RISE AND FRAGMENTATION OF KWANKWASIYYA: EXAMINING THE DYNAMICS OF POLITICAL MENTORSHIP AND SUCCESSION IN KANO STATE, NIGERIA (2011-2023)

Abstract

This paper examines the rise, consolidation, and subsequent internal friction within the Kwankwasiyya political movement in Kano State, Nigeria, focusing on the dynamic relationship between political mentorship and succession politics. Originating under the leadership of former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the Kwankwasiyya movement evolved from a localized patron-client network into a dominant political platform characterized by populism, institutionalized loyalty, and welfare-oriented policies. Drawing on political patronage theory, prebendalism, and elite consolidation models, the study analyzes how the movement successfully mobilized grassroots support while structured around personalist leadership. However, as mentored protégés assumed executive power, most notably during political transitions, the inherent tensions between godfatherism and gubernatorial autonomy triggered internal fractures, elite defections, and factional realignments. Utilizing a qualitative research design based on primary key-informant interviews and secondary political documentation, the study demonstrates that while political mentorship in Kano facilitated power projection and succession, the failure to institutionalize power-sharing mechanisms rendered the movement vulnerable to structural fragmentation. The findings reveals that the Kwankwasiyya movement initially succeeded by blending populist public policy with a tightly disciplined, personalist patronage structure. However, as revealed by interviews with party insiders, this populist appeal masked a strictly hierarchical power structure, which simultaneously prevented the growth of internal democratic mechanisms for conflict resolution. The paper recommends that political parties must move away from personalist, candidate-imposition frameworks toward transparent, institutionalized nomination processes and the need to reduce hyper-centralization of state resources that makes the governorship a zero-sum prebendal prize.