POLITICAL NOTES

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission’s Resident Electoral Commissioner for Lagos State, Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola, has been quoted as saying that the 2015 general elections will not be staggered. In apparent reference to the problems the commission encountered with the Anambra governorship election, he said the flawed poll did not mean INEC lacked capacity to conduct elections in the whole country.

 

Ogunmola was right. Experience has shown that the question of bad elections in Nigeria is more of a problem of willful sabotage – with the partial or complete involvement of the election management body – than it is of lack of technical capacity on the part of the electoral umpire. The last governorship election in Anambra State simply proved that arranging voting for separate times in different parts of the country cannot be the bulwark against the menace of flawed election. Just as the success of the Option A4 system in 1993 proved that the volume of balloting or technical ability is not problem of elections in the country.

INEC must make conscious effort to tackle the issue of sabotage, which is the bane of credible elections in Nigeria.       

Senator Ganiyu Solomon represents Lagos West senatorial district of Lagos State on the platform of All Progressives Congress. In this interview with Anayo Okolie, Solomon, a governorship aspirant in the state ahead of the 2015 general elections, speaks on the race and other national issues. Excerpts:

 

What is your view on the issue of zoning, particularly as it relates to the choice of the next governor of Lagos State?

I think the party leadership, on several occasions, has come out to say they would work on merit and would also leave the choice of candidates to the internal democracy mechanism within the party. But that is not to say that anybody would be sidelined. We will leave the choice of the candidate to the party mechanism. The part would look for credible candidates that will be able to execute the programmes of the party, which are masses-oriented. That has always been our concern. We don’t have any plans about that for now.

 

There are speculations that the party has narrowed its search to Lagos East Sensational District. What is your take on this?

You said there are speculations. Why don’t we wait till a definite pronouncement is made on that? You will appreciate the nature of the policy of the state and the nature of the state as well; by past incidents where an individual contests for certain position in a constituency and from the next position moves to another constituency. You can say that it is fluid; that will not happen in a situation where there is a rigid position on zoning. You will agree with me that it happened several times.

 

Even though you have not officially declared the intention of contesting for the governorship of Lagos State, many people see you as a potential governorship candidate. Do you nurse a governorship ambition ahead of 2015?

I have always been nursing. The passion for that position is still there. It’s still burning. It is a passion for service; not for anything nor governorship for the sake of being a governor, but the passion for service, which I have been nursing all this while. Also, I will not fail to remind people that tend to forget that I have been in this race since 2005/2006. So, it’s still there.

 

But if you do not emerge the flag bearer of your party, will you support the party’s choice of candidate for the election?

I don’t have any doubt about emerging, with all sense of humility. First, I will submit myself to the process that is democratic, that will ensure that the will of the participants, political class is respected. If that is it, I don’t have any fears about my emergence. However, when there is a credible primary election there won’t be any question about supporting the candidate or not; it becomes automatic that whoever emerges the party’s candidate should be supported. It’s just natural, once the process is transparent, free and fair.

 

APC is gaining points at the federal legislature as well as the level of the states. But do you think the party can sustain the evolution to the point of emergency as the majority party at the National Assembly?

The kind of change we are witnessing now is not peripheral; it’s something that is very deep. I mean a situation, where you have the governors moving in mass to join a particular party. Even before then, you have parties sacrificing their identity, coming together to form one formidable party. Then, we now have governors from the ruling party joining the same party. It is something that signifies a change in the air and change coming into the political landscape. It has reached a point where we don’t think whether it is sustainable again. It is a change that has come. If you go by the last act in the National Assembly, where 37 members on one single day defected to join the APC, I mean, what else do you have to say? What we are saying now happened within the spate of six months. In terms of individual party, the APC has greater number than the PDP. That shows the kind of thing to be expected. It’s not splash in the pan. No, it’s something that is going to be enduring because it is well thought out and the situation in the country calls for it. Basically, I think it is the response to the cries of the masses that the APC is waxing stronger by the day.

 

The PDP has vowed to take over Lagos State from the ruling party in 2015. How would you react to that?

I have been hearing that during every election, precisely four times now.  I think they need to come up with a different strategy. Perhaps, if they want to turn that into a slogan they should come up with another, because during every election they promise to win the election and that have been rejected four times by Lagosians. The PDP strength is at the centre and, unfortunately, there is nothing to write home about the party in the centre.

 

What is the position of the National Assembly’s appeal against the ruling of the Abuja Federal High Court on the federal legislature’s takeover of the functions of the Rivers Assembly? Is there a valid stay of execution in place, because the Assembly is reported to be getting ready to resume its functions?

It’s on appeal but that is a judicial pronouncement. It’s taking the case to a logical conclusion. If you are taken to court and you feel your position is right you appeal the judgement, which I think is what we have done. It’s still the normal process and it shows our democracy is at work. It’s a plus to democracy so that at the end of the day it will be a settled matter that would serve as a reference to related cases in future. The reason is that we are a growing democracy there are issues that will arise. We should be very clear as those issues arise so that at the end of the day when someone seeks judicial intervention and it is proven to logical conclusion, then it is settled; we will now have something to refer to in future if such things occur. It’s all good, the judgement is good, the appeal is good; democracy at work

Mr. Charles Ajunwa is chief press secretary to Abia State Governor Theodore Orji. In this interview with journalists in Umuahia, Ajunwa talks about the politicisation of the state’s recently reversed civil service indigenisation policy and the benefits of the coming national dialogue, among other issues. Anayo Okolie was at the session. Excerpts:

 

How would you describe your experience so far as chief press secretary to the governor?

It’s a new experience and I am challenged by it. It’s worth experiencing. The job is quite exciting and as somebody that is coming from the media, I don’t think I have much problem. I am equal to the task. I will be on top of the game.  I must also use this opportunity to thank His Excellency, Chief Theodore Orji, for giving me this rare privilege to serve my state in this capacity and I will maximally use this opportunity to serve the state to the best of my ability and also not disappoint the confidence he has in me. Of course, with what I have seen so far, my job has been made simple because there are so many projects this government has handled and they are there for me to let the public know that Abia is, indeed, working.

 

Can you tell us more about the governor’s recent visit to Israel?

He was one of the governors that accompanied President Goodluck Jonathan to Israel for this year’s holy pilgrimage and as the governor of Abia State, he also used the opportunity to interact with the business community there. His interaction with the business community in Israel was quite positive in the sense that many investors showed interest and are keen on coming down here for investment because of the peaceful environment and the resources that abound in the state. Don’t forget that the governor’s visit also gave him the opportunity to receive spiritual and physical reinvigoration for the work ahead. I can say he came back with a new anointing and you can see it in his renewed zeal to serve. Immediately he came back from Israel, in his first executive meeting, they took far reaching decisions. It was resolved in that meeting that more windows of opportunity should be opened for Abians by way of employment. It was an opportunity for the youths, those relocated from the North where we have some security challenges as well as the non-indigenes that were earlier laid off by the government. The laying off of the non-indigenes, as you know, was politicised by some political leaders in the affected states. It was the period the minimum wage issue came up and due to the paucity of funds, given what the state gets from the federal allocation and given what the state wanted to pay as its minimum wage, there was a challenge to take certain critical decisions to be able to pay the workers. Why I said the issue was politicised was because Abia State was not the first state to take such decision. Some other states did theirs and Abia indigenes came back and were re-absorbed.

 

Which state did it before Abia?

It was not a matter of one state doing it, at least I can recall that three states in the South-east have done it and that is Imo, Anambra and Enugu states. Then Abia State did not play politics with it nor made any political capital out of it. But given the compassionate nature of Governor T.A.Orji and given the fact that he has worked towards improving the revenue generation in the state, he felt there was need to engage more people. It will surprise you to know that most of those non-indigenes that were laid off till date have not been given employment in their respective states, despite the promises by their states to absorb them. With this window of opportunity they have been congratulating the governor for the unique opportunity he is offering them. It is a show of leadership. It shows he is a national leader who feels not only for the indigenes but across states. This is a landmark achievement.

 

The presidential committee on national dialogue was in the state recent. How would you describe the position of the state on the major issues in the committee’s terms of reference?

The committee headed by Chief Femi Okurunmu visited here and Governor T. A. Orji articulated the position of the state. The governor sees their assignment as the first step in the journey of healing this nation and consolidating our national pride. He charged the committee to ensure that whatever decisions will be reached are implemented. He requested that there should be equity, fairness and mutual cooperation.

The governor made certain requests from the committee, urging them, among other issues, to resolve the ethnic distrust which still dominates contemporary Nigeria, resolve unsettled issues of the Nigerian civil war and the continued marginalisation that affect Ndigbo in politics, state and local government creations in Nigeria, resolve the growing conflict of resource control and equitable revenue sharing in our over-centralised federal system.

Other requests put forward by the governor include resolving the issue of equity in political power control between the component units of the Nigerian nation, resolving the growing cost of governance in the nation as well as the development cost implication of corruption in our system. The concern of Abia government is that the committee must set the agenda, like ensuring equity and equal representation of the various geopolitical regions, ensuring that no discussion should be off-limit in the dialogue, ensuring the outcome of the dialogue forms the basis of a people’s constitution, which must be adoptable through a referendum of Nigerians as well as ensuring that there must be a clearly defined time-frame for the dialogue and its implementation. These are issues that are dear in the heart of His Excellency.

The governor has already come up with the list of delegates to represent Abia and they are, indeed, our first eleven. They include people like Professor Joe Irukwu, Professor Anya O. Anya, Professor Chibuzo Ogbuagu, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, General Ike Nwachukwu (rtd), Professor Ihechukwu Madubike, Professor Mkpa .A. Mkpa, Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu, Dr. Eme Okoro, Hon Mao Ohuabunwa, among others.

 

What is the current position on the relocation of the Umuahia main market to Ubani Ibeku?

The exercise is in progress. You know the governor during his electioneering campaign promised Abians that he will transform and beautify the state. So this is part of its realisation. The bulldozers are there and working and you can see from what is done so far that the beauty of the state capital is coming out as it should be, given the original master plan. You know the Umuahia main market has been there for over 70 years and that location is no longer in tandem with the modern touch the governor wants to give the state. The strategy is in two folds, one is for urban renewal and urban expansion. The movement of the market to Ubani-Ibeku will also help satellite towns to start springing up in those areas like what we are having in Abuja with towns like Kubwa springing up. You can see that Umuahia is almost congested, so there is need to open up the space to enable the capital city take its desired nature that will be a pride in terms of beautification and structural arrangement.

 

 

What exactly is the task before the inventory committee recently set up in the state?

The governor is a very thorough professional. So he wants all the projects of his administration to be documented. The committee is headed by the very capable Information and Strategy commissioner, Dr. Eze Chikamnayo. You cannot document your projects if you did nothing. So the idea is to let people know all the legacy projects this government was able to do. It will set the records straight to avoid controversy. The committee has already started sensitisation visits to government ministries, agencies, parastatals, etc. They will visit all the 17 local government areas in the state and all projects of the governor will be recorded and documented. Governor Orji’s legacy projects are massive, they will be documented.

There is no way you can criticise the Orji government if you know all he has done. Anybody doing that is either ignorant of the reality on ground or the person is simply being mischievous. There is no sector that is not positively affected. The state is planning a rich Abia festival this December and it will be another opportunity to focus on our tourism sector.

Matthew Onah, in Lokoja, examines the growing criticism of the Idris Wada government by the Kogi Elders’ Forum

Since the inception of the administration of Kogi State Governors Idris Wada almost two years ago, there have been determined voices of dissent from within his party, Peoples Democratic Party, about his eligibility for the governorship as well as his handling of the affairs of the state. Not only is  a member of PDP  in the state still challenging the outcome of the governorship election that brought Wada to power, two years after, at the Supreme Court,  virtually every policy decision of the  Wada administration has been subjected to severe criticism. The Wada administration officials, expectedly, consider many of the criticisms as baseless.

 

Kogi Elders’ Forum Filling a Void

In the absence of a vibrant opposition in the state, the Kogi Elders’ Forum has been at the vanguard of criticisms against the state government.

In the wake of last year’s flood disaster in the state, the forum came up with various allegations bordering on alleged misapplication of funds meant for flood victims.  An auto accident involving the governor about the same period accentuated the criticisms.

Only recently, the Kogi Elders’ Forum held a press  conference where it challenged the Wada administration’s decision to source a development bond of about N20 billion from a consortium of banks. According to the forum, the government has not demonstrated capacity to manage such a huge fund.

The forum, led by Senator Alex Kadiri, Chief John Odawn, Chief Clarence Olafemi, Senator Mohammed Ohaire, and others, has been the arrowhead of opposition against the Wada administration. Incidentally, members of the group are all key members of PDP in the state.

 

Disclaimer

But the secretary to the Kogi Elders’ Forum, Chief Juluis Elukpo, has come out to disclaim that the group led by Kadiri and others is the authentic forum of political elders in the state. In a newspaper disclaimer, Elukpo challenged the group to show prove of their membership of the Kogi Elders’ Forum, the platform they have been using for their criticism.

“It is clear that that your vituperation against the governor is nothing but mere political vendetta and we cannot be dragged into such ignoble mission,” Elukpo stated.

According to him, none of those masquerading as elders in the Kadiri group is a registered member of Kogi Elders’ Forum, which is a registered non-political association with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

Elukpo said unless the group apologised to the authentic forum, they might be dragged to court.

 

Roots of Anger

A PDP member in the state, Ibrahim Yunuis, traced the current sharp criticism of the Wada administration from within PDP to his unexpected emergence at the PDP primaries. Yunuis said some members of the party had yet to reconcile with the fact that Wada has become the governor.

“We must learn to accept the will of God, most of our people are bad loser,” Yunuis allged.

Giving an insight into the current political disagreements in the state, another politician, and chairman of the Kogi State Universal Basic Education Board, Alhaji Usman Jibrin Mohhammed, said, “All those masquerading as elders were, indeed, contestants with the governor for the governorship position in 2011. They all contested the position and lost and are now finding it difficult to come to terms with their loss.

“Alex Kadiri and Idris Wada all hail from same village, Odu. As far as I am concerned, it’s just a case of village jealousy. But we must rise above pettiness to develop.”

Mohammed added, “Wada has in the last two years considerably restored sanity in the administration of resources of the state through prudent management and good governance in a way and manner that hope in the future of the state has been rekindled.”

He dismissed most of the criticisms hurled at the Wada administration as baseless and driven by a mere resolve to disparage a performing government.

On the N20 billion bond, Mohammed accused Wada’s critics of trying to play politics with the genuine desire of the state government to improve critical infrastructure.

“It is just sheer political mischief for them to be engaging in negative criticism even on issues that are clearly aimed at developing of our state. They ought to know that when banks facilitate such bonds, it is normally tied to specific projects clearly specified in the memorandum of understanding. No bank or finance house would arrange a loan of such magnitude without stringent conditions attached,” he said.

Mohammed continued, “The so-called elders, having failed to utilise past opportunities because of their shallow-mindedness and selfishness, are now regrouping to checkmate the progress of the state.

“The roads to be constructed, the educational institutions, like the teaching hospitals, the infrastructure across the state to be funded through issuance of the bond are definitely geared towards the general benefit of the citizenry of the state and are definitely not Wada’s property.”

He described as childish and insulting to the intelligence of the bank experts, civil servants and the State Assembly members, who collectively put together the funding mechanism, the claim by the forum that the Wada government lacked capacity to manage the huge bond fund.

Referring to members of the Kadiri group as Abuja politicians with little knowledge of the pulse of their constituencies, Mohammed said, “You don’t just stay away in Abuja and keep criticising for no just reason. Come home, don’t run away.  You cannot be running Kogi from Abuja.”

 

Healthy Opposition

But a civil society activist, Abdul Miliki, felt the criticism of the state government by the Kadiri group had been beneficial to the state. He told THISDAY that in the absence of any vibrant opposition party in the state, the Kadiri group had been helped to keep the government on its toes.

“It is just that these gentlemen are not the proper people to criticise because they had been part and are still part of the problem,” Miliki said. “They have been selfish in their leadership profiles and have contributed nothing to the upliftment of the state in the past.”

Miliki called those opposing Wada failed politicians who lack the moral justification to criticise the governor because they were the same people that brought him out.

 

Dwindling Patronage

But Gabriel Lukman, also a politician in the state, attributed criticism of the Wada administration by Kogi Elders’ Forum to a decline in material perks from the government to members of the group since the coming of the governor.

“Wada is into more projects in the last two years than the eight years of the past administration. There is no much sharing now,” Lukman alleged.

He said Wada should brace up for more criticism as 2015 draws nearer.

“In Kogi, we are used to share share. So now that Wada is devoting more resources to developmental projects, you can’t expect him to be popular,” Lukman said.

No one can deny that the private sector plays a key role in a nation’s economic growth. This has been spectacularly demonstrated in China in the last two decades where an improved environment for business productive activities led to massive economic growth through increased jobs, more investment and innovation, increased goods and services. This is not just an example for countries everywhere, but possibly a model for countries where business needs to step up to an important role of driving not just economic growth but all-round national development.

 

What has been the role of business in getting Nigeria to where it is today?

The role of business in Nigeria is traditionally seen in terms of its contribution to Gross National Product (GNP). The extractives industry, crude oil production to be precise, has dominated GNP in the last 50 years although agriculture remains the largest employer of labour. However the industries focused on service rather than goods provision have not fared as well and it is only in the last decade for example, that the banking sector can be considered to have come into its own. Beyond its wealth creation role, the private sector has also been seen as the alternative employer, and in some cases a better paying one, to the traditional boss that is Government. Thousands of Nigerian youth have found employment in the oil industry, the banking and financial services industry, and more recently the private education sector. The Nigerian private sector has become a major source of employment creation. And yet, this is hardly sufficient.

In the more developed economies that Nigeria is striving to emulate, business is just as well known for the technical innovation role that it can play. And adequate human resources skills are a recognized precondition to dynamic research and development activity in any industry.However the average company recruiting candidates for the basic junior level professional positions complains that there is a dearth of skilled candidates to adequately fill these positions.At the most basic level therefore, improving workforce capacity and capability is necessary to improve the quality of goods and services already being produced and this would in turn translate to increased GNP and eventually to an improved economy.

 

It is not enough for a few companies to train a couple of staff on a semi-regular basis however. To foster the kind of competition that will strengthen the private sector, all potential employees need to be more competitive in the skills they can offer. This means having, on a national level, a highly skilled work force. Contrary to traditional thinking, this is not merely a question of ‘education’ to be left to the universities and other tertiary institutions. Though the role business can play in human capital development in Nigeria is now attracting more attention, many companies are a long way from realizing the great potential there is for them to contribute in this regard.

When it was understood in the extractives industry that opposition from local communities can disrupt operations and lead to revenue loss, some companies undertook technical training and capacity building initiatives as part of CSR programs aimed primarily at improving relations with host communities. However there is real value for the company in such initiatives beyond risk mitigation. It is in the interest of business for example, to be able to find capable and well-trained staff in the communities in which they operate and the Nigerian Local Content Act cannot be fully implemented in the absence of qualified local staff and companies to meet the demands of the industry.

 

Companies can contribute to the development of a skilled national workforce by adopting inclusive business practices which marry increasing profits to maximizing social impact and empowering people to seek financial independence through employment.  Besides providing continuous professional training for staff career advancement, companies can commit to supporting vocational training programs initiates by the public sector or provide similar programs themselves and thereby encourage entrepreneurship. They could develop partnerships with the academia or with technical schools to offer for research and development programs or other industrial training opportunities to undergraduates and graduates alike. Robust industrial training schemes for example would ensure the development of the kinds of skills they require for their business. In other words, there are commercial imperatives which should make every business take a serious interest in the skills development aspect of national development. The capacity building gap will be filled by businesses, not government, because it is in their interest to do so

 

However it is not only company bottom lines that are important. The truth is, the complex social problems affecting Nigeria, or any other country for that matter, cannot be addressed without the contributions of various key stakeholders, including those from the private sector. Interestingly developing a strong skills base has positive implications not just for economic growth and development, but also for political development. This is because management and other leadership skills learnt and implemented in the private sector, are useful and transferable to the public sector though competent and highly skilled persons who cross over to assume public office. Therefore beyond helping to push for policies and rules that will move the country towards democracy and openness, business may well be able to teach government a thing or two about accountability and transparency.

The governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, does not appear to me as a full-blooded Nigerian. His actions never cease to amaze me each time I reflect on leadership in Nigeria. Denied the right to exemplary leadership for so many years in this country, Kwankwaso’s quintessential character has provoked in me some kind of inquisitiveness about his identity. I must warn though that you should not expect any scientific proof from me-regarding his identity-because I lack the capacity for such technical and professional exercise. My simple proof is only through   some documentary exhibits which some of us would probably have been ignoring in our newspapers because of their squint-faced lettering.

 

Every week, this man publishes in the newspapers the Minutes of his Exco meetings thus indulging the public with an insight into his government operations and decisions on certain issues, projects, programmes and policies. He has been doing this for some years but a 6 plus-month sampling will suffice for my discourse. Starting from June 3, 2013 to the time of writing this piece (Dec. 16), the  Minutes of his 27 Exco meetings were all advertised except for the 11th meeting (officially the 111th Kano State Exco meeting) which is missing. It should have come between August 19 and August 26.

 

I do not know if there is any provision in the constitution compelling this kind of action. But what I do know is that, for the first time in the chequered history of governance in Nigeria, a leader has elected to submit himself to his people by being accountable to them. Even if it is a constitutional  obligation, that he is the only one doing it speaks volume of his exceptional leadership. It must be noted that Kwankwaso has been doing this before the Freedom of Information Act came into existence.

In a nation immersed in reprehensible impropriety, moral bankruptcy, frightening impunity and political irresponsibility, Kwakwaso’s leadership style remains a revolutionary salvo for national leadership revival. It is a paradox that an action like this which should elicit a whirling vortex of emotion and support for its uniqueness is being treated with indifference and marginal adoration.

 

In one of the samples under scrutiny, the Minutes show the number of memoranda brought to the Council for deliberations, the presenting officers or ministries, the projects and items that are up for deliberations, their cost implications, the discussions, the decisions and the final approvals by the Council.   For instance, at the 120th Kano State Executive Meeting  held on Wednesday, 23rd October, 2013, the Office of the Head of Civil Service presented a request for funds for the absorption/conversion of qualified casual, non-pensionable and contract staff of the defunct Triumph Publishing Company to permanent and pensionable status.

In the course of the deliberations, the Head of Civil Service “respectfully reminded the Council, through contents of this memorandum of its resolutions contained in Council… which directed him to submit a proposal for the engagement/absorption of the Triumph staff”. In complying with this directive, a 4-Member  Technical Committee was set up to work out the modalities for the absorption. It was the report of the Committee that was deliberated upon by the Exco.  This was finally approved by the Council after formal deliberations.

Also at the same meeting, the Ministry of Higher Education informed the Council that “53 Kano State indigenous Law students were able to scale through for admission into the Nigerian Law Schools from ABU Zaria and University of Jos despite the incessant strikes by ASUU”.

 

As such, the Kano State Scholarship Board submitted a request for the release of the aggregate sum of N16,960,000 by Council as special grant to sponsor registration for the students at the rate of N320,000 each (i.e. N320,000 x 53 = N16,960,000). This was also approved.

What could be more transparent than this! I am here in Lagos dissecting the activities of the government of Kano based on the information retrieved from  the Minutes of the meeting of the governor and his cabinet members published in national newspapers.  The government of Kano State has adopted a “lying-in-state” approach to governance whereby all and sundry can come and have a view of its operations and activities for them to commend or to condemn.  The important thing is that the government is telling its people that it has nothing to hide. When a government goes to this extent with its citizens, the dividends for the government come in the form of the confidence and trust invested in the leadership to continue to manage their affairs.

 

Besides, democratization of governance is a fundamental feature of democracy.  It is nothing but sheer arrogance that makes our leaders think that the people do not deserve to know how they are being ruled. Any government operating on the mandate of the people is under very strong moral obligation to act responsibly and one of the ways to do this is to let them know and understand how their government is being motioned. The citizens are more appreciative of a government that shows them how important they are. But they become frustrated, neglected, isolated and psychologically demoralized when they have no idea about what government thinks of them. This is why they have the impression that government only remembers them during election. You can imagine how the Triumph staff that were absorbed and the Law students whose registration fees were approved would feel after reading about their cases in the newspapers. By this action, the government of Kano State and its citizens are conjoined in a covenant of faithfulness and emotional bonding.

By stating in clear terms the various sums of money being expended on projects and items, the Kano State government is also making itself accountable to the people. They (the people) have an idea of how government is spending their money. Since details of deliberations and funding of projects are made public, government officials are wary of the implication and the damage it will do to their career and reputation if they ‘load’ or ‘bloat’ any project or items. I am sure that under a different operational circumstance, the N320,000 for the registration of Law School students would have been inflated to about N500,000 or even more. But because everything is now for public consumption, the officials have put themselves in check.  They know that the authorities of the Law School and the affected students would call the attention of government to any discrepancies in figures. The contractors are also aware of how much was approved for any project and this makes it difficult for government officials to bamboozle them with different figures. In all, the people can always object to or protest against the government if their money is not being spent judiciously.

 

In addition, because every citizen knows they can always monitor or get information about their cases in the advertised Exco Minutes, they have no cause to put civil servants under unnecessary pressure to leak information to them. When a government does not allow its citizens access to information, they become desperate to obtain it at all cost and by any means. Since he became the governor of Kano State Kwankwaso has published more than 127 Minutes of his Exco meetings and heavens have not collapsed. Rather, this action has in fact given some deserving credibility to the man and his government.

Our leaders should be made to understand that government is not run like a secret cult or a cabalistic organisation where initiation rites and other ritualistic practices are shrouded in secrecy.  The rituals of government can be performed in the open where the people can also participate. No one is saying that government is not entitled to some degree of confidentiality, I am only advocating for the demystification of the mystery around government bureaucracy so that this lapse is not exploited by its officials for capital appropriation and pecuniary benefits.  The crowds thronging government secretariats nationwide could be reduced if government liberalizes its information management by allowing citizens access to certain harmless information through the media.

 

Another thing that fascinates me about Kwankwaso’s style is the fact that these Exco Minutes were advertised with religious commitment every week. It is as if the government is under a compelling obligation to honour an agreement whereas it is only a commitment made by the government to convince its citizens of its steadfastness to a creed that binds them together. This consistency and regularity was what caught my attention. Bewildered that a government could show such consistency to a commitment that carries no constitutional or legal punishment, I felt that such a leader deserves a national mention.

Though I have not been Kano nor have I met Kwankwaso himself to know if the efficiency that reflects in the published Minutes is reproduced in terms of development on ground, I have two reliable witnesses who had visited Kano before and I stake my honour to rely on their evaluation and assessment. The first is Wale Edun, a polo freak, who has been to Kano on several occasions for polo tourneys. In a private discussion we had on leadership in Nigeria, in the presence of another national leader that I will not mention, he confessed to me that Kano is almost at par with Lagos State in terms of road network and other infrastructural development. Edun, a former Commissioner for Finance under Bola Tinubu, is not someone that is generous with encomiums. But when he  was talking about Kwankwaso, he was so excited. He said the roads in Kano have walk-ways, good drains, medians and street lights. What more evidence of development do I need if the roads in Kano State have walk-ways? End of  discussion!

The second person is Kemi Rotimi, a history lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife. Rotimi, a restless cerebral scholar of unassailable pedigree, is an expert in police history. He is currently on a national assignment with the Federal Government. This itinerant task has taken him to most parts of the country including Kano. In one of our regular telephone conversations on private and national affairs, without the slightest hint on what I was doing on Kwankwaso, Rotimi told me how beautiful and neat Kano is. He was full of praise for him (Kwankwaso) and his leadership perspicacity. For Kemi Rotimi to have scored Kwankwaso this high, it shows he can pass any leadership test because Rotimi is not a magnanimous lecturer.

 

Kwankwaso’s defection from PDP to APC along with his other four compatriots, was therefore not an accident. It was a natural switch. While in PDP, he was in the same vehicle with political misfits who can never appreciate his progressive posturing. The PDP is not the correct party for a man like Kwankwaso who respects his people, who cares for his people and who is responsive to the problems of his people. It is a party with unlimited liability from head to tail. In a not-too-distant time, the PDP will discover that the goodwill it used to enjoy with the people has gone into deficit and that its slogan: “PDP is the Biggest Party in Africa”, is nothing but a  stale and impotent catch phrase. Now that he is in APC, Kwankwaso can begin to operate in a natural habitat where his vision of a greater and saner Nigeria can be achieved. His political aspiration for a higher position and office can also be realized in a Party that allows for healthy competition of ideas, visions, and ambitions among its numerous members that can boast of competencies in diverse spheres.

 

However, Kwankwaso’s recent identification and alignment with the All Progressives Congress (APC) is not sufficient enough to dismiss the case of identity riddle against him.  His incredible leadership humility and submissiveness is a very strong evidence to show that he is a very strange leader in this nation called Nigeria.   It may seem invidious to single out Kwankwaso out of the many progressive leaders of worthy exploits.  But let me say without any equivocation that Kwankwaso is being appraised not only for his achievements but for recognizing and acknowledging the inviolable right of the people to access information about the activities and operations of his government with an unparalled accountability and unprecedented consistency.

When a nation that is agonizingly soused in predatory leadership hallows a leader with a messianic potential, it is a way of showing GOD, that we can be appreciative, in case, the problem we have as a nation  is the pilatic persecution of leaders who could have saved us in the past from our national rot.

Daji Sani, in Yola, examines the disagreements in Adamawa State following the defection of the state governor, Murtala Nyako, from PDP to APC

The defection of Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State and his supporters from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress is causing a series of tensions and disagreement in the state’s chapter of APC.

 

Controversial Party Offices

The disagreements worsened following the recent decision by Nyako and his supporters to open new offices for APC across the 21 local government areas as well as 226 wards, allegedly, without the consent of the founding fathers of the party in the state. Apparently, the act raised apprehension among the APC founding members that the governor might be scheming to hijack the structures of the party from them.

Prominent members of APC in the state saw the action of the governor as an act of disrespect and disregard for their efforts to establish the party and bring it to the point where it was conducive for Nyako and supporters to join.

 

Associating Against Nyako

The two political leaders that had come together with their followers to form APC are General Buba Marwa, who was the governorship candidate of the now defunct Congress for Progressive Change, and Markus Gundiri of the equally defunct Action Congress of Nigeria.

CPC, ACN, All Nigeria Peoples Congress as well as factions of All Progressives Grand Alliance and Democratic Peoples Party had come together to form APC.

Marwa and Gundiri were also said to have disagreed with Nyako over his recent statement that all members of APC were equal. Both men have resolved to sink their personal interest and team up against Nyakô and his men.

They have vow to fight any attempt to give the governor the structures of the party, arguing that the fact that Nyako is governor of the state does not give him superiority over them.

Last Monday in Yola, Marwa and Gundiri insisted that they had consummated the APC merger in the state and any new entrant into the coalition should take a back seat.

Commenting in a similar vein, Alhaji Abdulrazaq Namdas, who was Gundiri’s running mate at the last governorship election in the state, told THISDAY that his camp and that of Marwa had decided to resolve their political differences and marry their interests on purpose to stop Nyako from hijacking APC in the state.

“We have decided to put our political differences aside to safeguard our party from Nyako and his supporters who are determined to hijack our party from us,” Namdas said.

He noted that it amounted to self-deceit for Nyako to claim that all APC members were equal. “They cannot compare themselves to us,” he said

Marwa’s supporter, Alhaji Baba Sulaiman, said APC would not condone injustice and impunity in all ramifications, adding that anyone coming into the party should come through the right procedure and any attempt by any power monger to hijack the party will be resisted.

According to him, “We will never allow anyone who came through the window to hijack the party we laboured to build over the years, hence I urge all our supporters to unite and say no to any outsider who is trying to hijack the party from us. Our tireless effort will not be in vain.

 

Nyako Responds

But Nyako believes Marwa and Gundiri are not fighting him, but APC itself, because the party’s national leadership had handed over the leadership of the party in the state to him as the sitting governor.

The governor who spoke through his press and public affairs director, Ahmed Sajoh, said that an agreement was reached between the governors and national leadership of APC that all the defecting governors from the PDP to APC would automatically become the leaders of the party in their various states.

Sajoh said the national headquarters of APC had translated a letter to Nyako asking him to assist the APC to open new offices across the 21 local government areas as well as the 226 wards of the state. The governor’s spokesman said he did not see any reason why the Marwa and Gundiri groups were claiming that it was a scheme to hijack the leadership and structures of the party.

He said his principal was more concerned with the stability and the progress of the party than its leadership because the governor is not seeking to govern the state for the third time.

Sajoh advised Marwa and Gundiri to be interested in the progress of the in party and not fighting for leadership positions, saying they should go out and mobilise people at the grassroots to help APC have a landmark victory in Adamawa State.

 

Premature Battle

However, APC’s interim national vice chairman, North-east, Dr. Umar Duhu, told newsmen in Yola recently that there were no structures in Adamawa State for Nyako to hijack because the party was yet to commence registration of members.

Duhu promised that when the party gave the go-ahead to register members, it would be made public and structures and committees would be set up to take care of the party’s leadership from the wards to local governments and the state level. He stressed that the current wrangling over party structures was unwarranted and urged the leaders to go and mobilise their people at the grassroots.

 

Ominous Squabble

Many observers believe that if APC does not handle the current disagreements well, the party risks losing the 2015 general elections to PDP. Besides, there seem to be a communication gap between the national leadership of APC and the foundation members of the party in the state, particularly, regarding the issue of agreements reached with Nyakô.

Analysts also believe that the widely suspected entrance of former Vice President Atiku Abubakàr into in January may deepen the disagreements. It is feared that the political affluence of the former vice president might scare away some politicians in the state, who are believed to be working against him already. They believe the entrance of Atiku and his supporters would cripple their political ambitions.

However, Namdas says the coming of Atiku into APC is a welcome development, adding that it will strengthen the party in the state.