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The Governor Zamfara State Needs Come 2007 By Abdullahi Dangusau
"We like people to criticize us... so that we make amends" (Governor Ahmed Sani in an interview with WEEKLY TRUST, Aug.28,2004)
So many things are wrong with Zamfara state today. And the situations continue to degenerate as 2007 draws near. Forget about the sharia issue. Zamfara people now know better. They know it is a farce and it has fizzled out as President Obasanjo rightly predicted way back in 1999. Besides, history teaches us that no nation ever prospers due to its religious faith. Prosperity lies in the hands of good and committed leaders. And moreover, introducing Sharia is just a beginning, and its success solely depends in the manner in which it is implemented. Our great prophet and the Caliphs that preceded him wouldn't have bequeath us the legacy we now enjoy in Islam had they been deceptive. Perhaps this is what is missing in Yarima's sense of reasoning. And so the story of Zamfara state six years after the so-called implementation of sharia is that of despair and hopelessness. For o ver six years now governor Sani of Zamfara state continues to match over the very ideals that he publicly professed.
The people of Zamfara state now watch helplessly as Yarima mismanages and squanders their resources with impunity, thereby making the economic dividends of sharia a mirage.
However, the crux of the matter now is who will succeed Yarima after the expiration of his second term in office by 2007.Being the be- all- and- end- all of his ruling party, the ANPP, Yarima since early last year is the first governor to publicly declare his deputy, Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi an heir-apparent. And since then he has repeatedly affirm his stand. In his desperation he even swore by the Holy Qur'an that Mahmuda Shinkafi will be his successor come 2007{see THE SUN,May 4,2005},forgetting that only the Almighty Allah that made him governor in 1999 determines who becomes what in 2007.AndYarima's reasons for choosing Mahmuda is that "the ambition of every leader is that his programs are continued a nd the only individual in any political party that will ensure the continuity of that program is the person who deputized for him"{see WEEKLY TRUST,August 28,2004}
But then that is where the problem lies. Which programs will Mahmuda continue? Yarima himself confirmed that he did nothing to better the lives of Zamfara people in his first term in office because, like he said, " I was busy traveling to America, London, Dubai Italy and even Lagos and Abuja attending seminars and conferences, explaining to the press what sharia is all about. We were not able to undertake our development agenda and implement our projects and programmes", and from all indications, he still doesn't seem to have the time to improve the lot of Zamfara people. Rather, he is now preoccupied with the noise being made these days about his presidential ambition. Although I cannot imagine Nigerians electing someone like Yarima as President, and although he recently denies having any hand in encouraging those who make the agitation for him to run for Presidency, speculations are ripe that those birds that are irritatingly singing his name and pasting his posters all over are not his admirers as he claimed. They are allegedly his own lackeys. Little wonder that he couldn’t mention any reputable name. Forget about that nonsense he calls ZASIDEP .It is just another hoax .You see, the problem with Yarima is that he thinks he can fool all the people all the time. And if you remind him that as a Sharia man his posture is un-Islamic he is sure to tell you "you see, the system we are adopting is not fully an Islamic system. We are trying to copy". {See WEEKLY TRUST,August 28,2004}
Mahmuda Shinkafi as a person is a nice man. He is a man of remarkable patience and tolerance. Whoever knows the Dallatun Zamfara will vouch for his peaceful disposition and gentility. That is why he is given the epithet of Damo {a Hausa word for Alligator, known for its exceptional tolerance}.But then, the man has a frightening albatross. For six years now as deputy governor, he is treated by Yarima like dirt. Yarima himself knows that Mahmuda is a weakling who obviously finds himself where he doesn’t belong. Because, politics and a man like Mahmuda never have a successful marriage. What Yarima simply desires is an alter ago who will be absolutely susceptible to his political malfeasances by 2007 and beyond, a complete dummy! And he has seemingly found that in Mahmuda.
There is this thinking in some quarters that Yarima has a hidden ace in the person of Abdulaziz Yari, the state embattled chairman of ANPP. But this school of thought gets it all wrong. Abdul aziz may be the most favorite Yarima boy considering the juicy contracts he enjoys from the government that allegedly often runs into billions of naira. But that is just it.Yarima never intended his marriage with Yari to go beyond that of business. Perhaps, the Shattiman Mafara only contemplated having interest in the governorship ticket when he realized that he has built a considerable youthful clout within the party as a result of his generosity. But somehow Abdul-aziz Yari has an independent mind, and Yarima doesn't trust a man like that as a successor.
When early this year, Abdulaziz Yari allegedly led a delegation of concerned party faithful to confront him with the reality that the ruling party was fast losing popularity due to non -performance in the part of the governor’s administration, and that drastic measures should be taken to change the situation, Yarima was said to be livid with anger. The governor had to give Yari some hard knocks on the head to remind him that he {Yarima} made him what he is. Perhaps was somehow carried by the governor’s usual comment that “we like people to criticize us.....so that we make amends"{see WEEKLY TRUST, 28 August 2004}, Abdulaziz Yari must have forgotten that Yarima does no wrong. And since that fateful encounter the ruling party has never been the same again.
However, the bottom line here is that Yarima actually wants Mahmuda as a successor. I think those who opine that Yarima will in the long run drop Mahmuda as the ANPP candidate judging by the fact that he perpetually starves the deputy of the financial where withal to form his own political clout, still have more lessons to learn from the governor's political game. It is part of his test. He has to know how much pressure Mahmuda can take from him. He has to know how willing Mahmuda is to accept his hawkish manipulations. He has to know that he holds the right remote control of the robot that will be in his stead. And therefore, Mahmuda must not have his own political establishment, not even the liberty to make the choice of his own running mate. He must remain the political neophyte that he certainly is. And should Mahmuda be governor in 2007, Yarima wants the Dallatu to look upon him as the god father.
This is more the reason why Zamfara state does not need Mahmuda as its next governor; neither does Mahmuda deserves the state's no.1 seat. In my opinion, any man who allows him self to so lowly swallow any garbage thrown at him, swallow hook, line and sinker in the name of loyalty is not fit to govern the people. Mahmuda is a weak personality and unfortunately for him, he is a student in Yarima's school of politics where deception is the order.
Simply put, Governor Yarima, the self-proclaimed leader of Nigerian Muslims has failed Zamfara state, and Zamfara people would definitely not allow him to impose on them a weak governor who will continue his programs of misusing the state resources to be purchasing and doling out brand new KIA cars, and motorcycles to all manner of people outside the state. Never mind his statement that “the revenue allocated to Zamfara is meant for the indigenes of the state, it is not for people of other states. All states are given money so why should we take our money and service some other people? It doesn't make sense."{see THIS DAY, Sept 2,2004}.Yet hundreds of millions of the state resources are regularly misappropriated to sponsor hundreds of people across the country to go for Umrah{lesser Hajj}for only God knows what reason.
The kind of governor that Zamfara people need is a man who is strong-willed; an experienced politician who knows his left from his right; an independent minded person who has unpretentious virtues of credibility and sincerity of purpose.
In Zamfara state today, especially in Gusau, the state capital, young and healthy looking men roam from one politician's abode to another, from one office building to another with outstretched hands begging,despite the thousands and thousands of motorcycles being distributed almost regularly through the so-called ZAPA.We need a young and vibrant governor who can change all that nonsense. A well focused manager and administrator who have the interest of the state at heart; a man who is academically sound and administratively skillful; a very deft master strategist who doesn't talk with both sides of his mouth; a man who will deliver. This man, for now, is a dark horse, but it is our collective responsibility to fish him out. And for political harmony, it is only fair if this man should come from Zamfara central zone. For it is their turn.
Abdullahi Dangusau
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