I just learned that Kano State governor Abba Kabiru Yusuf, who is said to be Fulani, has a Senior Special Assistant on Fulfulde by the name of Rukayya Umar Gadon Kaya in a state that is overwhelmingly Hausa.
This curious detail came to light yesterday after the SSA took a swipe at the majority population, not by naming them directly, but by using “Kado,” a term widely understood as a Fulani slur for Hausa people.
Now, forget the slur for a second. What is the governing logic behind a Fulani governor appointing a Senior Special Assistant on Fulfulde, the language of the Fulani?
Specially assisting him on what exactly?
It is the sort of thing that would raise eyebrows if Kogi’s Usman Ododo, an Ebira man, appointed a Special Assistant on Ebira Affairs in a state where the Igala are the demographic majority. The contexts are not identical, but the incongruity is similar enough to make the point.
Perhaps Governor Yusuf also has a Senior Special Assistant on Hausa, plus a full cabinet of other ethnically curated special assistants.
If so, one wonders whether governance has been outsourced to a directory of identity managers. Either way, it is a curious spectacle.
Credit: Farooq Kperogi/Facebook.
