17 Jun 2009 |
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SHEKARAU’S PRESIDENTIAL AMBITION: A CAPACITY QUESTION “A fanatic”, it is said, “is he who redoubles efforts in what he is doing even after losing sight of his mission.” For some months now, it has filled the air, periodicals and websites that Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano State is apparently being entreated to be a presidential candidate on the platform of the ANPP come 2011 general elections. Those championing this cause, do campaign very passionately that, he is popular enough to win any election if his tenures as governor are anything to go by. This, they argue, is an issue because winning elections in Kano being the most populous and politically sophisticated state in the country is only a feat for a politician of substance. They also advance that, as a detribalized and liberal religionist, as demonstrated in involvement of non-indigenes and non-Muslims in his administration, the governor is also blessed with the ideal personality and disposition to be President of Nigeria. The campaigners also contend that, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau has executed innumerable capital projects and introduced numerous policies and programmes including the Islamic brand of ‘Societal Reorientation’ a programme which, though still vague or obscure to the ordinary indigene of Kano state, even a great personality like Professor Dora Akunyili has praised and allegedly called for its adoption in the nation’s on-going rebranding effort. Blur-blur-blur. Now, the way and manner the campaigners are carrying out this suspiciously sponsored campaign for governor Ibrahim Shekarau, as well as the caliber of them in terms of intellectualism, life experience, sincerity of purpose and consistency, naturally raise some fundamental questions about the whole bid. Agreed that, one or two respectable individuals notably Distinguished Senator Ahmed Aruwa from Kaduna and Alhaji Mamman Musa from Katsina state, have made a statement or two, each on the governor’s presidential ambition, but their negligible numerical strength could be attributed to their lack of being close enough to him to fully understand him. In this light, I personally excuse them for what I conclude are innocent wrong comments. I do excuse Professor Dora for the same reason. However, it is pertinent to caution such revered members of our gullible society, against encouraging pretentious politicians to even think of aspiring for such sensitive positions, which we all believe need individuals of substance, leadership capacity and sincerity of purpose to occupy, especially at a time when we are almost lost as a nation. I was one of those who identified with the governor towards his first election but soon after he assumed office things started to unfold which eventually disenchanted me and drove me of service, hence my strong opposition against his second tenure bid. I will try to explain more why the Governor should not be encouraged to be our President shortly. For the other class of the campaigners, it is obvious they are a bunch of unscrupulous and illiterate mercenaries, who are known for saying one thing to the media and another in private discussions. Those of them now going round the country at his instance and expense of the miserable public, in the name of briefing Kano state indigenes living in other states including those in Lagos who are now denied refuge at the government’s liaison office during social upheavals against them, on how he governs the state, are his special advisers, members of his kitchen cabinet and influential politicians who are a party to the reckless ways our resources are being handed. I can swear that, one of them [G. K. DK], often says unpalatable things about the same governor which only a bitter enemy could say about a foe, confirming that, they are only using the bid to amass more personal wealth. Again, if I may take you on the overblown appointment of non-indigenes and non-Muslims by the governor, I will only say it’s typical of him whenever he decided to deceive or make mockery of people. He is more or less a cynical person who plays political game very cunningly especially whenever he plans to go on an ego trip or waylay some unsuspecting persons. In other words, the gestures were informed by two likely reasons: One, that, as he was allegedly said to be behind the social unrest of early 2004, following the Plateau state Yelwan Shendam crisis, which consumed more lives of non-Muslims and non-indigenes than ever since Kano state was created in 1967, he felt the gesture could pacify the bereaved families and make them forget it ever happened. Two, it is suspected to be part of his long term grand plan to be President of Nigeria. Some of the reasons are so cleverly advanced that it effectively pleased the innocent non-indigenes and non-Muslims alike, but the ignored issue is that, the governor is so dangerously egocentric that he could put anything on the line to achieve what he wants regardless of its catastrophic implications on the public. More so, his unrivalled talent is in throwing away public funds without any capacity to generate some. A talent which amounts to nothing more than an abuse of office and giving way to recklessness typical of ordinary people suddenly entrusted with too much wealth with no restraining forces to discipline their desires and control their urges. In the same vein, should Shekarau be President of Nigeria [God forbids bad thing], I assure Nigerians that, Aso Rock would be an abode for his U.S./U.N criminalized Hisbah Institution the members of which are nothing but fanatics and accomplices in mismanaging the public resources and terrorizing non-Muslims in the name of Islam as residents of Sabon Gari quarter in Kano would bear me witness. I condemn the Institution, because if Shekarau really means to apply Islamic principles to serve humanity as a leader, he could do it without stirring any emotion or fanaticism as he did when he was alleged to have led a congregational prayer at Umar al-khattab mosque in the State Capital which resulted to the unprecedented massacre of non-Muslims and non-Hausas alike despite advice and warnings sounded against the inflammatory gathering before holding it. A statement by the Kano Chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) gives credence to that prediction and strong belief that the Governor is a pretender. The Association was quoted as saying, “how can a government that allowed a demonstration which turned out to be a ploy for killing innocent people now say they want to assist victims…if they were sincere, they would have prevented the whole thing from happening.” It was on that ground that the Association warned and forbade non-indigenes especially the Christians and non-Hausa refugees from accepting food items or rehabilitation materials sent by the State government of as reported by the New Nigerian Newspaper of Sunday May 23, 2004. The paper also reported how one of the survivors, Madam Lucy Atum, narrated her ordeal, “they ordered all of us out of the house. They started by setting the house ablaze. The attackers first killed my husband by slithering his throat with a knife and then the body was sent on fire. Next they took Eme and Jacob who were crying uncontrollably.” Now, if one may ask: what would stop the public from describing those non-indigenes went back to Shekarau to take up the political appointments in question as traitors considering the fact that they had initially rejected even small things like food item and shelter given to them by the same state government? Are they really with their fellow members of their communities living in Kano? The question is irresistible on the strength of the logic that, would any right thinking individual expect victims of such sordid treatment like Madam Lucy Atum to ever see the governor as compassionate and detribalized leader? This attitude exhibited by the governor testifies the sad allegation that he takes everybody for granted that every person has a price. Had Shekarau been a truly sincere and liberal leader all he would have done was to focus on the shared value by Islam and the Nigerian Constitution of making ‘…security and social welfare…’ the primary purpose of his government. Rather he chooses to play divide-and-rule game. His administration obviously makes millions lives miserable despite the consistency of the Federal government of the PDP in never defaulting in the release of monthly grant to the state. Instead of making judicious utilization of the enormous resources the governor embarks on expensive but valueless foreign trips, donating expensive items like cars to those he very much knows could afford even more expensive ones and cash to individuals and institutions. As naïve, uncouth and a fanatic, the governor would surely make Nigeria a Pariah nation if he is elected President. As speculations keep circulating, the bid could be a hoax meant to frustrate General Muammadu Buhari in his similar aspiration. To me this is not surprising about the governor. Betrayal to him is nothing. However, the Presidency should know a traitor is always a treacherous. The governor could turn round to betray the President because of his overambitious nature. To play it safe, the Presidency must stand in his way to picking the presidential candidacy ticket of the ANPP. As we all know, his tenure is so allegedly fraudulent that he can not stand the scrutiny of those to screen him. This is even as he is alleged to be ingenuous in using spiritual and monetary means to fight his way into anything he sets out to achieve. But as the Hausa adage says, “Mai Magani kiyayi mai Zamani”, that’s “Even the old formidable ones are eventually subdued by those in their prime.” As observed by a fellow media practitioner, Shekarau is also a superb propagandist. That is what makes his administration so popularized. His aides and cohorts alike, as well as some members of the oligarchy behind the scene are the ones in the complicity of squandering the public funds but who sponsor fantastic propaganda that depicts the governor as a performer. The governor as alleged in many quarters, could bribe his way into anything. This is evidenced in the cosmetic honors being conferred on him by cupid and apparently insincere institutions of learning and social organizations. Similarly, some untenable comments by some respectable individuals and groups are to those of us who know the governor closely, nothing but a bunch of either deceived or unscrupulous entities. With due apology to Professor I. O. Taiwo of the UNDP, I was appalled by his comments which read thus: “Kano State has completed more secondary schools than any other state…It has formulated more projects in the sub-sector than any other state in Nigeria; and it has completed more primary schools than any other state.” Haba Professor! You can’t mean it. Can you? To say the least, the comments are a fraud. The truth is, Kano State under Malam Ibrahim Shekarau is in its lowest ebb educationally. I believe the Professor must have fallen into the traps of the governor of feeding innocent figures like the Professor with fictitious figures on important projects used only to siphon public funds, hence this ridiculous comment. As a father, a trained teacher and a practising journalist, what I see on the ground is a total opposite of what the Professor said about Kano State. Not only enrolment is far from being adequate, furniture, classrooms, health facilities, feeding and learning materials are worse than ever in the state. I want the Professor to pay unscheduled visits as he should have done, to prove me wrong that many schools like GGC/WTC of Kofar Famfo Girls College, Kano; Nassarawa Secondary School with a student population of 5000 and Kachako Girls Science Secondary school, Bichi Senior Secondary School and any public primary school and see if he could make the same comments. Mr. Professor I must say you are unnecessarily putting your reputation on the line, because I know UNDP is a very reliable and credible UN Agency. Your utterances are unguarded or mildly put untenable. Some of the schools given above are being attended by my own children. They are just inhabitable and devoid of any decency and comfort for students. I don’t know whether Professor Taiwo has ever asked why the governor and most of his cabinet members have withdrawn their children from public schools to send them to expensive private schools at home and in Malaysia, Dubai, U.S.A and Europe? As history would have it, until they came into power the governor and majority of those in his cabinet were individual in utter penury. One of them once said, none of them was proud of fifty thousand naira. How can we reconcile the two scenarios. Similarly, in the sixties and seventies, public schools were meant and attended by children from across the society regardless royal, wealthy or poor backgrounds. What we witness today in Kano state, is that the education sub-sector is dichotomized between the rich and the poor. Considering the poor background of those in the helm of affairs, I would say the situation is ridiculously unfortunate. Not only that, but it portends that, the system would extend to the national level under President Ibrahim Shekarau, a leader who never wants to tell the public his real second name. In the same vein, just two weeks ago his government announced that it would construct 1000 classrooms as reported by the Daily Trust newspaper of May 25, 2009. This doesn’t seem to sound like a government that has surpassed other states in completing schools. The fact is, to date each classroom is accommodating in serious tight-squeeze some 70 to 135 students. In terms of feeding it is not only innutritious but no student is sure of three square meals per day. No wonder then, our JAMB, NECO, WASC and WAEC results are so unprecedentedly poor. Instead of addressing the problems which the sub-sector is being bedeviled with, the governors surpassed all his contemporaries in making reckless and fantastic donations to institutions of higher learning established by other State and federal governments. For instance, the N150 million he gave to the University of Nigeria Nsukka for an honorary doctorate degree conferred on him, could have been utilized to build at least seventy five classrooms in our overcrowded public schools putting the cost of each at N2 million. The N40 million he donated to the University of Ilorin for the construction of an ego-trip of Shekarau Science Laboratory would have provided additional twenty classrooms. Why this ridiculous contradiction of starving your family and feeding others? Is that how he would doling out to other nations at our expense? If you take the health sector the story is not any different. When the governor announced suspension of the world adopted immunization programme against white polio and other five child killer diseases, I couldn’t believe my ears. The announcement not only stunned the country but the international community. But naïve and uncouth as the governor is he seemed untouched? To him the situation was an opportunity to boost his local populism despite the costliness of it as it affected the millions of innocent souls. However, despite his attitude, he couldn’t be sincere about tampering with the programme because of some reasons I wish to expound shortly. One, two of his wives are alleged to have not only been trained nurses but worked under the Immunization Unit of the State IDH. Secondly, none of all members of his family has not been immunized. Three, he couldn’t pretend not knowing that immunization was a technology invented by the Muslims during the glorious days of the Muslim Ottaman empire against smallpox which devastated Europe in the 18th century. It was wife of the then British Ambassador to Turkey, Lady Mary Montague, who transferred the technology to the UK in 1717 after her children were also immunized. Four, he should know that, he was giving an idea to those looking for ways to harm a particular race or people by using immunization and other drugs. That might be the sinister idea. Who knows. And now what would he tell his Creator in defense of exposing innocent children to this deprivation for some eleven months especially those who had resultantly lost their lives? I expected him to handle the issue with the calmness, secrecy and authority of a leader of substance so as not to cause panic and socio-religious chaos. But, uncouth and mediocre as he has always been since that’s the best his leadership capacity could warrant, the governor went back on his word with no apology or befitting compensation. As usual he cashed in on that and today he is a force to reckon with in the issue of immunization. Again, the governor is a person who feels no prick of conscience to lie about anything. He is also a leader who never wants to take responsibility. It is the belief of many people of Kano that, under him the government has never taken any form of internal or external loan because that has been his expressed claim. But, recently a statement by the Director-General of Debt Management Office, Mr. Abraham Nwanko proved the claim wrong. The D-G was quoted as saying, “There is no State in the Country that is not indebted…with Borno, Jigawa and Zamfara as least indebted and Lagos, Oyo and Kaduna as most indebted.” The statement makes it clear that, Kano is only occupying a middle position but certainly not outside the brackets of indebted states. One other important thing about governor Shekarau as Presidential candidate is that, he doesn’t have the courage and will to fight corruption. This is because he too is alleged to be a silent beneficiary of all forms of corruption proceeds corruptibly made available by a high position, notably contractual kick backs. Needless to say, Nigerians are at a time when they need a dynamic, courageous, honest, liberal, informed and incorruptible leader. Certainly not Shekarau who is a leader inclined to making noise about big projects but who hardly cares how they are executed so long as his shares are given to him. If you take the over-publicized water projects of Challawa and Watari which cost the staggering over N10 billion with it derivable N1 billion kickback, Kano is now worse than before he was elected as a governor. I live at Dorayi quarter which is one of the closest to the water treatment plant, but it is still on the unhygienic water vendors or hawkers we rely on for our water need at N20-N30 per jerry cane. As one firm from Sweden told this writer, the N5.6 billion Challawa Treatment Plant project was only worth half of the amount released. As a leader with no sense of adventure and initiative about three attempts were made to have a viable Independent Power Supply in the State but the governor just squandered the opportunities. One of them was about an over 600 megawatt- power plant in Singapore sold to the state government at less than N1 billion naira. The plant is capable of providing twice the need of Kano State, thus a panacea for the sustained closure of industries in Kano numbering over 700 out of the 800 we have, but as a mediocre the governor abandoned the issue. Bio-diesel technology was also tried but for the same reason he abandoned it. But, he continues to promise the public that he was making effort to do that. But, serious state governors like Fashola of Lagos, Bukola of Kwara and Nyako of Adamawa have been pursuing the project in earnest. In fact, Bukola had on Thursday 19th March 2009 invited President Umar Musa ‘Yar’adua to commission his plant called Ganmo Independent Power Project in Ifelodun local government area. It is also worthy of noting that, had Shekarau been a leader of substance, serious columnists of scrupple and integrity like Adamu Adamu, Muhammad Haruna, Muhammad Al-Ghazali, Mahmud Jga, Ujudud Sheriff, Segun Gbadegesin, Louis Odio, Tukr Mamu, Garba Deen Muhammad, Okey Ndibe, Abba Mahmood, Capt Daniel Omale,Steve Nwosu, Attahiru Jega, John Akpan and Ray Morphy would have been the ones to build up an image to spur him to contest the presidential seat. What we see are mercenaries and sycophants whose palms are greased by the squander maniac at the expense of the miserable people of Kano. Apart from my friend, Dr. Bala Muhammad whose fountain of ideas remain wet and oozing, I see no writer worth his salt writing on the governor. Even this gentleman should be excused because of his dilemma of being on the payroll of the state government. The rest are trash and people without a steak of conscience to mean what they say. Even majority of those forming organizations that campaign for the governor are stark illiterate persons. Interview those who formed Halin Mutum Jarinsa Shekarau Presidential Campaign Organization for instance, one would find none of them can speak English even for one minute. This may raise a question: where are the educated people of Kano in this matter? The answer is: none of them take Shekarau serious again. They have disowned him and been anxious to see him gone. The mess he has done to Kano has kept them spellbound. The governor is also identified as a great betrayer. How he had bitten the fingers of General Muhammadu Buhari, General Magashi, General Halliru Aqilu, Air Vice Marshall Nura Imam, Political gladiators, other politicians and people of Kano state is unbelievable. I am sure his presidential ambition is aimed at extending his immunity against prosecution for his blunders. But, nemesis spares no one. He can’t be an exception. In terms of concern for rural areas, the governor has little or no time for them. Apart from all the General Hospitals being concentrated in the State capital, he is now building new ones there. And at exorbitant costs just for the derivable kick backs. I am therefore advising the Governor to drop the wild idea of being President of Nigeria. My concern is that, he would only waste our resources which we need badly to salvage our deplorable condition. Aminu Sa’ad Beli Gidam Shehu Ahmed, No. 2B, Bank road Kano.
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