Katsina Indigenes: Stop And Think!!!

By

Samira Galadima

mira2905@yahoo.com

 

Charity, they say, begins at home. I am a lady who hails from Katsina state, born and bred in Kankia local government. The sorry state of Katsina town is so appalling. Whenever I go round Katsina,i wonder where are the people of Katsina. The state has been described as the state that has the highest literacy level in the north, but for God’s sake, why don’t we behave like we are literates?

 

Katsina is a state that has a lot of elites and educated ones but the state is still underdeveloped. The state was created in 1987 during the General Ibrahim Babangida’s regime, it was carved out from Kaduna State. Whenever you visit schools like Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Bayero University, Kano: Katsina state has the highest population of students.

 

These elites or educated indigenes of Katsina mostly live in Kaduna State or Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. They use their resources to help develop other cities while they don’t care about their own state. They are very well aware of the underdeveloped nature of their state, but yet, it seems like they don’t have a conscience. Out of every six people living in Kaduna, one is an indigene of Katsina. The question here is :is it that the people of Katsina hate their origin or is it that they don’t want to see their own progress?

 

In Katsina, the only instance you see a large number of people in the metropolis is during Sallah period, because it has been said that Katsina has the best way of celebrating Sallah with the durbar (hawan Sallah), and most of the indigenes prefer to spend it with their extended families and in traditional way. Also, whenever anyone from Katsina is getting married, they go to celebrate it in their hometowns, this is very typical of my family.

 

Also, in Katsina you hardly find industries, apart from federal or state government industries. One thing that really turns me off is the rate at which developments are going round Nigeria, with the introduction of New Communication Technologies (NCTs),but in Katsina metropolis, you hardly find a very efficient internet café.

 

The airport is also one of the greatest disappointment to Katsina indigenes. Katsina people have to live their own God-given land and go to Kano State if they want to travel within or outside the country. I can remember the anguished agony I felt when my grandmother had to go to Kano first, before taking a flight on her way to Lagos. I kept wondering why can’t we have an airport in my own state, without having to go to someone else’s.

 

Also, we don’t even have a common international hotel, or at least a standard hotel where we can lodge visitors. How do we expect foreign investors to visit our state when they would not even have accommodation that can try to live up to their standard. Day by day, Katsina state is crippling further.

 

One other issue that baffles me, is Katsina politics. These so-called elites don’t do anything for Katsina, some of them don’t even know the ins and outs of Katsina, but yet, when it’s time for politics, they come back to Katsina, go round town distributing money to those who have been suffering from poverty and are looking for any slight opportunity that will earn them money even if it’s for a day. They give them money, they mobilise the youths who go round town campaigning for them, and they go to the extent of being violent to ensure that their moneybag gets the seat. One food for thought here is, why is someone who can hardly afford a three square meal, go to all extents to ensure that someone who wouldn’t help change his situation for the better, gets into a position which he would use to further push him down?

 

What is the essence of life without water? Water has been one of the greatest problems of Kankia and Katsina towns. Till date people of Katsina suffer because of lack of water supply. They have to go out to the local pump and work the pump  before water comes out and it is not even all the time they can get water from  the pump.

 

Another problem is that of education. The state of education is relatively poor. The schools are poorly funded. It is a slap to Katsina that even though it has been rated as having a high literacy level, as I said earlier, we don’t even have a federal university, it was recently that we got a licence to start a state university. You wouldn’t even believe that in my institution, University of Maiduguri, we don’t even have Katsina Students Union. Shame on us.

 

There is also this serious case of monopoly . The industries and the affairs of the state itself are concentrated in the hands of a few. If we are really practising democracy, why shouldn’t everyone be involved in the government. Also, everyone should be allowed to express his views in anything whatsoever.

 

Also, because of the darkness in which Katsina people are living, we don’t even have an eatery such as common Mr.Biggs where people can easily grab a snack in between working hours or after working hours. There are no recreational centres apart from children’s park for children to visit during the weekends and holidays with their families. How are children supposed to come up with the idea of extra-curricular activities when it is well known that “all work with no play makes jack a dull boy”

 

The health sector is very sad. Most of the primary health centres and local government dispensaries are poorly funded and not properly taken care of. There are no enough drugs and even the places where the patients lie down are filthy, they don’t even have good food to eat. As regards to HIV/AIDS, even though Katsina has a low prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS and low  number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs), State Action Committee on AIDS (SACA) is not vibrant. The state should at least try to help those that are living with HIV/AIDS  and there should be awareness campaigns in the state about HIV/AIDS.

 

Lastly, Katsina state has it’s slogan as “Home Of Hospitality”, we should first of all try to be hospitable to   ourselves. We should be patriots and do our  best to develop our state, because its our own heritage. We shouldn’t move down to other peoples land and help them develop, there is a  popular hausa saying that goes “So so ne, amma son kai yafi”. We should please try and adhere to this saying, we should join hands to help build a vibrant Katsina state which will have its signs everywhere. I bleed within, every time I take a look at the situation of my state. Katsina indigenes, please stop and think!!!

                                           

                                            

Samira Galadima

Department Of Mass Communication,

University Of Maiduguri,

P.M.B. 1069,

Maiduguri,

Borno State.