KWANKWASO: NOW THAT SENATOR ALIERO HAS SPOKEN by Usman Aminu Sani
Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau is the Sardaunan Kano and the immediate past governor of Kano State that served his people for uninterrupted eight years. The achievements of Shekarau administration is legendary, intimidating and marvelous to the extent that they have remained a source of jealousy on one hand and influence on the other to the government that took over after him.
Kano, as we all know, is undoubtedly and unarguably too, one of the political hotbeds in Nigeria particularly in the northern part of the country. The state has over the years produced leaders that have left indelible marks in the sand of time. Among them, we have leaders of hour, leaders of time and leaders of all times. After a painstaking review of the different leaders that administered Kano till date, especially the civilian administration, one comes to rational conclusion that the government of the former governor Ibrahim Shekarau falls under the category of a government of all times. And indeed, a government of all times is always relevant to the people because of its impact on their lives, which can neither be easily forgotten nor erased.
I have had cause to examine the performances of the various civilian administrations that have administered Kano state. My discovery is that it is heartwarming to see that it is only the Shekarau administration that has carved niche for the yearning and aspirations of the people. On assumption of office in May 29, 2003, Shekarau left no one in doubt as to what he intended to do for the people of Kano State. He was easy and steady because he had the mission of realizing the people's oriented programme and indeed he actually realized his mission and vision without much ado about any thing.
A classroom teacher and administrator per excellence, Shekarau sowed the seed of love, integrity and hard work among his people. It is during his period of leadership that major landmarks were recorded for the state. He constructed beautiful road networks, promoted education, improved the health sector, promoted human and structural developments, created peace and brotherhood among the different ethnic groups that inhabit the state and above all, Shekarau transformed Kano from the nadir of poverty to the limelight of recognition.
When Mallam Shekarau held sway as the governor of Kano State for eight years, it is neither an exaggeration nor a flattery to point out that he did his very best to do what democracy entails, which we saw in the realization of peace, freedom of expression, empowerment of youths and women, progressive steps in the socio-economic and political sphere of human endeavours. This does not suggest the fact that as human being, Shekarau is not without some follies. We should however not forget the fact that whatever one may perceive as Shekarau's shortcoming, either rightly or wrongly, the former governor should be commended for his hard work, integrity and purposeful sense of direction. This is a man who in 2003 met a lot of things in deep shamble. For instance, the Government House structure was in disarray rearing all sorts of filthy things. The Pensioners were begging for their rights. Freedom of expression was violently abused. Civil servants cried of non-payments of their salaries for months. The Custodians of our traditional values were highly neglected. The vibrant youths became willing tools for violence. These and many related ills were the unfortunate features Shekarau administration inherited in May 2003.
On assumption of office, Shekarau gave thought to the misdemeanors left by his predecessor and worked out modalities to nib them in bud. The people of Kano became lucky that the administration of Shekarau was able to reverse the ugly trends with tremendous progress. Constitutionally, Shekarau's two terms tenure as the governor of Kano State terminated on 29th May 2011. He handed over to the man that was said to have won the governorship election conducted on 26th April 2011 in person of Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso who incidentally, Shekarau took over from in May 2003.
Since Kwankwaso took over the mantle of leadership more than two months ago, there have been sporadic but deliberate attempts by his government to undermine the great achievements of his predecessor through cooked and bullied stories, perhaps with the purpose of diverting public attention from the development required of the present government. It is now of public knowledge that the government possesses vindictive character upon which its captains have been making noise about their predecessor dos and don'ts, just to have their own pound of flesh at the detriment of the progress of the state.
In particular, governor Kwankwaso has in recent time made some unfounded allegations against the government of Shekarau as mark of vengeance. One of such fictitious allegation was the issue of the 27-hectar of land that was formerly allocated to Kano State Government by the Federal Capital Authority. In the Daily Trust of July 27, 2011,page 27, Governor Kwankwaso averted that he has reclaimed "a 27-hectar land in Abuja originally belonged to Kano State Government before some unscrupulous individuals illegally took possession of the land through the active connivance of the past government officials." In addition to the correct statement of refutation made by Shekarau through his aide, Sule Ya'u Sule as contained in the Daily Trust of July 29, 2011, page 2, the former Minister of FCT, Senator Adamu Aliero lend credence to the true state of the said land allocation in the Daily trust of August 8, 2011, page 3 as against governor Kwankwaso's insinuation.
Senator Aliero debunked the allegation made against the former governor Shekarau by the present government. In his statement, Aliero said "the plot allocation was revoked over failure of the state to reach substantial level of development." He further disclosed that, "plot 119 Lokogoma was withdrawn from the Kano State Housing Corporation for non-compliance with the terms of development since allocation on 28 July 2005." And "consequently following the decision to revoke, the plot was reallocated to City Shelter Properties in March 2010 which moved quickly to submit building plans to the Department of Development Control and Mass Housing Department respectively for approval." This is the truth of the matter as stated by Aliero, which sharply contradicted the allegation made by governor Kwankwaso to smear the integrity of his predecessor.
What the people are now saying as reflected in the online comments published by the Daily Trust of August 9, 2011 is that why should governor Kwankwaso dump service to the people and pick up quarrel with his predecessor, which has consumed reasonable time of the government? What does the government hope to realize by drawing battle lines with the past that has come and gone? And now that Senator Aliero has spoken the truth about the matter, is this not an indication that all the allegations the present government has been leveling against its predecessor are mere imagination to tarnish the image of a government that has diligently played his past and left. If this government continues to indulge itself in the art of witch hunting against perceived foes, what time will it get for development and progress of the state? These are questions begging for answers from the government of Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
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