THE IMPACT OF YANBANGA, YANDABA AND YAN JAGALIYA ON THE POLITICS OF KANO FROM 1999-2023

Abstract

The groups of Y'andaba [notorious group] are in most cases called 'Yanbanga [political thugs]. However, Yanbanga are political party thugs in the political arena being the terrorist group of youths associated with politicians, whose primary responsibility initially is the protection of their political party and its manifesto, in addition to being used in stuffing of ballot boxes with already casted votes, snatching ballot boxes and causing public unrest during election campaigns and rallies of their opponents. Y'an Jagaliya on the other hand are the same unemployed Yanbanga group who follow the political office holders and party leaders at homes and offices to benefit from their roles during the electioneering campaigns. All the above three groups had been a public menace in Kano's political dispensations since the return to democracy in Nigeria in 1999. The youths remained the culprits of this negative development. They resort to Jagaliya and political thuggery to earn a living. This is because they are being manipulated by the political class to achieve their goals. Political thuggery remained a serious threat in Nigerian politics since the First Republic serving as tools by the politicians to victimize and intimidate their opponents. This paper is an attempt to examine and explain the meaning of Jagaliya from various perspectives and its background in the Hausa social, economic and political history. This is necessary in order to ascertain critically the essence and origin of Jagaliya in the political development of Kano