Before foraying into the murky waters of Nigerian politics, former Governor and Senator, Muhammad Adamu Aliero voluntarily retired from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) as a senior officer; where he had a fulfilled paramilitary-cum-civil service career stated in the early 1980s.He joined partisan politics immediately after retiring from service in the early 1990s and became a Senator during the ill-fated and aborted third republic midwife by former military president General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) in 1993.

Senator Aliero, a graduate of Political Science and History of the famous and renowned Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria (the Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge universities equivalent of Nigeria in the North of Nigeria), is the immediate past two-term Governor of Kebbi State under the platform of the troubled All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP); a founding member of the party since it was founded in 1998 until 2007 when he suddenly parted ways with the party. He abandoned the troubled party under some yet to be fully explained political intrigues at the very tail-end of his tenure as Governor of Kebbi State.

He immediately and swiftly joined the main opposition political party in the state; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), again, in another yet to be fully explained political intrigues. It was these mysterious political intrigues that saw Senator Aliero successfully bequeathing the saddle of Governorship of Kebbi State, a state that prides itself as: The Land of Equity, seamlessly to his trusted right hand-man and confidant, a former secondary school junior colleague and also, a former fellow Nigeria Customs officer, the amiable, quiet and affable soft speaking Alhaji Saidu Usman Nasamu Dakingari. Again, this also happened in another yet to be explained political intrigues.

He repeated the same political wizardry in Sokoto State to help his other trusted soul mate, Alhaji Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (Sarkin Yamman Sokoto), a one time former Deputy Governor to the then erstwhile Sokoto State Governor Alhaji Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa, who found himself emasculated, hounded and edged out by Bafarawa and his marauding party thugs from the dicey and murky waters of Sokoto State politics. Senator Aliero mounted another swift and daring emergency rescue operation under similar arrangement he engineered in Kebbi State and ensured that Magatakarda made it to the Sokoto State Government seat of power.

With Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko out of the woods, he contested the 2007 Sokoto State gubernatorial election under the platform of the PDP (and not the ANPP, his original party) and won the election. The election was contested in the elections petition tribunals by his traducers. The election was subsequently annulled by the Federal Court of Appeal Kaduna. Some political pundits alleged that political interference influenced the Appeal Court’s judgment passed. A fresh gubernatorial election was ordered to be repeated. Again, Wamakko got the mandate of the people (Sakkwatawa) for the second time. He therefore undisputedly took over power from his arch political rival, the estranged former Governor Bafarawa. All thanks to Senator Aliero’s political mathematical permutations and intrigues.

In the same epochal Machiavellian political shrewdness, acumen and astuteness, so to speak, Senator Adamu Aliero also emerged as the undisputed Senatorial candidate of his newly acquired political party to contest the Kebbi State (Central) Senatorial seat, which he did and won without any qualms. I must point out here, that, this was the second time he won this very senatorial seat; the first time being in 1993, as earlier stated above.

I was also made aware that Senator Aliero played a prominent role in the recent decampment from the ANPP to the PDP by the Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Mahmuda Shinkafi.

Furthermore, Senator Aliero’s political wizardry did not stop at merely organizing ordinary political mathematical equations of what it takes to capture and consolidate political power; he indeed, spiced it up (or in the parlance of British political discourse, ‘Sexed it up’) with cementing political affiliation with what I would dub ‘bridge-building-marital-political assimilation.’

Simply put, providence again beckoned on Senator Aliero to play a prominent and significant role in the historical marriage that took place in 2007 between the new Nigerian first family and new the Kebbi State first family respectively. That is to say, Senator Aliero’s trusted confidant, Kebbi State Governor Alhaji Saidu Usman Nasamu Dakingari wedded Hajia Zainab Umaru Musa Yar’Adua; the second daughter of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on June 30, 2007, at a colourful wedding in Katsina attended by about 13 governors, members of the diplomatic community and other top dignitaries from all walks of life nationwide and some of our neighbouring countries. The wedding will be listed in Nigeria’s presidential records as the first of its kind that took place with a formal wedding reception at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.

Last but by no means the least, Senator Aliero won the Kebbi State gubernatorial elections twice; first in 1999 and second in 2003, largely as a result of his grassroots political mobilization, popularity, resourcefulness, delivery of political campaign promises and acceptability by the grassroots and above all, aided by the political infighting and fractionalization within the Kebbi State PDP then. These above listed events to the credit of Senator Aliero are indeed very impressive and may have great implications for his present and future political career and endeavours

I provide the above brief background and profile of Senator Aliero’s personal and political trajectories as a backdrop to my analysis that follows below, regarding his most recent new found political place in his political sojourn to date – i.e. Hon. Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The above brief background is vital to an understanding and contextualizing the place Senator Aliero occupies in the current political dispensation of the country; having been recently appointed as Hon. Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) by Mr. President on December 17, 2008.

I hasten to say that in his new role as the Hon Minister of the FCT, Senator Aliero needs from the onset, understand that, first and foremost, he is the Minister of the entire FCT (covering a landmass of 8000 square kilometers) and not just Abuja, the Federal Capital City (FCC - covering just a landmass of 250 square kilometers) and seat of the Federal Government of Nigeria. This pointer and or reminder is very vital because successive FCT Ministers tended to restrict their ministerial mandates and activities only to Abuja (i.e. the FCC) to the detriment and expense of the wider geographical territorial extent and coverage of the FCT. Having made this observation and suggestion, I would below, outline some of the major challenges, problematic and expectations that await the attention of the Hon. Minister of FCT, Senator Aliero.

1. Security of life and property for those are who already permanent residents, frequent visitors and commuters and occasional visitors, security is of paramount and uppermost importance in the whole FCT in general, and Abuja capital city in particular. The rising spates of armed robbery incidences both at night and in broad day light are unacceptable to everyone that has to anything within the territory. Moreover, Abuja is host to ever growing international community to which the nation owe a sacred duty to protect against all forms of dangers and threats to life and property. I already noticed that the Hon. Minister has already started talking about this issue of recent and has promised to do something about it; starting with the resuscitation of the broken down 25 Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras strategically installed in Abuja only (more on this issue later). Therefore, security should occupy the attention; time and resources of the Hon. Minister far above matters of land allocation and demolition of illegal structure as often been the case in the past

2. Internal reorganization of the existing functional structures and administrative arrangements. There is an urgent need for the Hon. Minister to review the existing unwieldy functional structures and organizational arrangements within the Ministry and its associated parastatals. For example, between the periods 1999 and 2008, a number of changes were done by the previous administration that needs careful and methodical reviews with a view to strengthen, streamline and properly coordinate the statutory provisions and functions of the FCT in order to facilitate smooth administration of the FCT. It is only when this task is successfully accomplished that the Hon. Minister will be in a position to craft a viable, doable and sustainable strategic action plan to guide him in ministering the FCT. In addition to the two issues outlined above, while drawing up a strategic action plan for development, implementation and management of the Abuja and FCT Master Plans, the Hon. Minister and his fellow Minister of State need to address the following key issues:

a) Functionality and Cohesion of the FCC (Abuja) and the FCT:

Territorial and capital development opportunities are inherent in the regional diversity that is a characteristic of the FCT. Consequently, the different types of regions (i.e. development districts or satellite towns as the case may be) within the FCT are endowed with diverse combinations of resources, putting them in different positions for contributing to the overall achievement of both the Abuja and FCT Master Plans, as well as developing a pan-territorial Cohesion Policy and specific government policies related to the functions and needs of the FCT need to be accorded top priority.

For example, territorial diversity, especially in the economic base, implies that strategies including opting for a knowledge-based economy might be more appropriate and viable for some regions (i.e. development district or satellite towns as the case may be). This can greatly assists in decongesting or preventing congestion of Abuja and or other places such as immediate surrounding suburbs of Kubwa, Bwari, and Nyaya and other rapidly emerging rural settlement clusters that are in very close proximity to Abuja, the FCC.

In this respect, a good suggestion is to further decentralize the spatial concentration of administrative functions of Abuja outwards to other regions within the FCT. For example, starting with the federal government as a catalyst of change, substantial number of the federal government-owned parastatals and agencies should be earmarked for relocation to other development districts or satellite towns within a given period of say five years beginning from 2009.

Agencies such as the Federal Roads Safety Corp (FRSC), the National Youth Service Secretariat (NYSC), Public Complaints Commission (PCC), National Population Commission (NPC), Independent National Election Commission (INEC), Nigerian Prison Service (NPS), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), BPE, NAFDAC, PTDF, PEF and all parastatals under the following Federal Ministries: Education, Science and Technology, Health, Commerce and Industry, Culture and Tourism and many more, need to be moved out of their present locations in Abuja to other development districts within the FCT.

Doing this will provide the impetus for an all encompassing accelerated development of social, economic and physical infrastructures required for human needs and development within the entire FCT and indeed, within a very short time period than the hitherto. What has been happening in the past and at the moment, has been over concentrated development - all lumped together in Abuja alone, capable of recreating the horrible Lagos nightmares if care is not urgently taken.

Hence, the functional specialisation of Abuja and other towns and cities within the FCT and the relation between the functions of these cities, their competitiveness, and their socio-economic as well as their environmental situation and urban quality should be given attention by Hon. Minister Aliero. This implies the necessity for an integrated approach towards development and administration of Abuja and the FCT.

For instance, the increasing importance of urban systems, and the accelerating integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into urban infrastructure at all scales, create new and fundamental opportunities and challenges for policymakers. One that immediately suggests itself is the physical, functional, and cultural relationship between ICT, security and transportation infrastructures.

Therefore, with deployment of appropriate information and communication technologies (ICT), functional integration that eliminates the tyranny of physical separation or distance (i.e. transportation cost) is much easier and cost effective. In this way, more CCTV coverage can be deployed by the FCT administration for 24/7 security surveillances territory-wide.

This special security service should be handled by professionally trained FCT staffers and not the police. However, the police should have authorised access to the data stored at all times needed for authorized usage in crime prevention, detection and prosecution. If operation and management of the CCVT system left in the hands of the police the system will crumble in no time as it has already done at present.

b) Liveability:

This is about liveability in Abuja and other FCT towns and or urban and rural areas in terms of quality and security of space and the built environment. The concept of Liveability explores issues relating to the use of a place and how safe it feels. It considers what is involved in creating and maintaining a sense of place by creating an environment that is both inviting and enjoyable.

The security issue I earlier raised above comes into play here and is accorded high standing in the order of Liveability indicators globally. For example, with a rating of almost 100, Vancouver was the world's most liveable city in 2007 according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s December 2007 liveability ranking; with an index rating of just 1.3%.  

Vancouver city, which will host the Winter Olympics in 2010, achieves the best possible score for all indicators, with the exception of prevalence of petty crime. The report further showed that Canada and Australia perform strongly because they benefit from relatively low crime rates, little threat from instability or terrorism and well-developed infrastructures, plenty of recreational activities and relatively low population density.

However, the report indicated that the threat of violence and instability puts half of the ten lowest scores in Africa, and continuing strife in Zimbabwe keeps Harare in last position. Lagos, Nigeria took 136th position out of 140 with a 39.7% Liveability index. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability rating, part of the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, quantifies the challenges that might be presented to an individual's lifestyle in 140 cities worldwide. Each city is assigned a score for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.

Each factor in each city is rated as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable. For qualitative indicators, a rating is awarded based on the judgment of in–house analysts and in–city contributors. For quantitative indicators, a rating is calculated based on the relative performance of a number of external data points. The categories are compiled and weighted to provide an overall rating of 1–100, where 1 is considered intolerable and 100 is considered ideal.

The report considers that any city with a rating of 80 or more will have few, if any, challenges to living standards. I may add that other top priority issues that can be added to these five broad categories in the case of Nigeria are: Accessibility and Comfortability (e.g. Access to water, sanitation, waste disposal and electricity and Security). These issues should occupy top priority in the Minister’s envisaged strategic agenda for making Abuja and FCT among the most liveable places to leave, work, and pay a visit in Nigeria and if possible, in the world ( a toll order for now).

c) Sustainability:

In order to achieve the above outlined aspirations, the Minister should have a practical focus aimed at creating enabling environment that fosters flourishing private sector businesses that are income and employment generative in order to assist urban management practitioners create functional, liveable and sustainable cities and towns in the FCT.

I therefore suggest that Hon. Minister Aliero initiates an urban and rural sustainability initiative for Abuja and the entire FCT as a collaborative effort between the Federal Ministry of Federal Capital Territory, some Nigerian Universities and Polytechnics and a diverse range of other public and private institutions in Nigeria seeking to integrate cutting edge science and technology into the decision-making processes in the management of the urban and rural areas throughout the FCT.

I present these short agenda-setting points as starters for the great work ahead of the Hon. Minister in stamping his imprint in the national assignment of transforming Abuja and the entire FCT as places that not only Nigerians, but other peoples from all over the world will be proud to visit, reside, work, do business and relax and call home away from home.

Wishing him all the best and prayers from all Nigerians; friends and admirers to succeed in this latest onerous task thrust upon him by providence.

Abubakar Atiku Nuhu-Koko

Saturday, 03 January 2009

Robot  # 1 | 03.01.2009 06:02

Before foraying into the murky waters of Nigerian politics, former Governor and Senator, Muhammad Adamu Aliero voluntarily retired from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) as a senior officer; where he had a fulfilled paramilitary-cum-civil service career stated in the early 1980s.He joined partisan politics immediately after retiring from service in the early 1990s and became a Senator during the ill-fated and aborted third republic midwife by former military president General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) in 1993. Senator Aliero, a graduate of Political Science and History of the famous and renowned Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria (the Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge universities equivalent of Nigeria in the North of Nigeria), is the immediate past two-term Governor of Kebbi State under the platform of the troubled All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP); a founding member of the party since it was founded in 1998 until 2007 when he sudde...Read the full article.