Kano disputed land: The real facts behhind the figure

Kano disputed land: The real facts behhind the figure by Suleiman Uba Gaya in the Peoples Daily of 14/8/2011

Kwankwaso of Kano state stirred what I would call the hornet’s nest when he made the weighty allegation that his predecessor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, cornered a large piece of land allocated to the state government and shared it out to his cronies.　 Kwankwaso told Kano people that he had succeeded in wresting back the land and demolished all structures erected by the said beneficiaries.

This was a move that was hailed by all, except perhaps the alleged beneficiaries.　 It drew condemnation from some people who rushed to judgement, dumbfounded that Shekarau would deprive his own state in preference for a chosen few, as alleged by Kwankwaso.　 However, no sooner was the allegation made than it was categorically denied by Mallam Shekarau, who pointed out that the land in question, numbered as Plot 119 and located at Lokogoma District in Abuja, had since been revoked by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), and that he had not allocated any part of it to anyone.

Early last week, this newspaper reported a press conference conducted by the scion to the Dantata dynasty, Alhaji Tajo Dantata, who also categorically denied the insinuations that his father had a hand in the land allocation to a few cronies.　 The people of Kano were naturally left confused as to who is right or wrong, as all the three parties were tenaciously holding-on to their positions as representing the whole truth.

Then came the bombshell. Last Monday, many newspapers reported Senator Adamu Aliero, under whose tenure as FCT Minister the land revocation was affirmed in March 2010, as explaining what really happened.　 He categorically absolved Shekarau of any blame, debunking allegations that Shekarau allocated the plot to his cronies.　 The implication of

Aliero’s statement is that Governor Kwankwaso has misled the Nigerian public by telling a big lie against Mallam Shekarau – a person he nurses a king-sized animosity against - to put it mildly. Given that all the exchanges were reported in the form of news by this and a few other newspapers, I find it imperative, in the interest of the reading public, to dig deeper to get to know the facts, beyond or in addition to what has been reported, as the matter has since generated intense debate on local radio stations in Kano.

Let’s start with the issue of Shekarau Administration’s inability to develop the land, which culminated in its revocation.　 As anyone could easily investigate, especially with the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill, there had existed a lease agreement between the Federal Capital Development Authority and Kano State Housing Corporation, in whose name the land was allocated, that it was the responsibility of the lesser (FCDA) to provide primary and arterial infrastructure on the land in question.　 On its part, the Kano Housing Corporation was to provide secondary and tertiary infrastructure on the property.　 Unfortunately, the FCDA failed to play its own part, thereby making development of the land impossible, at that time.

Any dispassionate investigation would also confirm that the Shekarau Administration, through the Kano State Housing Corporation, had paid all Development Levies to the FCDA and went ahead to fully compensate villagers, the original owners of the land.　 It also submitted a Building Plan to the Development Control Department for approval, in fulfilment of a condition set by the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of the FCTA.

With all these done, the Kano Housing Corporation engaged a company called SARAHA HOMES in a PPA agreement to build a mass housing estate on the land.　 But just when it had mobilized to site, a Stop order was issued by the FCDA to all developers of various lands at Lokogoma, which it complied with. It should be noted that all owners of land in Lokogoma District were affected, not just Kano state. But in the case of Plot 119, it was later allocated to a private firm called City Shelters Properties Ltd, meaning it had been wrested from Kano state.

In a meeting held at the FCTA on July 20, 2010,　 chaired by the Chief of Staff to the Minister, representatives of Kano State Housing Corporation met with officials of the FCDA to try to resolve all issues in contention.　 The meeting agreed that the land shall be returned to Kano State Government. Minutes of this meeting can be obtained on request, courtesy of the Freedom of Information Bill.

Four months later however, this was not done.　 So Malam Shekarau wrote a letter, personally signed by him, with reference number GHS/A/16/1/221, dated November 23, 2010, in which he pleaded with Senator Bala Muhammad, the FCT Minister, to return the land to the state.

So it amounts to cheap politicking on the part of Kwankwaso to say he played any role in returning this land to Kano state. And with all these facts on ground, common sense will indicate there was no way Shekarau could have shared-out such land to his cronies, as wildly alleged by Kwankwaso.　 The whole thing was a carry-over of an enmity started by Kwankwaso in 2002, when he downgraded Shekarau from the high position of a permanent secretary in the state civil service to a classroom teacher. Shekarau then contested the 2003 gubernatorial election, defeated Kwankwaso and governed Kano for two successful, consecutive terms - becoming the first person ever to do so.

When this false allegation is married to actions and pronouncements of Kwankwaso since he took over last May, it will be clear to all discerning minds that he will go to all lengths to discredit Shekarau.

So ridiculous are actions of Kwankwaso that Daily Trust newspaper had to publish an editorial on Friday, June 24, 2011, reminding him that the campaign period is over, and that he should stop chasing shadows to concentrate in fulfilling the promises he made to the Kano electorate.

This spurious allegation is one too many. And anyone with even feint-knowledge of Governor Kwankwaso can only expect worse allegations, in the course of time, by him against Malam Shekarau and members of the administration he had the privilege to lead.

Suleiman Uba Gaya, a one-time senior aide to Shekarau, wrote this piece from Bompai, Kano. He can be reached on suleimanuba@yahoo.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .