Abba Kabir Yusuf, back home after a widely celebrated victory at the Supreme Court.
Thousands of supporters of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), on Sunday, took over the entire Kano-Zaria highway to receive the ‘Gida Gida’, in their multitude, triggering gridlock on the busy highway.
It was not a pleasant experience for most travelers caught in the procession who were either returning or going out of Kano along the Kano-Zaria-Kaduna highway as the mammoth crowd matched down from Kano metropolis to Konar Dangora, singing and dancing, to receive the governor.
After almost three weeks in Abuja, where he subsequently secured victory of his mandate, Governor Yusuf alongside hundreds of his supporters had traveled by road, ostensibly to reduce overstretching aviation facilities at the Kano airport.
However, the governor’s convey, which arrived Kaduna as early as 10am could not get to the popular Mahaha open field in Kano as at 9pm when this reporter filed the story.
Governor Yusuf’s convey was scheduled to move straight to Mahaha ground in the metropolis, where he is expected to address loyalists but could barely arrived the city 12 hours later.
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld Yusuf’s election, having set aside the verdicts of the Court of Appeal and the election petitions tribunal, which earlier voided his victory in the March 18, 2023 governorship poll.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, who was defeated at the poll and also lost the legal ground to claim Governor Yusuf’s mandate, had accepted the Supreme Court verdict in good faith.
Gawuna, in a message on Saturday, also urged his supporters to accept the judgment that validated the NNPP candidate as act of God which cannot be challenged.
In his magnanimity, Governor Yusuf had in turn extended hands of fellowship to Gawuna in the overall interest of growth and development of Kano.
