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In Kano, Deceits is Now an Option? By Kabiru Inuwa
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" Edmund burke, Irish philosopher and statesman.
Barring future miracles which every responsible Kano citizen eagerly hope for, Kano state may not rediscover it's bearing in the very near future to enable it have a tsunami-free navigation out of the Bermuda triangle of leadership ineptitudes, corruptions and underdevelopments.
The state, having failed to get a directional compass which would guide it perfectly out of the deep blue sea of retrogressions and despairs, occasioned by the on-going graft and sleazes, is desperately in need of a powerful captain with the requisite stamina, uncommon courage and ability to avail it with a functional leadership which will enable it to have a smooth sails out of troubles onto a new platforms of progress, development and contentment.
This become imperative because all indices of developments have so far, point to a dysfunctional leadership which has failed woefully to address the basic rudiments of lives of the traumatised Kano citizenries.
It is quit unfortunate that despite the huge revenues in the form of the monthly allocations, excess crude reserve and internally generated revenues that have been steadily accruing to the state; Kano has not yet gets it right in term of selfless leadership, devoid of sycophantic hullabaloo, unnecessary wastage of resources on frivolities and excessive pretensions.
It is also disheartening to observe the current phenomenon whereby some state capitals that were hitherto rural settlements compared to Kano, being transformed into modern cities while Kano is steeply regressing. It is also painful and upsetting when someone recalls that, most of the cities that are contemporaries to Kano in the sixties and seventies are now world class megalopolis!
In addition, at the risk of being termed a cynic, sadist or terrorist by some myopic elements, our contemporary life if truth must be told is not all that bed of rosés. Today people barely existed on the minimal scale approved internationally-this is the home truth. And all this happens courtesy of an ineffectual leadership that failed to tame adequately the on-going first class corruptions.
And if not because I'm a firm believer in the sacred Qur'anic verse which succinctly emphasised the wisdom of God almighty in creating mankind equal and with different colours and shapes; for us to understand ourselves and proclaimed his unity and universality, the hypothesis by the renown molecular geneticist which categorised blacks as having very low intelligent quotient (IQ) would have make sense to me. This is because of our constant failures to properly manage our affairs which often lend strong credence and encourage white supremacist like Dr. Watson to propose their jaundiced hypothesis.
Today, elderly people still recalls with nostalgia, the good old days of yore, when leadership was synonymous with responsibility. The first eight years under the able leadership of Mallam Abdu Bako (father of modern Kano), no-doubt represented the very best in the progressive evolution of Kano from a small agrarian kingdom into a modern, bustling industrial- cum-commercial nerve-centre of the north.
In that golden period, straitened circumstance such as the one we are painfully enduring today is unknown and life was not so straight-jacketed as to warrant writing an article such as this out of frustrations.
If we take time to consider the way Kano is short-circuited with so-called leaders whose allegiance is first and foremost to their pockets, cronies and immediate families; leaders who have totally failed to grasp the dynamics of our society; leaders who are so disconnected from the realities of their respective environments, and whose actions and in actions have wittingly resulted in our beloved state being caught in a cob-web of serious socio-economic maladies, it may not be an exaggeration to say that Kano is well on its way to self-destruct! God forbid bad thing!
In fact, in the forty-one year history of Kano state, the periods that eminently qualify to be refer to as the golden era in term of responsible leadership which seeks the complete transformations of the lives of the average Kano citizens in every facets of our temporal existence; were indeed those represented by the marvellous administrations of the legendary late police commissioner Abdu Bako and the redoubtable Rimi of Sumaila. The two diametrically opposed (military and civilian) administrations matter-of-fact remain models of reference to any students of history of good governance in Kano state!
The duo considered leadership as a burden and a trust to be safeguarded jealously against abuse; and being always accountable to the people who were rightly put at the centre of policy formulations, the achievements recorded was to say the least superb!
Their respective tenures ushered in a new paradigm of the very best form of selfless, reformative and committed leadership. The cancerous deceases of project non-continuity were alien to their vocabulary. The two leaders personify excellence and leadership by examples which enabled them to achieve so much with very limited resources. Every promise made to the electorates was followed with actions. The legendary Abdu Bako and the consummate political icon, the Rimi of Sumaila were never hypocritical in their methods of approach to governance.
But, for the extraordinary conservatism of the people, who opposed changes however well intentions, the tremendous transformations recorded during the periods under review would have been more than phenomenal. Nevertheless, Abdu-Bako and Rimi, succeeded in bequeathing a legacy of purposeful administration which is unprecedented in the annals of Kano history. Take it or leave it, for the golden fish has no hiding places!
Unlike today's politicians, Late Abdu Bako (Na ladi me fatanyar rushe gini), ironically a police officer under a military dispensations was visionary, far-sighted, resourceful, courageous, down-to-earth and exceptionally Patriotic. During his administration, there was a complete paradigm shift from the lumpen governance which characterised our current pathetic existence into that of positive re-engineering and transformations. The developments recorded during his eventful administrations were so much that mathematical enumerations can not honestly be possible. May his gentle soul rest in absolute peace!
Following closely in development perspectives, was the periods under the first and the best civilian administration of the maverick and consummate politician of the progressive hue, who was never a believer in the philosophy of politics of deceit. The formations of Rimi's cabinets was said to be much better and more suited to achieve the set-targets than that of the NPN led federal government at that material time.
The eloquent Rimi ensure that only round pegs were placed in all the round holes, thus the unprecedented developments recorded. And unlike what obtain today, there were no sacred cows or untouchables who can do as they wish without rebuke. In fact, having totally controlled the affairs of the state; no-body was above the law in the dictionary of Alhaji Rimi's developmental formulae.
It is to his eternal credits that, despite strong oppositions from many fronts, like the NPN led federal government, Tabo and Santsi imbroglio; Maitatsine saga; and 1980/81-mass revolt which claimed the precious life of a true revolutionary-late Dr Bala Muhammad, Rimi successfully delivered much of his campaign promises. Thank to his dogged determinations which enabled him to break the barrier of hegemonic control by the so-called retrogressive power brokers.
Alhaji Rimi's cabinets which was said to have incorporated only seasoned politicians and tested and trusted technocrats with the requisite resumes and experience; attested to his capacity for hard work and cherish desire to deliver democracy dividend to the electorates. Unfortunately, this was in sharp contrast to what obtain today, where every Tom, Dick or Harry with strong connection some where can aspire to become anything!
During his eventful tenure, Kano reached its zenith in all aspect of developments, after which decline begun to set-in and up-till now, has not yet recover fully to take back its rightful place among the comity of front-line states of the beleaguered country known and refer to as Nigeria.
The decline was noticed just after Alhaji Abubakar Rimi had handed over power to late Alhaji Abdu Dawakin Tofa, when things begun to take a down ward slide. And from Governor Dawakin-Tofa down to the administrations of late Sabo Bakin Zuwo, who tries unsuccessfully, to undo most of the achievements recorded by Alhaji Rimi for reasons that bordered on political differences, through the successive military aberrations, up to the present civilian contraptions; Kano has not had it so good again. What a pity!
Therefore, the questions on the lips of the traumatised Kano citizens are: when will their beloved state-the largest urban slump north of the Niger get it right again? Who will be the much awaited saviour to rescue it out of the deepest crevice, glaring systemic failures and pervasive degeneration? Can the golden era of functional leadership personified by Abdu Bako and Rimi, which ushered in unprecedented progress in all aspect of life be re-enacted in the polity to address the current unbearable life of penury, melancholy, disillusionments and despairs among the hapless people? In other word, could there be hope in the horizon? ALLAH MASANI, ALLAH SHI KYAUTA!
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