Kano Government and the Purchase of Royal Jeeps

Kano Government and the Purchase of Royal Jeeps

Bello Gwarzo Abdullahi

Of recent there are spates of write-ups on the activities of Malam Ibrahim Shekarau led government of Kano State. What triggered the sudden interest came about due to morally unjust, financially profligate, politically unwise and religiously reprehensible purchase of jeeps to traditional rulers, emirate council members and ulemas that cost the state a whopping 1.6 billion Naira. This unfortunate incident is happening in a state that harbors the most politically conscious citizens in the country and suffering from the most debilitating blow of its industrial base. Over the years the people of Kano proved themselves a hard nut to crack by all manner of political opportunists. The political vibrancy of the Kano elites always serve as a roadmap for any administrator and the sense of vision and mission for growth and development of the Kano society is indisputable.

To elucidate the points raised above few examples suffice on how Kano made the difference from historical perspective. It is a well documented fact that what led to the Kano civil war in the late 19th century was the perceived injustice by a faction of the ruling house when Amir Tukur Bin Bello, on the prompting of his aging father was imposed by the leadership of the caliphate against the more popular candidates from the Abdullahi Maje Karofi ruling house. To protest injustice the siblings of Abdullahi Maje Karofi left Kano and stationed themselves in Takai and launched an attack on Kano. They were successful after Amir Tukur fled Kano and one of them Amir Aliyu Bin Abdullahi took over as the new Amir.

With the advent of colonialism Kano people once more showed the stuff they were made of when three factions emerged each with a reason of taking a stand on how to confront the advancing colonialists. The first group led by Amir Aliyu Bin Abdullahi opted for hijra based on an understanding that when you are confronted with a superior power you have the option to flee to a favorable ground to prepare to launch counter attack. He was unfortunately arrested and exiled to Lokoja. The second group opted for confrontation and they were led by Wazirin Kano Ahmadu. He was martyred in the process. The third group was led by Wambai Abbas and they opted for compromise with the invading forces. In return he was appointed as the emir of Kano to replace his brother Aliyu. These examples show clearly that independence of thought and action has been part of Kano culture. Also the reasoning adduced by each of the three groups was based on their understanding of religion and is quite logical.

In the first republic late Mallam Aminu Kano of blessed memory led Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) that was decidedly left wing. This was in spite of the fact that the late Mallam had an aristocratic background. The effect of Mallam’s struggle for the emancipation of the downtrodden elicited so many challenges from the powers that be. Some of these challenges were seemingly intractable. But he was never deterred and pursued his objective with single minded commitment and devotion. It was at the height of that struggle that late emir of Zazzau Jafaru once remarked that the greatest damage done by Mallam was to teach the talakawa that they can say no. This was a big compliment and an indication of the seriousness and effectiveness of the movement. Prior to that it was considered an abomination to challenge those in authority no matter how bad they are.

It is pertinent to note that in the first republic Kano led the other provinces in the area of provision of basic amenities to the people. The result of this was that civil servants did not have to seek for jobs outside the province because of the favorable conditions of service in the province. The military intervention and creation of States was another milestone in the continuing struggle to make Kano unique. Late Alhaji Audu Bako the first military Governor of Kano State laid a solid foundation for any serious government to follow. Basic frameworks were put in place in virtually all spheres of administration. Key areas such as urban development, water resources, agriculture, and education were put in place and implementation commenced almost immediately. It is to the credit of that glorious era that Water Resources and Engineering Construction Agency (WRECA) became a reference point and was executing contracts even in the southern part of the country. Other areas were not left behind by a visionary and selfless leadership.

The 1975 coup that brought Col. Sani Bello established the legendary Science Secondary Schools to address manpower needs of the State. Some may argue that the credit should go to Professor Ibrahim Ayagi then Commisioner of Finance and Economic Planning and Acting Commissioner of Education but the fact remains that if Col. Bello was against the move it could not have seen the light of the day.

The second republic witnessed the emergence of People’s Redemption Party (PRP) under the leadership of venerable and indefatigable Mallam Aminu Kano. The two States under the PRP produced progressive personalities in the persons of Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi and Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa. They all brought with them far reaching changes that impacted positively on the lives of the people. This did not stop at the abolishing of poll tax and cattle tax but went ahead to establish real infrastructures. These include among others issues of education, economy and a lot more. In Kano for instance the establishment of Agency for Mass Education assisted greatly in raising the literacy level of those not opportune to go through formal education. The program became an instant success and was copied by the Federal Government and Kano received an international award on that. The dynamism and focus of Rimi administration still reverberates. It is noteworthy that even the much despised and arrogant predecessor of Mallam Shekarau Engr. Rabiu Kwankwaso has a lot to show in his four year reign as the Chief Executive of Kano.

That brief tour of History is done to give a background of the squandered goodwill that is synonymous to the current government. As the Hausas say “in tururuwa ta tashi lalacewa sai ta yi fiffike”. The activities of Shekarau led government since its inception lacks focus and is full of deceit. As Karl Marx once said “religion is the opium of the masses” this statement is put to effective use by Mallam Shekarau that his constant resort to religion has become so monotonous that questions were being asked as to the level of sincerity of the mantra. He employs of the services of what late Professor Shehu Umar Abdullahi used to call rapacious scholars. These scholars are always willing to justify whatever action taken by those in power by providing wrong interpretation of the religion. Another manipulation of religion is evident from the yearly sponsorship of hundreds to perform Hajj and Umrah at the holy land at the expense of the masses. Because they are aware of the sensitive nature of religion to the majority of our people those who can talk could not talk due to fear of misrepresentation. In other words people are intimidated and blackmailed in to silence. Another weapon employed to hoodwink people is constant resort to swearing by the almighty Allah on the slightest provocation. The second way of gagging us in to silence is the bribing of our royal fathers with gifts. That is why they find it very comfortable to drag the royal fathers in the mud with their gifts. The last method used is to compromise our business class. The net result of all these is the near absence of any development since the government came to power in 2003. Talk of education, health, industries, roads or any macro or micro economic indices and the performance of the government is almost nil.

What make the whole issue condemnable was made manifest with the recent disclosure of what accrued to the government from the federation account.

In fact it is an eye opener for the elites to find a way of addressing the issue else posterity will find us culpable of keeping silent in the face of wanton disregard to our collective interests. “Conscience” according to the leader of Sokoto Caliphate the venerable Sheikh Usman Danfodio “is an open wound and only truth can heal it”. We should never shy away from challenging government of anything that affects the lives of the people. Majority of us who were educated through well funded public schools should organize ourselves to see that the current trend is arrested. We can do it as we have right to ask question on our common patrimony.

There are key elements of the economy that should be the focus of any serious government. But unfortunately this is not the direction our government is facing. I remember that some years ago the issue of almajiri was part of a committee established and they came up with a novel approach toward addressing the problem. The implementation of those recommendations could have resulted in a giant leap forward. Please note that we have over 1 million almajiris roaming our streets and a fraction of what was spent on our royal fathers as gifts could have solved the problem.

But even this simple initiative has not been part of Mallam Shekarau’s administration priority. Here was a man who at the initial stage of his foray in to politics has a lot of goodwill because of his pedigree as a classroom teacher, principal, educational administrator and permanent secretary and unionist coupled with his participation in religious activities. So when he came on board as the governor people had a lot of confidence on his ability to deliver

Now I would like to use this forum to appeal to appeal to our elites to come out and raise their voice in unison against the wanton display of wasteful spending by a government that seem oblivious of the basic needs of its people. This may force them to come back to their senses. As is well known Kano is faced with decaying educational infrastructure, comatose industries, lack of potable water and striking teachers. It is our civic responsibility to say no to this state of affairs. This way history will be favorable to us that we acted when our action is desirable. A word is enough for the wise.