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To Kwankwaso With Apology By Abdu Isa Kofarmata 21st November, 2007
From 2002 when he was a governor to 2007 when he voluntarily relinquish his ministerial appointment to contest for the governorship in Kano state, Kwankwaso happened to be one politician that I daily criticized. Though in almost all my write –ups I always tried to make it clearly that my criticisms were not born out of malice or personal hatred but purely political and disagreement based on national issues as they affect our state. Kwankwaso’s persistence and notorious loyalty to the former president Obasanjo was the root cause for all his political tribulations, defeat and lost of relevance in Kano.
On assumption into the exalted office of the governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau sought to set for himself a high moral standard and pretended to be religious. This brought him closer to the teeming masses of the state that are mostly ignorant about the business of the government. At the beginning of his first term, a telephone number was circulated among the metropolitans for one to call and speak with the governor. I was privileged to be among those who have spoken with His Excellency. For about four times that I was able to speak with the governor, I was able to articulate some problems which to my understanding deserve serious attention. Whether His Excellency attended to those pieces of advises or not it is another subject of discussion.
For years now I have been contemplating writing and expressing my opinion and reservations with regards to the reckless and irresponsible way by which the incumbent governor is steering the affairs of my state. Many could view my present position as an attempt to eat back my words on Shekarau. However, my religious belief has enjoined me to tell the truth no matter whose oak is gored and regardless of one’s relationship with the party involved.
However, if I have seen the reality about the government of Shekarau and the atrocities been perpetrated by his cronies and I decided not to say it, surely I have not been fair to Kwankwaso and his administration.
In nearly five years of Shekarau’s administration, there is nothing tangible to show after expanding billions of naira. It is now becoming clear to all sincere minds that Kwankwaso is by far a better financial manager than Shekarau. Consider the money, affluence and arrogant display of wealth by the cabinet members of the present regime. It is reliably reported that commissioners and heads of parastatals in the state are competing in attaining a billion naira margin. Whereas second timers in the cabinet have already accumulated adequate money and property to contest the governorship election come 2011.
Kano state remains the only state in the federation where illiterates and incompetent candidates are fielded for election. Even where educated candidates are fielded one can see the incompetence in those people. In the last general elections public funds were used to sponsor candidates for national and state assembly that lack experience, education and integrity to represent even their families talk less of representing the over nine million people of Kano. Just imaging for instance, Muhammad Bello, Aminu Sule Garo and Kabiru Gaya as senators representing Kano! Even where they are sufficiently educated, they lack the integrity to represent a state like Kano.
The same thing was repeated in the recent local government elections where school drop outs and irresponsible personalities were sponsored by the state to man the affair of our local governments. All these wasteful spending is in line with state social and human development programme popularly called A DAIDAITA SAHU.
Most disheartening of all these atrocities and maladministration is that those that claim ownership of the state and the supposed to be stake holders keep their mouth mute. Nobody seems to matter at all about the state of our education, health care, agriculture and more importantly the commerce which daily we deceive ourselves about. Economic infrastructures are decaying and no new projects are initiated, the enviable position of the state in commerce has already been eroded. Public funds are recklessly used in sponsoring people for pilgrimage and foreign medical treatment at the expense of majority who are dying for minor and curable diseases.
We are daily been lectured that salaries and pensions are promptly been paid to the state civil servants and that Ramadan bonus and Sallah rams are part of the human development programme to the state civil servants. Although the payment of salaries and pensions as well as welfare for the state workers is important, it should not be an excuse for not providing the state with the necessary social and economic infrastructures, the entire size of the state service is not up to 60,000 which is less than 1 per cent of the state population of 9.4 million. For somebody like my humble self, where for God sake do I stand to benefit for the state resource since I am not in the payroll of the state for me to enjoy the Ramadan and Sallah bonus? Definitely, it is through the provision of qualitative education for my kids, comprehensive health care delivery, construction of urban and rural roads etc, I stand to benefit.
Another painful and point of total failure of Shekarau’s administration is education. As a trained and practicing teacher, people of Kano expected education to be the priority and a model to copy by other neighboring states, but the situation is disappointing and too bitter to be reported. As one Babangida Dangora articulated the situation in his letter to Tanko Yakasai posted in Gamji website, “public schools now in Kano are virtually a breeding ground for future illiterates, Teachers who are expected to teach English could not themselves speak English while Mathematic teachers could not count salary. Staff rooms in our schools were turned to avenues for selling wares by the female and male teachers whilst the pupils were left at the mercy of God. Discipline was virtually thrown to the dogs.”
Urban and regional planning is one function that the current administration has neglected entirely. Urban planning is non priority issue to the government of Kano state. Street and roadside trading is on the increase and is daily adding to the already congested roads. Government seems not to bother about the continuous erection of shops, containers and wooden kiosk by the road side. The entire metropolitan is turning into ghetto, residents and visitors alike could not separate GRA from the ghetto, residential areas from the market place.
Kano that is known for its commerce could not boast of modern market or shopping area. Everywhere now is market in Kano courtesy of Shekarau administration. This is where I have to purse to acknowledge the former governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso for ensuring a clean environment by prohibiting road side trading and illegal structures.
The last but important atrocity worth mentioning of this administration is the lawlessness and insecurity that persist in the state. Many of the governor’s men are desperate of power; this desperation is so much that many of them have to resort to gangsterism. The quest for affluence, positions and money among the governor’s men has promoted terrorism to the unimaginable height in the state. This can be seen from the recent local government elections in the state.
The way Shekarau succeeded in strangulating the internal democracy within his party (ANPP) in the state from the party congress to the primary elections in both the general and local government elections have clearly confirm his insincerity about the Shari’ a legal system which he pretend to be implementing. The way thugs were freely sponsored and dangerous weapons were used against oppositions and innocent electorate in recent local government elections is another evidence of insincerity and deception. It is only in Kano now you find a Commissioner, Director or SA for Yan’Daba
Finally, it is pertinent to call the attention of the president about the dangerous situation the good people of Kano are living in, and to advise him on the importance of using Section 305 (3) (C) (D) (E) (F) of the 1999 constitution to proclaim a state of emergency in the state, since soldiers have already taken over the street of Kano. The leadership of the state has lost focus and can not own up to its responsibility of protecting the lives and property of the people. |