Critiquing of Kwankwaso and Shekarau Administrations in Kano State

Salihu Muhammad Darma

Kano State is the most politically prominent state in Nigeria because its population guarantees it a higher proportion at the national level. Its political history has also been lively. During the First Republic it was the bastion of radicalism being the home of NEPU whose leader Mallam Aminu Kano committed class suicide and fought the feudal order but was denied any relevance in power circles. He was compensated in the second republic with obliteration of the NA that guaranteed power for the feudal class and his party the PRP formed the state governments of Kano and Kaduna States. The Federal Government of that republic was controlled by NPN the successor of the feudal NPC of the first republic. Abubakar Rimi the energetic governor of Kano State at that time was very popular because of his radicalism. Politics at that time was both exciting and tumultuous because of the differences between PRP and the NPN leading to a disastrous riot in the city.

In 1999 at the beginning of Obasanjo's current republic Kano for the first time found its place in mainstream National politics largely because of the consensus of the two Kano political gladiators Abubakar Rimi leader of the leftist wing and Aminu Wali leader of the rightist wing of the behemoth PDP. Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso who was aligned to the Yar Adua (Padama) group emerged as the Governor of Kano State under the PDP largely because those who call the shots in Abuja were not willing to accept a loyalist of Rimi as the governor hence the Rimi faction was compensated with the Deputy Governor while the Aminu Wali was betrayed and denied the slot of the secretary to the state government. Dr. Kwankwaso ruled for four years until he lost the 2003 elections to a former permanent secretary he had victimized.

Kano State returned to its former path with a different political party from that of the Federal Government. Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso who was compensated with the post of the minister of defense by Obasanjo is now engaged in fierce battle to remove Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau and return to power. This essay is an appraisal of both administrations with the aim of engaging them in a discourse in the interest of democratic progress of Kano State. This state has potential for democracy because of plurality of views and intense competition coupled with recent developments.

Good Governance

This is the recent vogue in democratic parlance. All the ingredients of good governance are however deeply rooted in Islamic culture and the recent bureaucratic norms enshrined in the public service by the Western founders of the Nigerian state. Transparency is a major attribute of good governance. Under this principle all government activities must be open so that they could be subjected to public scrutiny. Laws must be made public. The Appropriation Law or Budget is the most important. It has to be published for the public to be able to assess the government. Crude governments only publish the Budget Speech of the Governor in newspapers and pamphlets they never publish the full detail of the Law. Throughout his four years as the Governor of Kano State, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso never published the complete Budget for public to purchase on the demand on this single count he has woefully failed the Good Governance Test. There is no magic that would ever make him a good governor because he lacked transparency which was rooted in his autocratic disposition. This lack of transparency was deliberate because he never believed in bureaucratic virtue hence there was no accountability in his transactions even his commissioners were only robber stamp for memos drafted by cronies in the names of their ministries. There were disastrous consequences for the state as a result of crudeness of administrating a modern state.

Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau on the other hand who had won the election on the platform of honesty began by enshrining the important universal virtue of transparency in his administration by publishing the Appropriation Law of 2004 and that of even 2005 has been published for more than a decade no such law has ever been published in the state. Apart from that his administration went an extra mile by establishing a Project Monitoring Bureau that appraises all capital projects to make sure they comply to specifications. Budgetary discipline has also been maintained with periodic performance report something unheard during the crude years of autocratic rule. These and some other reasons made the Government to be admired by even the PDP led Federal Government to the chagrin of Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso and his cronies.

Accountability is also another attribute of good governance. For any government to be accountable it must inform members of the public about its financial position periodically. The Kwankwaso administration never did that. Hence on the eve of their departure they hurriedly lied to the public on the balance of the account of the state leading to an administrative committee and later a Judicial Commission of Inquiry that indicted them. As an autocratic administration it misused the account of the Local Governments hence Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso even recently stated in a press conference that receipts of the state and that of the Local Government Councils were the same. Shekarau administration on the other hand gives its monthly accounts at the end of every month. ALGON have also confirmed that Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau and Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai are the only ones in Nigeria that do not interfere with Local Government accounts. Hence Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau was invited to speak on Local Governments at the National Political Reform Conference and he was also made to contribute at a Tuesday Live Program on the National Television Network.

Freedom of expression is a very important attribute of good governance. There is no democracy where there is no freedom of expression it must be guaranteed. Citizens must be allowed to speak without any form of harassment. As an autocrat, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso believed that citizens must follow him and should not speak or write against him. Hence, when a Kano Prince wrote against him he ordered that the employers of the Prince to sack him or loose accounts of Kano State Government. Also as an autocrat he ordered the closure of Ashaka Cement offices in Kano because they had sacked his friend. He never cared that he was threatening the investments of Kano indigenes because Ashaka is a publicly quoted company. This is the irony of autocracy. The autocrat could ruin lives because an individual exercised his right of freedom of expression and could also ruin lives trying to protect the whims of another single individual.

There is no governor in Nigeria today that has guaranteed the freedom of expression of the citizens of his state like Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau. He is the first governor to have ever gathered senior civil servants and told them to make critical appraisal of his administration. As if that was not enough at another retreat he called for criticism with protection. He is also the only governor in Nigeria that has allowed the opposition to speak freely in state media houses without any harassment. During the reign of Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso even paid adverts by the opposition were not allowed in the state media houses. Recently the only commissioner of Kwankwaso administration that has the courage to speak in public used the state radio to vehemently criticize Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau which is a healthy development because it was impossible during the Kwankwaso administration.

Shari'ah Implementation

Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso reluctantly signed the Shari'ah Bill into law. This was after a bitter struggle by active members of the civil society and there violent outburst against him in several locations in the state. He formed three committees (Hisbah, Enlightenment and Propagation) to coordinate Shari'ah implementation. Some of the members of the three committees later resigned because the committees did not meet their expectation. Independent Shari'ah Implementation Committee was formed and various communities established their Hisbah Committees and there was an Independent Hisbah Committee. Through out this period Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso was jittery and the independent Shari'ah bodies were constantly agitating. His Deputy once led a group of Ulama in a raid to hotels and bars in which bottles of alcohol were destroyed. Reliable sources have confirmed that the government later paid the hoteliers. Brothels were also raided under the leadership of government agents. All these efforts were made to douse public outcry against the unpopular government that had antagonized many sections of the society. Dr. Kwankwaso lost the support of almost all sections of the active Muslim Ummah.

At his inauguration on 29 May 2003 Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau promised a holistic approach to Shari'ah and not a mob approach of attacking hotels and brothels and then later pay, the proprietors to deceive people that Shari'ah is being implemented. He went ahead and establish three Shari'ah implementation bodies by a Law of the State House of Assembly, namely Shari'ah Commission, Hisbah Board and Zakat Commission. Relevant Laws were also amended or enacted for smooth implementation of the Shari'ah. The Shari'ah Commission has since been engaged in advocacy and sensitization of the general populace. The Zakat Commission has disbursed several millions to thousands of deprived citizens for the first time in the history of the state. The Hisbah Board unified all independent Hisbah groups and trained many of them. The board also recruited nine 9000 members and provided them with kits. This is the highest number in Nigeria. Before the formal inauguration there was intensive propaganda against the government by politicians and a section of the Ulama. This well orchestrated campaign was well publicized in the newspapers with the resignation of three Wahhabi Ulama from the Shari'ah bodies. It should be noted that the Wahhabis are militant and they believe in mob action. They went into alliance with the Dr. Kwankwaso faction of the PDP and some members of the Buhari Organization of the ANPP. The resignation of one of the outspoken Wahhabis was well publicized because he has connection with reporters of the BBC Hausa Service and the Daily Trust. The Weekly Trust even considered the rift with three Ulama in Kano as more important than the Supreme Court verdict against Buhari. The General was also stopped from coming to Kano to launch Shari'ah buses by members of his organization who felt they have not made enough money from the Shekarau government. One of them told her close confident that she wanted to make N150million from the Shekarau government. Another informed his colleague that they warned Buhari against associating with the Shari'ah which they believe is a political baggage.

Mallam Shekarau's rift with the three Wahhabi Ulama, their followers and a section of the Buhari organization is indeed very interesting and may be the subject of a further political science investigation. The crisis vindicated many secularist politicians who were quick to jubilate because of what they termed as the end of public implementation of the Shari'ah in Kano. They had predicated that Shari'ah is political and not theological and that it shall be resolved in the zone of politics. In politics there is impermanence of values because expectations would never be met and by politicizing Shari'ah it is being secularized and relegated to zone of choice and not obligation as demanded by Divine injunction. The crisis also exposed Wahhabi hypocrisy. Their Ulama never commended the government for employing 9000 Hisbah or for providing vehicles to transport women for proper and humane implementation of the Shari'ah. They aligned themselves with people who said Shari'ah is not possible but only a deception through mob actions of the Kwankwaso years which they so much cherish. Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso who never spoke against OPC and Bakasi Boys atrocities came out publicly to speak against the 9000 Hisbah Corps which is a civil organization and yet none of the hypocritical Wahhabis replied him, which shows that they are in alliance.

Human Development

Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso's disposition is that of an aggressive politician who believes that, human beings must follow him under whatever circumstances. He does not consider their basic needs as paramount. He believed in building structures so that he could boast to the public that he was an achiever in a typical North Korean fashion. It was this disposition that he exhibited in his politics. He deprived pensioners of their entitlements and said that they were dead people who could not do anything to him. He was so callous that he gave scholarship to only a section of Kano State students even though he was aware that many parents cannot afford university education for their wards. As if that was not enough, even the money allocated for the scholarship was used for politicking.

Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso never believed in providing employment as both a means of social development and maintaining social harmony. Hence he claimed that half of the civil service was enough for him. He sacked all contract workers even though he was aware that the state lacked science teachers. This singular unpatriotic act has destroyed all the gains made in building the human infrastructure of education. Since that period the number of percentage passes at credit level in senior secondary schools has been dropping. This trend cannot be reversed in the next ten years because the fresh teachers that are now employed lack the experience of the teachers that were sacked by Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso some of whom had put in over a decade in the service. In his typical North Korean style Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso spent N300 million to complete Murtala Muhammed Library but never spent N20 million in buying books in his entire four years as the governor. His administration did not even provide for the purchase of enough newspapers for the library because he does not want people to read and be informed.

In the area of health the Kwankwaso administration had minimum impact because of its hatred for providing employment for the citizens hence it employed least number of health workers ever in the history of the state. Even its free accident and emergence and maternal health care programs were jeopardized because of lack of personnel and provision for invisible facilities that are crucial in healthcare. From June 1999 to November 2001 that administration spent only N37,655,030.80 for capital expenditure in the health sector for; Renovation and conversion of health centers at Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, Gezawa, Tiga, Rano, Gwarzo, Sir Muhammadu Sanusi, Bichi, Shiekh Muhammad Jiddah etc., provision of Hospital Equipment to various health facilities in the state, improvement of water supply, purchase and supply of medical consumables etc and revitalization of state drug manufacturing agency. These facts are available in the book published by the Kwankwaso administration titled Landmarks pages 131 to 137. Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso was least concerned with environmental sanitation hence he employed only 300 casual workers and bought vehicles to sweep roads even though they were designed to sweep European roads where there is hardly any litter.

Agriculture or food production was not a priority of the Kwankwaso administration even though it was the only productive sector of the state's economy. Between June 1999 and November 2001 the period in which there is publicly available record the Kwankwaso administration spent less than one billion naira on agriculture. It did not purchase a single tractor from its own record as published in its book. This was because it was not committed to modernizing the sector. There was no action or target goal for this sector. But it constructed the international cattle market despite the fact that there was no program aimed at achieving sustained livestock production. That administration was oblivious to the fact that agriculture is the largest employer of labor and that intervention in the sector would help in expanding the opportunities for more employment thus easing the social tensions of unemployment.

Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau promised at his inauguration that human development shall be the priority of his administration. In August 2003 his administration held its first commencement retreat to map out the strategies of achieving the human development objectives of his administration. There can never be social harmony in any society that does not respect and care for its elderly hence even in industrialized societies that are irreligious there are pension schemes, welfare packages and nursing homes to take of the aged. Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso had discarded and dehumanized pensioners through out his four years of his administration. He even used their Federal contributions for his dubious projects. There was high social tension because the pensioners have families and well wishers. The first act of the Shekarau administration in line with its human development policy was to pay all outstanding arrears of the pensioners in billions of naira. This master stroke devastated the Kwankwaso faction of the PDP which was unable to do in four years what Shekarau administration did in one hundred days.

Kano has the highest rate of unemployment in Nigeria based on an NDE study this was partly because of the bad policies of previous administrations such as that of Kwankwaso that failed to give emphasis to employment generation policies. It is in the realization of this fact that the Shekarau administration initiated more employment generation policies than any other administration in the history of Nigeria. It has provided more than 10000 citizens with gainful employment at the state level and has directed local councils to employ over 10000 as could be seen with the joint (state and local government) engagement of 9000 Hisbah Corps. Dr. Kwankwaso on the other hand believes more in trimming the public service to have more money for frivolous projects at the expense of the people in typical North Korean fashion.

In line with its human development objective the Shekarau administration is the only state administration in Nigeria that committed more than 20% of its budget to education. Similarly it is the only state administration in Nigeria that committed more resources to rehabilitation of dilapidated infrastructure that has been neglected for several years. It has constructed over 200 classrooms in the secondary schools and built twenty six new secondary schools. It provided over 33000 secondary school students with seats which has never been done in the state. In fact no state administration in Nigeria has built more schools and classrooms in one year than the Shekarau administration did in 2004. The administration also employed more teachers to replace the ones sacked by the Kwankwaso administration although the damage done by the Kwankwaso administration cannot be remedied in the next ten years. The Shekarau administration employed 3782 teachers to replace the ones sacked by Kwankwaso and also meet the ever increasing demand. The salary for education has increased by over N560million over the one paid by the Kwankwaso administration. Also in order to meet nutritional requirements of the boarding students, the government increased the amount by N15 thus increasing the budget by N150million over the Kwankwaso period. Similarly it gave all Kano State students of tertiary institutions scholarship bringing the number to 22000 students the highest in Nigeria and over N200million was spent in 2004. As a sane administration it also approved quarterly overhead of N14million to the state university while ABU Zaria which is about ten times its size receives less than ten million monthly.

Since the first republic several attempts were made to integrate Western and Islamic education. Many people in northern Nigeria agree that the greatest social problem is Almajiranci because it is a clear manifestation of societal irresponsibility to neglect school aged children and allow them to roam the street. In Kano State the Ndatsu administration instituted the committees on social policy which was drafted but was never implemented. Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso administration had no policy on Almajirai because their focus was not social but frivolous projects for show up. Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau's administration on the other hand in line with its human development policy quickly set up the machinery to tackle this social problem. He assigned this responsibility to one of his trusted and most competent advisers. The administration is now implementing the most comprehensive Almajirai program ever designed in Nigeria. It was drafted after a survey over 20000 Islamiyya and Qur'anic Schools in the state an exercise similar to a census of about a quarter of the population. It was never done before. Immediately after this exercise the government began implementing the intervention strategies which include empowerment of the teachers through building their skills, providing them with incentives such as farming implements as well as reconstructing dilapidated and destroyed structures. The aim of the program is not spoon feeding but reorientation for self reliance. The second phase has now begun with the registration of volunteers who are willing to provide resources not matter how meager to assist the children and stop them from begging this has also been well received by the society. This policy of Shekarau administration has been commended by other northern states and adopted at a meeting of Northern Governors.

In the area of health care delivery the Shekarau administration between June 2003 and 2005 has done more than what the Kwankwaso administration ever did from June 1999 to November 2001 as recorded in the Kwankwaso book titled Landmarks. While the Kwankwaso administration spent less than N40million for capital expenditure in the sector the Shekarau administration spent about N700million. The expenditure was for the construction and equipping of a new maternity ward in Murtala Muhammed Hospital for the first time in over two decades. The amount also covered the cost of purchase of medical equipments, generators as well as for renovation works in the various hospitals. The medical equipments of Asma'u Memorial Hospital were also purchased. The Shekarau administration also established REMASAB to clear the metropolitan area of refuse. The board employed 2500 casual workers at a monthly salary of N5500 compared to 300 workers employed by the Kwankwaso administration at a monthly salary of N4000.

Mass Food Production is the major priority project of the Shekarau administration hence the administration was the first in Nigeria in this republic to purchase fifty four tractors at a time and thereafter other state administrations followed. Nine thousand six hundred farmer groups were formed across the state. The aim of the Mass Food Production program is to provide both food and employment for the teeming populace of Kano. The over 9600 farmer groups have engaged more than 100000 people. Under this program KNARDA provided them with inputs worth over N900million at subsidized rate. In the year 2004 the expenditure on agriculture was over N3billion or more than 10% of the total state expenditure which is the highest by any state in Nigeria because some states commit only 1% of their budget to agriculture.

Infrastructure Development

Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso was reputed to be one of the most infrastructure-driven PDP Governors in Nigeria. According to the official book of that administration titled Landmarks in Kano between June 1999 and November 2001 they awarded contracts to the tune of N9.O87 billion for roads, bridges, buildings, and rural electrification and water projects. Dr. Kwakwaso was so confident that his projects will win him the votes after he had alienated key sectors of the society; the workers and the masses who wanted level headed leadership.

His administration constructed several roads in Kano metropolitan some of them around the major traffic area between Silver Jubilee round about and Gidan Murtala round about. It also constructed many in the rural areas under the Local Government Joint Projects. Some bridge projects were initiated as early as between 2000 and 2001 but were not completed until the inception of the Shekarau administration. This may be attributed to the fact that Kwankwaso administration was not guided by budgetary discipline and sense of public responsibility because they allocated 22.78% or N2.069 billion to three buildings. As a result of this attitude two of these buildings were for the Governor's indulgence (Government House Kano and Governor's Lodge Abuja) and the other KSIP building at Kofar Nasarawa which is yet to be habitable. The Governor hurriedly commissioned the Governor's Lodge in Abuja (named it after the revered Mallam Aminu Kano) and the KSIP building (named after the revered Emir of Kano Alhaji Ado Bayero) to gain political credit despite an outstanding liability of over N500million. In fact Julius Berger refused to hand over the house to the Kano State Government. As part of the dirty politics the Kwankwaso group sponsored a newspaper essay in which they alleged that Shekarau refused to use the house and that he is lodging in a hotel. The only time he ever stayed in a hotel was after his inauguration when Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso requested that he wanted to use the Governor's Lodge at Mississippi Road. Since then Shekarau has been using the Mississippi Road facility.

As mentioned earlier the Kwankwaso Administration constructed several roads in Kano metropolitan. Some of the roads were made to ease traffic flow especially those in the congested areas and there were anticipations of flyover. For example it was reported by some people that when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo visited Kano he had expected a flyover or a major road to be commissioned and named after him but the road he was honored with, is less than one Kilometer and constructed at over N100million and at the time of this writing it is already in a state of disrepair because drainages were not part of the plan. Mandawari-Sabon Titi was rehabilitated at over N200 million which is also at the time of this writing in a state of disrepair. However many of the most important roads in the state capital escaped the bizarre contract awards and remained in state of disrepair.

Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau Administration has allocated N13.012 billion to roads, bridges, buildings (excluding schools), and rural electrification and water projects from June 2003 to August 2005 three months less than the period reviewed for the Kwankwaso administration. It should be noted that human development is the focus of the Shekarau administration hence it allocated N5.6 billion or 43% of this infrastructure commitment to the Tamburawa Water Project to provide 150 million liters of water per day. This is the most gigantic water project in the state. At present the three water treatment plants at maximum capacity only provide 250 million liters. The first was constructed in 1928 by the Late Sarkin Kano Alhaji Abdullahi Bayero of blessed memory the second was constructed by the Audu Bako administration and the third was begun by the Hamza Abdullahi Administration and completed by the Kabiru Gaya Administration. This water project has been a major source of worry for both detractors and admirers of the Shekarau Administration. There are even serious concerns that some politicians and their cronies in the civil service are all out to sabotage it. It is the largest water contract ever awarded by any northern state and it was transparently awarded to one of the most reputable engineering companies that constructed all the major water plants before 1960. The admirers of the Shekarau administration are worried over the time it will take and the lack of publicity for such a project that made little or no headlines in newspapers that are out to tarnish the image of the administration.

The Shekarau administration has initiated the rehabilitation of many roads that have been neglected for several years, for example the roads in Sabon Gari have not been rehabilitated for more than two decades hence two major roads were reconstructed in the area at the cost of over N150million. Similarly IBB Way which is one of the major roads in the metropolis is now being reconstructed. In the rural areas the biggest rural road contract by any administration in the state in the last two decades costing over N700million was awarded for the construction of Dal – Gani – Masu – Gomo Road. The Shekarau Administration has been criticized by supporters of the Kwankwaso administration for "renovating" round abouts. Even a preacher criticized the Shekarau administration for these "renovations" that he thought to be too expensive. But "Engineer" Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso was recently asked to comment on anything good he thinks the Shekarau administration has so far done and he mentioned the "renovations" of the round abouts. The reasons for the reconstruction of the round abouts was purely as a result of civil engineering necessity because they had no drainages and the roads were been flooded hence their state of disrepair. As an "engineer" who was invested with the fellowship of Nigerian Society of Engineers for being a governor who has initiated projects Dr. Kwankwaso should have been aware that his roads such as Obasanjo and Ajasa Roads would definitely have short life span without drainages. These roads are already in state of disrepair.

Dr. Kwankwaso supporters and cronies have continuously criticized the Shekarau administration for claiming their "projects" as its achievements. This is indeed interesting because when Kwankwaso was handing over to Shekarau he claimed that the treasury was in perfect shape that there were no liabilities. It should be noted that Dr. Kwankwaso administration inherited liabilities of only N129,533,851.73 and it was found later to have left behind liabilities worth over N3 billion after the completion of administrative investigations instituted as a result of Kwankwaso's false claims. This necessitated a judicial commission of inquiry that indicted Kwankwaso and his two commissioners for misappropriating scholarship funds and N800million ecological fund now subject of an EFCC investigation. It was that investigation panel that verified some of the roads and bridges that were later completed by the Shekarau Administration.

Politics

Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau are almost opposites in their dispositions, hence the disparities in their politics. Kwankwaso is very high handed and haughty while Shekarau is very simple and humble. Both have been confronted by the bitter politics of Kano, Kwankwaso eventually lost the coveted seat and Shekarau is now navigating in this stream. As noted earlier Kwankwaso was very self-aggrandizing and he thought he would overcome the muddy waters of Kano politics through forceful actions such as eliminating all his opponents in the party including the consummate statesman Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar Rimi. Shekarau on the other hand is behaving like a typical teacher attempting to tutor decadent politicians so that they could be useful, but would they? This is his toughest challenge. The masses are happy that sanity has returned because the government does not support brigandage, unlike in the past when the ruling faction was an official supplier of weapons for the brigands to take the law into their hands. The elites are not happy and so far they are scheming, they have instigated three preachers and circulated their resignations from Shari'ah Commission and Hisbah Board as an indication that the government is not willing to implement the Shari'ah but the inauguration of the 9000 Hisbah Corps shattered them.

Shekarau is also accused of being too lenient to his commissioners and aides. He has a chance now, a major shake up would be politically useful and could be an opportunity to neutralize the disruptive elements of his party. On the other hand no one ever dares Kwankwaso who was very willing to deal with any one who crossed his path. It has been reported that he ordered a director to be sacked because of a flimsy reason without any due process. Now officers flaunt Shekarau's orders because they came from the hell of the previous administration and they are misusing their newly found freedom and integrity. Whatever the case may be Kwankwaso and Shekarau who are contemporaries would continue to be major players in Kano politics because they represent two opposing trends. Kwankwaso represents those who have no vision for their people except to rule them while Shekarau represents those who have a mission that is very challenging because of high expectations of the people yearning for leadership and the light at the end of the tunnel. Shekarau has a greater and a brighter future if he manages the current situation very well. His managers need to do more by properly marketing his achievements and programs at the moment they have performed far below expectations. This is because he has committed more resources to education and agriculture than any other state in percentage terms yet he has not been properly marketed especially in Kano where the people who are the voters matter most. Many people are unaware that his administration has built more schools and employed more teachers than any other state administration in Nigeria. The future of Kwankwaso now depends on Olusegun Obasanjo who has refused to prosecute him for his involvement in the Ecological Fund scandal just as he refused to prosecute Makunjola the former permanent secretary Federal Ministry of Defense.

Kano is now peaceful because of Shekarau's maturity and calmness which some people interpret as weakness Kwankwaso who was very puffed-up on the other hand antagonized everyone hence there more riots during his tenure than that of any other Governor of the State. May Allah continue to protect Kano and all other parts of Nigeria Amen!