Northern Governors and the NORTH

By

Bello Abdullahi

belloabd2005@yahoo.com

The attainment of Independence in 1960 ushered in the First Republic under the Parliamentary System of Government, adopted from the system of our colonialists, the British. Three Regions emerged based on the three major tribes in the Country: the Northern Region (for the Hausa/Fulani), the Western Region (for the Yorubas), and the Eastern Region (for the Igbos). This “neat” demarcation was possible before the emergence of “Middle-belt” and South-South agitations to address “minorities’” interests in the country. These regions were headed by the leaders of the three major tribes in the country, namely, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and Doctor Nnamdi Azikiwe, respectively.

Such was the situation until the demise of the First Republic in 1966 when the Parliamentary government was toppled. In 1967 the regions were balkanized into twelve states. Since then, the geography of the country has changed as more states were created up to the present thirty six states.

The former Northern Region headed by the then Premier, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, Gamji Dan Kwarai, of blessed memory,   is now made up of nineteen states – from where the so-called “Northern Governors Forum” picked its name. The Forum is only being used as a jamboree for the governors to meet and discuss their overseas trips, show off their latest official vehicles, how well dressed they are, or invite each other to weddings, or both. The fact of the matter is that such meetings do not bear any impact on the performance of the governors as legacies such as NNDC, Bank of the North, New Nigerian Newspapers, Ahmadu Bello University, among others, are allowed to completely die or contract terminal diseases, or decay. Any way, I will leave this for another day. For now, my focus is on the Northern Governors and the North.

The sad story is that after the six years most of them have so far spent in office, the North has little to show for it. Go round the states and you will be shocked with what you will see considering the fact that most of these states are almost forty years old! One thing is glaringly clear – that all the states have the problems of poor education policies, street begging, and unemployment in common.

The Northern Region, from Katsina (in the present Katsina State to Makurdi (in the present Benue State), from Ilorin (in the present Kwara State) to Jalingo (in the present Taraba State), was effectively administered by a single Premier from the headquarters in Kaduna, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, of blessed memory. The impact of his administration was felt throughout the Region as the Premier epitomized good leadership, the fear of God, integrity, hard work, honesty, self-less service, and above all, patriotism. He symbolized the Northern Region, and except for the subtle Middle belt Movement voice then, the North was one single entity led by the Premier. After he lost his life in the coup that toppled the First Republic he had made so much impact in the socio-political and economic life of the North that most of the structures he left behind contributed in one way or the other in the life of the people. That is why today a day does not pass without prayers being showered on him. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace, Ameen. All the so-called Northern-Elites, without exception, benefited from his good governance. They are either occupying important administrative positions in the Civil Service, successful businessmen, or technocrats in the private sector. The sad story is that only few of them borrow a leaf from how he governed and led his life – they only derive pleasure in mentioning his name to show allegiance which we know is false. Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto is up till today, a mentors’ Mentor and will continue to be for a long time to come because there is no sign of a replacement in sight almost forty years after his demise. How sad!

Most of the governors of the North now are beneficiaries of either the schools he established or the administrative structures he left behind. They enjoyed free scholarship from primary up to university level, with the guarantee of a lucrative job on graduation. The sad story is that most of these governors today have not learnt anything from the exemplary life the leader of the then Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, led as an honest leader, leaving behind only an official residence in Kaduna and a traditional family house in his hometown, Rabah. They only enjoy mentioning his name during rallies, presentations, official functions, etc.

I dare say that ALL the Northern Governors as at today are richer and more comfortable than the day they assumed office. No wonder that most, if not all of them are “Presidential Candidates”, at least on posters and through the print and electronic media. While they live a hedonistic life style, are neck deep in sleaze and shenanigans, their citizens have continued to wallow in abject poverty, hunger and disease. Most people cannot even afford to send their children and wards to primary schools. Visit the cosmopolitan towns of the Region such as Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Yola, Jos, Katsina, or Makurdi, the story is no different. Illiteracy, street begging, unemployment, dilapidated structures, weather-beaten school structures, and hunger in the faces of the citizens are all you see. The few governors that make efforts only concentrate infrastructures in the State capitals to show off, while the rural populace that depend on subsistence farming and animal husbandry continue to wallow in abject poverty as even the fertilizer that they will rely on is being politicized. Even where efforts are made by concerned and patriotic individuals or non-governmental organizations to come up with a blueprint on how to change things for the better socially and economically within the North the governors hardly show interest by attending. The few that send representatives hardly have time to go through the communiqué to see how it can be beneficial to their states. Instead they globetrot in the guise of seeking foreign investments ala OBJ, when actually they are only seizing the opportunity to stash their ill-gotten wealth into their foreign accounts, embark on shopping sprees with their wives or girlfriends,  and attend to their personal businesses. The effect of all these is that the present day North, comprising of the nineteen states, is still seen as backward in everything, from education, healthcare to industries and the leader of anything negative, from street begging, to unemployment. We are still backward in education as a result of which we find it difficult to fill our quotas in important ministries, parastatals, Para-military organizations, etc, and yet we continue to complain of marginalization. Today, the North is still known only for street-begging, idleness, laziness, praise-singing, sycophancy, cheating, social strife and divisiveness.

To make matters worst, the governors are so divided that you hardly hear them take a common stand on the socio-economic problems of the North. Instead, they will be trading accusations and counter-accusations as they get further divided by their political godfathers. Most of them are neck-deep in misdemeanors that will see them impeached and prosecuted in other countries of the World where the political culture is different from our own.

Our governors continue to live a corrupt life as they display their ill-gotten wealth with wanton abandon. As they mismanage and waste funds, they make and unmake by playing god in their respective states. An average governor provides succor to each and every citizen in his state – from his deputy, the traditional rulers, religious leaders, commissioners, businessmen, chairmen, and the local chairman of his party. Opposition voice, no matter how subtle is not tolerated, and God help you should you decide to lock horns with the governor of your state whether you belong to his party or opposition. Simply put, if you are not a supporter of your governor you have to abdicate otherwise you will starve to death! As it is at the federal level, today any form of opposition has been muscled, one way or another, in the states. In some states you wonder whether there is a legislature because the members of the House of Assembly are always quiet and un-opposing. All the governor wants to hear is “Yes, Sir!” He is “Oga” to everybody, and therefore infallible. Print and electronic media are used embarrassingly used to massage the egos of the governors, over blow achievements recorded, counter any sort of criticism either against the governor as a person or his administration. The truth of the matter is that the sycophants that surround the governors are not helping matters as they dare not tell the governor he is either wrong or certain policies are not beneficial to the citizens of the state. Other misdemeanors such as unproductive trips overseas, collecting rent on their personal houses that serve as their official residences, using government machinery and funds to wed their daughters and sons, awarding contracts to their companies, sponsoring their henchmen, and women on pilgrimage, social vices, are some of the common headlines you read or hear about these governors. Everybody that is part of the government machinery is either a card-carrying member of the governor’s political party, or a staunch sympathizer. No more professionals and career civil servants. In one state everybody from the deputy governor to political advisers followed the governor simply because he decamped to another party when he saw that he could not win the primaries if he remained with his old party. Not a single person resigned his appointment on principle of loyalty to his party!

The problems in the North are well known if only our governors will get their act together and face them honestly. Like I stated earlier, these problems are mainly illiteracy, hunger, disease, laziness, among others. Facing the issue of illiteracy alone will solve more than half of the problems. Share with me a report I came across in the Time Magazine issue of 27^th June, 2005, when Wolfwitz, the new World Bank president visited Nigeria recently: “In Nigeria’s dusty North Wolfwitz visited a primary school renovated with Bank money. While gun toting security guards watched anxiously, Wolfwitz enthusiastically plunged into a crowd of wide-eyed kids most in tattered clothes some with begging bowls. Inside, he toured a freshly painted classroom where boys in white shirts and trousers occupied two rows while girls wearing Islamic gowns and head coverings sat in a third.” Disgraceful, embarrassing, and above all, disgusting! If forty four years after the attainment of Independence we still need free funds from institutions like World Bank to make our primary schools in the North functional and bring them up to a minimum standard, then there is no end in site of the problems in the North. The same issue of being backward educationally which prompted our leaders to shift the attainment of self-rule from 1957 to 1960 at the Constitutional Conference, as against the wish of our Southern counterparts, is still with us in the North. How sad?!

The vogue now among the governors is that of establishing state-owned universities. From the locations of these universities, you will know that they are not being established to address the issue of education in the North. The governors are establishing them to siphon the tax payers’ money, to score cheap political points, or both. Meanwhile, most of these states are finding it difficult to fill their quotas in universities in the North simply because the indigenes of such states do not meet the minimum admission requirements of such universities as a result of poor secondary school grades, or the governors do not care whether such quotas exist in the first place.  You wonder what programs such “universities” will run considering the fact that even some of the already existing universities are having accreditations problems on some of their programs. Simply put, how do you build a three-storey building by starting from the “third flow”? That is exactly what these governors establishing their state universities are doing. The standard of primary and secondary education in most of these states is deplorable, to say the least. They are not investing in these levels of education and the economy is so hard that fathers are finding it immensely difficult to sponsor their children and wards to even public schools because the facilities are not there. How do you reconcile the noise being made for parents to send their children to school and yet even fees like those of common entrance  cannot be borne by the local or state government, while huge amounts of money is wasted in sponsoring honorary degrees, traditional titles, pilgrimage and other unproductive foreign trips?

Instead of facing these problems our governors, “excellencies without excellence” are busy enriching themselves, laundering the ill-gotten wealth through real estate at home and abroad (magnificent houses, shopping plazas, filling stations, hotels, etc), buying, sorry accepting, “honorary” doctorate degrees, traditional titles, media awards, etc. It is even taboo in some states to call the governor’s name without mentioning all the titles first. It is even more disgusting if you listen to local news over the state radio. The newscaster will have to come back and mention the title, traditional or doctorate, in case he forgets to mention it at the beginning of the newscast. Congratulatory messages will be flying all over the print and electronic media from party sycophants and contractors. Tax payers’ money will be used in throwing lavish ceremonies in accepting these awards – the whole government machinery will come to a standstill for that period for it will be mobilized to make the occasion a success. Today most of the governors in the North are either “doctors”, multiple traditional title holders, media awardees, or both. This is their single qualification as “presidential candidates”. This is the anomaly of our political system in Nigeria!

Even though  most of the present governors have had their chance as majority are not coming back and the few that are serving one term are not sure of coming back, the fact of the matter is that they have, wittingly or unwittingly, blown away a golden chance to at least sow the seed of turning things around in the North. This generation of Northerners, and indeed future generations, will not forgive them for this. Experience, they say, is the best teacher. But our “excellencies without excellence” have not learnt the simplest lesson of history from past governors – that they will one day be consigned into the dustbin of past leaders that are better forgotten for their non-performance and failure to address the problems of the North. It is now left for those coming in 2007 to make a resolve to change things for us in the North. We have to start somewhere, and like they say, it is better late than never. The so-called Northern Elites should also give the governors a helping hand through presentations, seminars, and workshops on how to change things in the North, particularly on education and street-begging, instead of fighting themselves or trying to outwit each other intellectually on unproductive issues or topics  that are better reserved for research at the Ivory Towers.

Meanwhile our governors will do well to spare us the nostalgia of mentioning the names of the Premier of Northern Nigeria and the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Gamji Dan Kwarai, of blessed memory, anytime they find the opportunity. None of them, and I repeat, none of them is clean enough to hold his shoes for him if he is alive today.