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Three years ago, on May 29, 2003 to be
precise, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau was sworn-in as the Executive Governor
of Kano State. Let me state at the onset that this piece is not about
bidding farewell to the workaholic, people-oriented Governor, but an
attempt to outline some challenges facing his regime as he enters the
last year of his first term in office. Mention was made earlier, of
whether Shekarau should honour a so-called pledge he made not to run for
the Kano governorship for the second time as allowed under the
Constitution. The fact is, that statement must have been made “very
early in the day” unaware that he may end up in a fix choosing between
his personal desires and that of the overwhelming masses of the people
and his ANPP Party among other stakeholders. People should not confuse
the desire to get Mallam Shekarau to re-contest as provided in the
constitution known locally as “Maimaitawa” with president
Obasaanjo’s desperate attempt to personally amend the constitution to
enable him steal himself back to power or “Tazarce”. The people
of Kano State need to ponder over how God has blessed them with a highly
responsible Chief Executive and resist the temptations of being
hoodwinked into aborting the services of this rare gem without running
his full Constitutional Course and as the saying goes “opportunity once
lost, may never be regained”. There is a popular belief in Kano that one
does not rule the state “twice”. But as someone pointed out, that
is neither a Qur’anic verse nor a Prophetic Tradition. Once Shekarau
re-armed his conscience with true-to-God good intentions, deployed
efficient logistical plans and avoid desperation, all other things can
fall into line; if anything, his ascendancy to power from a humble, poor
background to beat a well entrenched incumbent back in 2003, should tell
the story better.
There is no reason for bootlicking; one’s
regular assessment of the Shekarau regime is based on the need to bring
to the fore his humility and sense of responsibility which have
translated into monumental achievements often unsung or buried in the
political muddy waters. Some of the policies and programmes which made
Governor Shekarau popular and dear to the people includes the
restoration of peace and stability (despite all the provocations), the
rejuvenation of the state Civil Service, the settlement of staff
entitlements, the payment of pension arrears, the provision of
employment to several thousand citizens in a country where layoffs is
the order of the day and the introduction of the Adaidaita Sahu
Societal Reorientation Programme under the indefatigable Communicator,
Bala Muhammad(this programme was so credible that the Emir of Kano
Alhaji(Dr.) Ado Bayero staked his total support to the chagrin of
Shekarau’s political opponents). Others were the establishment of Shari’
a Implementation bodies (Shari’ a Commission, Hisba and Zakat Boards ),
the construction of several roads, educational institutions and Health
Centers, the Tsangaya project, the somewhat limited support to the
Maguzawa project and the free Ramadan feeding. Shekarau’s
government also provides succour to the poor in need of desperate often
costly medical attention both at home and abroad. Others include the
prompt provision of fertilizer to farmers, rural electrification and
water supply and the ubiquitous gigantic multi-million Naira on-going
Tamburawa Water works on the Southern outskirts of Kano City among
others. The Constituency projects executed through the Honourable
members of the Kano State House of Assembly and the Joint Projects
with the local Governments have also impacted positively on the people
particularly in the rural areas. A catalogue of the regime’s
achievements is impossible here for obvious reasons.
In all honesty though, Mallam Shekarau has
some failings which are impacting negatively on his administration’s
image before the people in spite of his honest commitment to their
service and living up to their expectations; he has allowed some highly
placed appointees of his government to become too powerful to the level
of contempt of the people and by implication becoming political
liabilities. He has also somewhat for fear of annoying his friends,
failed to apply sanction for non-performance or attempts to sabotage
his good policies such that some of the dividends of Shekarau’s
excellence performance have apparently failed to reach their targets as
in the proverbial “Rijiya ta ba da ruwa, Guga ya hana”.
Although the Shekarau government easily recognizes its real or perceived
enemies, it hardly recognizes and appreciates its friends. Charity must
however begin at home to avoid the proverbial case of “Jifan
Gafiyar Baidu”. Even some of the best and most effective
strategists of the government are ironically not necessarily the most
heard, pompous or well positioned. Another failing of Shekarau was his
inability to decisively address the issue of his relation with the ANPP
Presidential Candidate in the 2003 elections, General Muhammadu Buhari
which both his internal and external party opponents capitalized upon
for sinister reasons. It is quite painful that in spite of Shekarau’s
almost fanatical commitment and loyalty to General Muhammadu Buhari,
some well entrenched opponents have to some extent exploited the mood of
the masses particularly within the ANPP to make him appear less than
enthusiastic about his support for the General. Buhari’s popular
ushering of the then ANPP Governorship Candidate at the Kano Race Course
and the “ANPP Sak” declaration in 2003, were by God’s grace, among the
most decisive turning points in Shekarau’s political career. It
therefore takes the worst enemy of the governor to unfairly distance him
from his political mentor, General Buhari. Mallam Shekarau cannot be
against Buhari and still choose to be by his side at every critical
juncture. But truth be told, Shekarau must do more than the symbolic
appearances to disabuse the minds of those genuinely concerned that his
political commitment to Buhari is no longer solid enough. The Governor
must realize that in politics, you must shout loud enough to be heard
and understood and stand distinctly to be counted. Even Shekarau’s
ubiquitous opposition to President Obasanjo’s Third Term plot, which was
believed to be responsible for the selective ban on Kano State Hisba,
was considered as not been loud enough by his enemies for sinister
reasons. Also as oft-repeated, an unwritten Law in politics is “You
don’t underestimate your enemy”. If I were Shekarau, I will create the
opportunities to dialogue with my apparent internal opponents such as
Air vice Marshall Mukhtar Muhammad and his group, Assembly man Bala
Kosawa, estranged Political Adviser Haruna Danzago, Najaa’tu Bala
Muhammad and a host of others to listen to their genuine grievances and
be able to separate the chaff from the grains. Holding on to a permanent
enemy, is not in the character of politics. Shekarau is one of the most
well accomplished Governors in Nigeria today who found himself amidst
some well entrenched contenders out to put a wedge between him and the
masses. If performance be the yardstick, he will be among the few
governors to beat in the country.
The Governor must however, bulldoze his way through both the security and protocol barriers thrown around him to reach out directly to the people among whom he still remained popular. He must also not abandon his traditional constituencies such as the teachers, Independent Shari’a implementation campaign groups and the Da’awah organizations among others. The leadership of both the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) and the Ummah Organisation has for instance; found in governor Shekarau a worthy ambassador, although how this translates down their ranks and files remained unknown. Shekarau’s constant dialogue with the minority groups in Kano to assure them of their security in the hitherto volatile state remained largely unsung; when he for instance met a CAN delegation shortly after his election, the atmosphere was simply electrifying. Some of the Governor’s best quality roads and drainages were constructed in the Sabon gari neighbourhood, an area largely inhabited by the Igbos and Yorubas or if you like, non-Muslims. The governor is thus engaged in a delicate balancing act of satisfying the positive wish of the indigenous majority while at the same time protecting the rights of the minority which should be the hallmark of any credible leadership. Some of the noticeable grumblings by the masses against the governor though, was attributable to the existing communication gaps; it is curious why Shekarau abandoned his Dandalin Tattaunawa through which he used to parley directly with the people. He must graduate from the position of a relative political newcomer to an astute politician able to tackle political storms with tact and commitment to principles and always be ahead in the propaganda war as is always ahead in delivering the dividends of democracy to the people. To assess Shekarau better, one must look beyond the political “madding crowd”. This is because much as he is at the head of the political storm in a politically charged state like Kano, he was yet to for instance, acquire the political abrasiveness of one of his political mentors, Muhammad Abubakar Rimi, a former governor of the state. It is worth mentioning here that while some pundits were writing off a faction of the PDP headed by a minister of Kano State origin for obvious reasons, the same group managed to put up a good fight almost snatching the recent state assembly bye-election seat for Nassarawa constituency where governor Shekarau’s electoral ward is incidentally located. This means, the government’s Public Relation managers and political handlers must abandon their old tactics and plot new ones. Another challenge to the Government was how best to relate politically with the supporters of Former Governor Abubakar Rimi-led faction of the PDP who decamped to the newly registered ACD Political Party. The ANPP and the ACD in Kano must either work out a sort of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or an alliance formula to avoid the imminent exchange of “Friendly (Political) Fire” after the initial honeymoon in relationship. Shekarau's apparent initial slow steps in implementing the Shari’ a, was used to chastise his government and accuse it of lack of commitment to it. He was then advised however not to ignore the critics altogether while at the same time urged to ignore their selfish desires. The governor set up the Shari’ a Commission, Zakat and Hisba Boards and purchased and deployed hundreds of Female-friendly Tricycles and buses. The government pursued several celebrated Shari’ a courts cases and set up the first ever Kano State Shura (Consultative Council) made up of all the notable Islamic, Communal and Political Stake holders to thrash out issues of particularly Islamic and Shari’ a importance. The enemies of Shekarau and the rising profile of his Hisba Guards, capitalized on the resistance by a section of the community to the ban on carrying female passengers by Commercial Motorcyclists or Achaba to plot against the whole organization. It is both morally and legally unfair to lump the Kano State Hisba Guards with other illegal private organizations as the OPC. Banning the Hisba is literally the same as halting Shari’ a Implementation itself. It is one thing to criticize some of the obvious well intentioned failings of the Kano State Hisba in enforcing the female Achaba passengers ban for instance and quite another to look at the desirability of such a moral initiative in a Shari’a State like Kano. No wonder though not even the most vicious political opponent of Shekarau was ready to show his face in public as either supporting the illegal restrictions placed on Hisba by the Obasanjo regime or the resistance by some Achaba operators. Meanwhile for the law banning female passengers on Achaba to be just, fair, effective and earn public confidence, female-friendly Taxis, Buses or Tricycles should be available at the correct locations at the right times. This is beyond the resources of the state government alone; the private operators need to be encouraged to deploy or dedicate some of their fleet for the use female passengers. It may not be a bad idea if conventional Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) are used to enforce traffic regulations including the Achaba, while the Hisba Guards concentrate on the mainstream Shari’ a Implementation activities and other social support services where they probed to be more effective and more popular. Mention was made that beside the specific Achaba issue, the Kano State Government through the Ministry of Transport and Tourism must evolve a comprehensive Urban Transport Policy. On the threshold of an election year (2007), Governor Shekarau, and by implication his ANPP Political party must demonstrate cohesion, mend internal rifts and carry their party men and women along and even win more converts. He must re-organize and re-energize the government to bring in more political “Foot Soldiers” and form a coherent, highly mobile and well focused “Transitional” Executive Council to effectively conclude the provision of the government’s democracy dividends for the remaining year of his mandate. One honestly believes that time is up for political liabilities in Shekarau’s government if his current political romance with the masses is to be sustained. It is needless returning to the details of how and why the ANPP won the recent Kano State House of Assembly bye-election for Nassarawa Constituency with a very narrow margin, but any conscious political party or leader closely fought at what ought to be his Political “Safe haven” must return to the drawing board or be prepared to commit a political suicide. Pending the coming on stream of the highly welcomed Tamburawa Water Works project, it is considered worth restating that the Kano state government must urgently put in place, interim measures to mitigate the effects of the existing gap in Water supplies to the various communities particularly in the State Capital. In a country where most state governors have literally domesticated local governments’ money to themselves, Governor Shekarau releases their due share and regularly inform the masses accordingly as he equally disclose the state Revenue and Expenditure on a regular basis. No wonder though, Kano is only one of the two or so states in the country that had established Anti-corruption Agencies. The recently held, first ever Kano State Economic Summit spearheaded by the very energetic and innovative Commissioner of Commerce and Industries, Alhaji Ahmad Ibrahim Yakasai in concert with among others, the Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, an indigene of Kano State, was historic. The Government should not afford to ignore the Blue Print produced by that august gathering particularly given the great bashing suffered by Industrial and Commercial activities in the state in recent years. Despite the environmental sanitation efforts of the government, street cleaning exercises are only limited to few major roads and there are very few organized litter collection Tanks. Kano is still a relatively dirty city with the random littering of Sachet water and other polythene bags and the rampant blockage of drainages. The Kano State government must therefore sit up to repossess the Environmental Sanitation Initiative. The Street and Traffic lights in Kano have remained largely non-functional even along the vital State road which leads to the Government House. This road had not seen an overlay since the advent of Shekarau’s regime 3 year’s ago and even its landscape, carvings and other street furniture remained largely unfixed. This may likely becloud the government’s gigantic efforts in reconstructing several other vital roads which were neglected for years by the previous regimes such as Nassarawa Hospital, Lamido Crescent, Alu Avenue, Sabon gari roads, Jakara, Kwanar Danja-Zakirai, the state of the art new roundabouts and a host of others. Land Use Planning is again, an area where the government needs to be well focused. Kano State Urban Master Plans were long overdue for reviews. Kano is also overdue for Urban Renewal or Upgrading. The new KofarNa’sa layout in Kano must for instance, address the land use requirements of the immediate neighborhoods. It is important to note though that Kano is one of the few states in the country where the people get real value for monies spent. Those in doubt can for instance, compare and contrast the relative cost of constructing a Kilometer of road in Kano under Shekarau with others elsewhere. In the final analysis therefore, the Kano State government under the leadership of Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau has so far lived up to the expectations of the good people of Kano State amidst the machinations of both its internal and external opponents although there were some observed apparent self-afflicted problems of unsanctioned behaviors of highly placed appointees of the government working in apparent cross-purpose with its people-oriented policies and programmes. Although it is constitutionally legal for Governor Shekarau to seek for a second term, he nevertheless need not be too desperate about the quest given his background and excellent performance which are quite visible on the ground. The bottom line however, lies in the fact that he is in a covenant with God The Most High and the good people of Kano State to continue to render selfless service to the very end of his current mandate, irrespective of the outcome of his political battles. This writer concurs with a former Governor of the old Kaduna, Abdulkadir Balrabe Musa who once declared, “It is not how long you served, but how honourably you served”. But that is no excuse for excellent performers like Shekarau to simply abandon the people at the prime of their performance or be discouraged by the opposition pressure and adjustable human failings. After all, wrangling is part and parcel of human existence particularly under a political dispensation with its several contending forces.
Garba A.Isa
Yekuwa Communications, Kano
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