ABBA KABIR YUSUF: WHEN PERFORMANCE SPEAKS LOUDER THAN PROPAGANDA
By the Media Directorate
Abba Gida Gida Again 2027 Movement, Kiru/Bebeji Chapter
In Kano’s increasingly heated political environment, an interAbsolutely. Here is a tighter, newspaper-style version with a stronger headline and sharper political argument, suitable for publication as an opinion/article piece.
ABBA KABIR YUSUF: WHEN PERFORMANCE SPEAKS LOUDER THAN PROPAGANDA
By the Media Directorate
Abba Gida Gida Again 2027 Movement, Kiru/Bebeji Chapter
In Kano’s increasingly heated political environment, an interesting contrast is emerging. While opponents of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf continue to flood the public space with allegations, accusations and social-media campaigns, the Governor appears to have adopted a different strategy: let them talk while government works.
That strategy may eventually prove more politically consequential than any social-media battle.
Governor Yusuf understands opposition politics because he emerged from it. Having spent years within a political movement that operated from the opposition trenches in Kano, he understands how political narratives are constructed, repeated and amplified.
He knows that an allegation repeated often enough can acquire the appearance of truth, particularly in the age of social media. He also understands that an incumbent government can easily be distracted when it responds to every accusation and allows its opponents to determine the subject of public debate.
The Governor’s apparent response has been simple: govern.
That does not mean criticism should be ignored. A democratic government must answer legitimate questions, correct misinformation and provide citizens with accurate information. But there is a difference between accountability and allowing political opponents to dictate the daily agenda of government.
THE REAL KANO IS BEYOND SOCIAL MEDIA
One of the biggest mistakes in contemporary politics is to confuse social-media activity with public opinion.
The Kano that appears on Facebook, X, TikTok and WhatsApp is only a fraction of Kano.
Beyond the screens are farmers travelling to their farms, women running small businesses, retirees waiting for their entitlements, teachers looking for employment, young people seeking opportunities, parents worried about their children’s education and communities demanding roads, healthcare and security.
Many of these citizens do not participate in online political arguments.
But they vote.
And their judgement of government is likely to be influenced by what they experience personally rather than by the loudest political argument on their phones.
GOVERNMENT PROGRAMMES AND THE HUMAN BEING BEHIND THE FIGURE
Consider the reported payment of more than ₦30 billion toward outstanding gratuities and retirement benefits.
The figure may appear impressive in a government statement, but its real meaning is found in the lives behind the number.
For an elderly retiree, receiving a long-awaited entitlement may mean paying medical expenses, supporting children, settling debts or simply recovering a sense of dignity after decades of public service.
The same principle applies to the reported empowerment of vulnerable women with ₦50,000 support.
For some observers, it may be another government statistic.
For a woman struggling to keep a small business alive, it may represent capital, food on the table and hope for her family.
Government performance should therefore not be judged only by the size of figures announced at press conferences. It should also be judged by what those figures mean when they reach ordinary households.
12,000 TEACHERS: MORE THAN 12,000 BENEFICIARIES
The recruitment of more than 12,000 teachers provides another example.
A teacher employed by government is not an isolated beneficiary.
There are parents who invested in that person’s education, a spouse who may depend on the income, children who may benefit from improved household circumstances, siblings, relatives and an entire community that celebrates the opportunity.
Employment restores more than income.
It can restore dignity, confidence and economic independence.
This is why the political and socioeconomic impact of employment can extend far beyond the number of people directly recruited.
HEALTHCARE THAT CITIZENS CAN EXPERIENCE
Healthcare presents perhaps an even more direct connection between government and citizens.
New Primary Healthcare Centres, renovated facilities, medical supplies and equipment can directly affect families.
A pregnant woman accessing antenatal care closer to home does not need a political commentator to tell her whether healthcare infrastructure matters.
A mother whose child receives treatment at an improved facility already has her own experience.
This is why functional public infrastructure can be more powerful than political messaging.
People experience it.
GAYA POLYTECHNIC AND LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT
The establishment of Gaya Polytechnic also demonstrates the difference between immediate political messaging and long-term development.
A tertiary institution creates educational opportunities, but its impact does not end there.
Students need accommodation, food, transportation and other services. Staff require housing and daily necessities. Local traders, artisans, transport operators and landlords can benefit from increased economic activity.
Over time, the institution can become an economic anchor for its host community.
That is development whose impact can continue long after the political argument of the day has disappeared.
ROADS DO NOT NEED SOCIAL MEDIA TO EXIST
Road construction provides perhaps the simplest example.
A politician can argue about a road.
An opposition party can criticise it.
A social-media influencer can dismiss it.
But if a road has actually been constructed, residents can see it.
Farmers use it. Traders use it. Students use it. Commercial vehicles use it.
The administration’s reported five-kilometre road projects across the 44 Local Government Areas therefore represent more than announcements if they are completed and maintained.
Infrastructure ultimately creates its own evidence.
SECURITY AND THE WAR AGAINST DRUG ABUSE
The strengthening of community-security structures through the Kano State Neighbourhood Watch is another area where government intervention has potential consequences for ordinary citizens.
Farmers want to reach their farms safely.
Traders want to operate without fear.
Parents want their children protected.
Communities want confidence in the security of lives and property.
Similarly, the renewed campaign against drug abuse has implications far beyond law enforcement.
Drug abuse damages families, education, productivity and public health. Young people affected by substance abuse can also become vulnerable to criminal networks, violence and political exploitation.
A serious anti-drug campaign should therefore combine enforcement with prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and opportunities for affected young people.
CRITICISM IS NOT THE ENEMY
None of this suggests that Governor Yusuf should be immune from criticism.
Quite the opposite.
Democracy requires scrutiny.
Opposition parties and civil society organisations should question government spending, investigate allegations, expose wrongdoing and demand accountability.
But criticism becomes less valuable when it is replaced by personal attacks, deliberate misinformation or controversies manufactured simply to keep government permanently defensive.
The government also has responsibilities.
It must not dismiss every criticism as propaganda. Where mistakes occur, they should be acknowledged. Where allegations concern public resources, records should be provided. Where genuine shortcomings exist, they should be addressed.
The answer to misinformation should be facts. The answer to criticism should be accountability. And the answer to political distraction should be performance.
THE REAL POLITICAL TEST
Governor Yusuf’s greatest mistake would be to spend his administration fighting every political battle on social media.
His opponents may be comfortable on that battlefield.
He does not need to be.
Government should provide facts when necessary while continuing to focus on roads, education, healthcare, employment, security, economic empowerment and other areas that directly affect citizens.
Let the critics produce another allegation.
Let government produce another result.
Let another controversy dominate social media.
Let another community receive a road.
Let another retiree receive an entitlement.
Let another graduate secure employment.
Let another woman receive economic support.
Let another healthcare facility become functional.
Let another community experience improved security.
That is the language ordinary citizens understand.
PERFORMANCE VERSUS PROPAGANDA
Those who believe political fortunes are determined entirely by social-media narratives may eventually discover the difference between digital visibility and electoral reality.
Elections are not won by hashtags alone.
They are decided by voters.
And voters carry their experiences with them.
The retiree remembers the gratuity.
The teacher remembers the appointment.
The woman remembers the empowerment support.
The patient remembers the healthcare facility.
The farmer remembers the road.
The student remembers the educational opportunity.
The community remembers the security intervention.
These experiences cannot simply be deleted by a social-media post.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf understands the machinery of opposition politics because he once operated within it.
He therefore knows that political noise can be loud without necessarily being deep.
He also knows that repeated allegations may dominate conversations temporarily, but lived experiences are much harder to erase.
The political contest ahead will therefore not be decided solely by who dominates social media.
It will also be decided by who can convince ordinary Kano citizens that their lives have improved.
And that is where performance becomes more important than propaganda.
Let them talk. Let government work.
When the noise eventually subsides, Kano citizens will judge Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf not merely by what his opponents said about him, but by what they saw, what they received, what changed in their communities and how they experienced his administration.
Propaganda may win the argument of the moment. Performance has a better chance of winning the memory of the people.
MEDIA DIRECTORATE
ABBA GIDA GIDA AGAIN 2027 MOVEMENT
KIRU/BEBEJI CHAPTER