Danzago: Tribute fighter and peace-maker, by Jaafar Jaafar

Danzago: Tribute fighter and peace-maker, by Jaafar Jaafar

He was both a fighter and a peace-maker. In politics, the late Alhaji Ahmadu Haruna Zago fought like a honey badger, while outside politics he cut the image a white dove.

Danzago was a shrewd politician, an astute arbitrator, a successful BDC oprator, a niche travel agent and passive real estate developer. Danzago never understood Mandarin, but he was a longtime intermediary between Kano government and the Lee-led Chinese community. He was also not proficient in Arabic, but was the linkage between the state government and the Saudi consulate for many years.

He was so good at mediation that he was entrusted to serve as a secret mediator/emissary at the early stage of Kwankwaso-Ganduje feud. I think he knew the root cause of the crisis and the grievances of the parties more than anybody else.

Danzago fought many political battles, especially intra-party battles. Danzago also loved opposition. He would fight to defeat a ruling party, but later lead an internal rebellion that would lead to the defeat of the same party.

During the Second Republic, he was in the opposition, supporting NPN’s Aminu Wali against PRP’s Sabo Bakin Zuwo. In the botched Third Republic, he supported NRC’s Kabiru Gaya to defeat SDP’s Magaji Abdullahi. In the build-up to the Fourth Republic, he was Kwankwaso’s ally in DPN, but when new parties were formed in 1998, he dumped Kwankwaso to support Magaji Abdullahi as APP governorship candidate.

In 2003, he supported APP’s Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau to defeat Kwankwaso. He wanted to be the subtantive party chairman after briefly serving as caretaker chairman during campaign, but the new governor was opposed to the idea. He initially served as the political adviser to Shekarau before resigning to vie for the party chairmanship. He fought Shekarau tooth and nail when the governor favoured late Sani Hashim Hotoro as APP chairman and compensated other contestants such Mohammed Bello and Adamu Babawo with cabinet positions. Danzago was however replaced by his godson, Alkasim Ajumawa.

In 2011, he led another political battle in the opposition CPC. When ACN, NNPP, CPC and “new PDP” merged to form APC, he joined Kwankwaso’s government as an adviser, and hanged within the circle until he fell out with Ganduje in 2023 when he led an APC faction. The Danzago-led faction caused a legal chaos in APC, diverted Ganduje’s attention from the grassroots campaign to Abuja and courtrooms and helped in throttling the party to failure.

After the fall of APC, he showed keen intest in clearing heaps of rubbish that filled the city at the begining of Governor Abba Yusuf’s administration. Perhaps this waste collection zeal caught the attention of the governor to appoint him as the managing director of state refuse management agency.

After wining and losing many political battles, Danzago lost a battle with protracted illness at the age of 74.

May Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant him Jannatul Firdaus.