|
How Shekarau Left Kwankwaso Far Behind By Hassan S. Indabawa
In his usual but highly commendable attitude to life, Kano State Governor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau initiated a scheme recently and the first person to benefit from it is his political opponent, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
Malam Ibrahim Shekarau announced during the weekend that civilian governors of Kano State from 1999 would henceforth enjoy full benefits of their office for as long as they live.
The new law, already passed by the state House of Assembly, covers all past governors elected in 1999 and henceforth, effectively making Kwankwaso, the only such past governor so far, the first beneficiary. Kwankwaso was governor between 1999 and 2003. Malam took over after defeating him in the 2003 election.
The new law entitles Kwankwaso and all who will become former governor after him, to a house, three cars, free medical care, a personal assistant, and free traveling allowance abroad once a year. Half of all that will be for deputy governors within the same period, that is from 1999 onward.
One wonders how Kwankwaso is taking this latest show of magnanimity from Malam the man Kwankwaso has done everything within him since 2003 to undermine and to paint black to the whole world for purely personal and selfish reasons.
How very unlike Kwankwaso that Malam is. In Malam's shoes, Kwankwaso would never have thought of what Malam, has done. Kwankwaso is far too vindictive, too arrogant, and too jealous of others to have a hand, let alone initiate such morale lifting social security scheme that Shekarau has instituted.
Not that Kwankwaso has anything to be vindictive about anyway, as far as Malam is concerned. Kwankwaso's anger has been that Malam and his All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) dethroned Kwankwaso and his peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2003 and so cut short Kwankwaso's dream to rule Kano for a second four –year tenure.
How does it become an offence for Malam to aspire to lead Kano State and for Kano people to support such aspiration by giving him their votes? This is simply what happened in 2003 and then last month when Malam broke the one-term “jinx” and was voted in for a second term that no past governor of the state had ever got.
Kwankwaso has the right as a mere mortal to be jealous of Malam's rising profile especially because it has largely been at Kwankwaso's expense. What he has no right to do is to be so jealous that he would go to all extents to try to harm Malam.
It is no secret that Kwankwaso used his influence as Minister of Defence while he was there to try and bring Malam down. It is no secret that he tried hard by employing the machinery of the ruling PDP in Abuja to plot Malam's fall before and during the elections of last month.
Malam has stood strong despite all the hate campaign and brazen unstatemanly acts of Kwankwaso because the people of Kano who had a choice between the two men preferred Malam.
Again, it is not as if the ANPP and Malam can be blamed over Kwankwaso's fast declining political fortunes. It was not their making in 2003 when crisis within the PDP and Kwankwaso's failed leadership and governance led to his defeat. It was not their fault that similar crisis in his PDP and his long known anti-people's image made it impossible for his party to reclaim Kano in the historic gubernatorial election of last month.
He should also blame his arrogance and wrong sense of judgment for his fall. His past deals stood against him when the PDP decided that because he had a bad record they could not present him for the April 14 gubernatorial election in Kano State. They conceded to him his request to choose who should take his place. Unwisely, and out of sheer selfish consideration, he chose Ahmed Garba Bichi.
His choice of Bichi was a minus for him and his PDP on many counts. One, Bichi, a colorless and obscure man, was simply not the politician who could swing Kano for PDP. Secondly, Bichi was an insult to other gubernatorial aspirants among whom Kwankwaso should have chosen from. They rightly rejected Bichi because unlike them who spent money and time in campaigns for the PDP primaries only to be rigged out by Kwankwaso, Bichi stayed away. Why should be reap where he did not sow?
The wrangling in the Kano PDP got to Abuja and the party's leadership intervened but Kwankwaso's arrogance would not let him accommodate the aspirants as Abuja expected and as the aspirants hoped for. So the best PDP could do was for irreconciled members to vote during the election as they wished. Party loyalty therefore gave way. So, why should Malam not get his second term?
Kwankwaso's another undoing is probably his blind belief that come rain come shine, President Olusegun Obasanjo would make him governor in Kano. How sad he must be to have found out how wrong he was. He should have known that there are certain things Obasanjo cannot do, including rigging Kwankwaso into Kano State Government House, especially, when an alternative as desirable as Malam is available to the people.
To worsen his case, Kwankwaso reportedly sat on the N3bn which the PDP sent from Abuja to mobilize the electorate for PDP's victory. He probably also thought that since magical Obasanjo is there, ever ready to wave the magic wand, he might as well pocket the money.
With a personality like Malam, Kwankwaso ought to have known that he needed much more than a magic wand to win Kano for PDP. More than 2003, Kano people had reasons to want Malam to be their governor. They chose him in 2003 largely on the strength of his high integrity which he displayed in lower capacities while in the Kano State civil service. They voted him this past election because of his unstained integrity and enviable record of service that he has attained in the four years he had been governor.
Workers under the state government have had good reasons to be happy with him. He pays them their salaries regularly, promotes all those deserving promotion, approves favourable conditions of service for them, and gives employment to many within the service rather than dismiss some that have been in service as Kwankwaso did with reckless abandon between 1999 and 2003 when he was governor.
Malam has also given pensioners a cause to smile. He was fast in giving them a new lease of life upon assuming office in 2003. They demonstrated their appreciation to him last year by buying his nomination form to contest a second term, from their own pocket. This is the kind of glory which Kwankwaso never enjoyed because he did not deserve it. One good turn deserves another. He did no good turn and so could not have any from anyone.
Malam has done more to give water to the people than many past governors or military administrators combined. Coming from once being permanent secretary in the state Ministry of Water Resources, he knew immediately as he became governor that the state needed a new treatment plant if perennial water problem of Kano was to be radically addressed. Thus, he started the Tamburawa Water Treatment plant, the most gigantic water project in the history of Kano State; designed as it were, to produce 150 million litres of pipe-born water per day.
The project is coming in addition to other water projects spread across all parts of the state in Malam's resolve to improve the life of people in both rural and urban Kano, placing him on a performance scale not seen before and which will take some time for anyone else to equal.
Under Malam, Kano State has known peace which was a scarce commodity during Kwankawaso. His transparent leadership and obvious good intentions add to his performance and genuine commitment to the people's welfare greatly contributed to ensure the relative peace people now enjoy.
Much has indeed been done by the administration to make governance impact significantly on the people: improved education, better health care services, practical poverty alleviation, praise- worthy housing for the people, name them. But the idea here is not to list Malam's achievements. One needs a whole book to do so. The idea is to point out in this little way how far behind Kwankwaso is when compared with Malam in public spirit, performance, and statesmanship.
Indabawa lives in Kano.
|