Kano state governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has revealed the real reasons why he banned Sheikh Abduljabbar Sheikh Nasir Kabara from preaching and ordering the closure of his mosque in Kano, debunking the cleric’s allegation that it was a political attack.
The governor said the state government will not allow one person to ignite crises and tamper with the peaceful coexistence in the state.
Speaking to BBC Hausa service Thursday evening, the governor said, “We are watching carefully all his activities. The security operatives are very careful of what he is doing and as you can see we have taken action.”
“We have just started, provided what he is doing will tamper with the peaceful coexistence in Kano. So, the security are doing their job to ensure that peace is maintain in Kano and I hope people will understand this,” Ganduje said.
On why the government did not honour Kabara’s opinion to give chance for debate or dialogue, the governor said, “How did government ignore him? Let me tell you he is a deciever, how did government come into this matter? The time he challenged and abused the Ulamas, is it the government that asked him to do that?
“The reason why government intervene in the matter is because he said anybody that go near his place should be slaughtered.”
Governor Ganduje said the decision taken by his government has nothing to do with politics, challenging the cleric to compete with him if he is ready.
“He is lying that this decision has to do with politics. That he is commanding his people to go and register, let them do it. There is a political battleground, let him come and compete with me and see what will happen.
“Because he gathered some people clapping for him all the time that makes him proud that he has people. We are presently doing registration too, let us see who will win. God always help those that stand by the truth.”
Reacting to the cleric’s claim that the state commissioner of education has confirmed that he was deprived his right, Ganduje challenged the cleric to bring evidence that the commissioner said such a thing.
“We want him to bring the audio where the Commissioner has said this if he is not lying. Secondly, we have seen a video where he said anybody that went to his place should be slaughtered. This is an act of igniting crisis and Kano state government will not allow this to continue.”
Kabara, who has always been considered too controversial with his messages and reported attacks on the companions of Prophet Muhammad PBUH in his messages, told Daily Trust the order was issued because he worked against Ganduje during the 2019 general election.
The election, which was keenly contested, led to a runoff before Ganduje, who ran under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), defeated Abba Kabir Yusuf, his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rival.
“The reasons are very obvious. The person who took the decision (Ganduje) has said it times without number that he never forgives. I fought him during the last election and he promised to retaliate. Only that he is taking the wrong decision at the wrong time. So this ban is purely political, it has nothing to do with religion or incitement.
“I have told my followers to prepare their votes ahead of the next election and do the needful. Alhamdulillah for everything, I am fighting scholars, not Government, but in the end, Government took over on their behalf.
“This clearly shows that they don’t have answers to all my questions. How does the government know that I’m inciting the public on religious issues? Did they go through the books I have been making reference to before jumping to the conclusion? Are they even knowledgeable about them?
“They should at least check the books I made reference to but without doing so, they have been unfair to me.”
