EL-RUFA’I AND THE TASK AHEAD – By Yusuf I Goje

Kaduna is among the states that fell flat in the face of the ravaging avalanche of the change tsunami of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the just concluded general elections across the nation; especially the governorship elections that took place on the 28 April. The outcome of which the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Mallam Nasir Ahmed El-rufa’i hit the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Muktar Ramalan Yero under the belt; with one million, one hundred and seventeen thousand, six hundred and thirty five (1, 117, 635) votes as against four hundred and eighty five thousand, eight hundred and thirty three (485,833) votes. 

The result as declared by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in charge of Kaduna state, Professor Ja’afaru Kaura, revealed that the APC won in seventeen (17) out of the twenty three local governments in the state, leaving the incumbent PDP with a meager six (6) local governments. The icing on the cake was when the incumbent governor of the state, Alhaji Muktar Ramalan Yero, ate the humble pie by phoning and congratulated the governor-elect, Mallam Nasir El-rufa’i, which went a long way in dousing the tensed atmosphere, whereby the peace was unstable.

The massive votes generated by the candidacy of Mallam Nasir El-rufa’i are the symptoms of the intense expectations, in some instances unrealistic; the electorates have, especially those that voted for him. Even those that voted against him are watching keenly every step of the way, expecting him to justify why they did not vote for him. Since the return of democracy in 1999; the PDP has held sway with four governors in succession.

While it would be unfair to say that the PDP has done nothing in the area of developing the state, especially during the administrations of governors Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi and late Sir Patrick Yakowa, its effort seems too little too small in the face of the myriad of challenges facing the state, which include infrastructural decay, insecurity, unemployment, poverty, among many others. Most of the projects embarked by the PDP have been seen to be white-elephant,  propagandist and elitist by the residents of the state; while its sixteen (16) years reign is believed to have superintended over the enrichment of a few and the impoverishment of the majority.

 Kaduna state has been the administrative headquarters of northern Nigeria since pre-colonial times, and presently boast of a population of six million, one hundred and thirteen thousand, five hundred and three (6,113,503) people spread across the twenty three (23) local governments of the state, the third largest in the country. With a land mass of forty six thousand and fifty three (46, 053) square kilometers, the state is cosmopolitan and is largely agrarian.

 It houses the first inland petroleum refinery in the north, which was built in 1981, textile mills and numerous other factories, industries and businesses. It is also blessed with abundant mineral resources, historical and cultural sites that could be huge sources of revenue to the state. With these potentials and more, the state has been plagued with unemployment, low revenue generation, poverty and underdevelopment due mainly to mismanagement and absence of visionary leadership. These and many more have heightened the expectations of the residents of the state of a leadership that is not only credible and competent, but that which is pro-people and development oriented. No one wonder the electorate across the state came out in large numbers to be part of the train of change that penetrated through nook and crannies of the state.

The inspiration behind this write-up came to me when I was on transit from Abuja to Kaduna last weekend; in a commercial vehicle, when a discussion was ignited by one of the passengers and engaged the other passengers including myself and the driver. The discussion centered on whether Mallam Nasir El-Rufa’i can replicate the monumental feat he achieved as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Kaduna state as a governor.

While almost everyone in the vehicle was unanimously optimistic, due mainly to his track record of excellence, the key questions that seem to have taken every one aback are the enormous expectations with which residents of the state greeted his victory, and what areas should he focus on in meeting some of these expectations. My opinion was that he should focus on social reintegration, balancing stomach and physical infrastructure, revamping the economy, resuscitating the educational sector, and should be conscious of the acidic impact of sycophants that would be coming around him.

Without doubt, Kaduna is no longer the once peaceful and socially integrated state it used to be; when religion and ethnicity meant little in how we interacted with each other and also in determining where we resided. Over the years, Kaduna state has witness series of violent crisis between and within ethno-religious, political and socio- economic divides.

It is today evident that the state has been polarized; a situation where Christians can no longer reside or even visit without fear Rigasa or Tudun Wada; likewise Muslims cannot reside or freely visit Goningora. So much mistrust and suspicion have taken over the state; a situation whereby, for instance, during elections ethno-religious affiliation was a huge determining factor in the voting pattern. The governor-elect, am sure, is aware that he cannot effectively achieve much in a divided state; so he must display equity, fairness and justice in his actions and inaction for there to be accelerated and complete healing of the wounds of our antagonistic and belligerent past.

This is more so, because without peace there cannot be meaningful development; therefore the governor-elect must create and strengthen peace-building structures and processes that would enhance social reintegration in the state. He must also call some of his overzealous aids and supporters who overtly or covertly see and project his victory as a religious one to order; which have made people of other religions uncomfortable.

The governor-elect has an enviable record of city beautification and infrastructural development; with the point of reference being the FCT, which is yet to have a minister with his achievements before or after him. No wonder, he has been given the nickname Mai-Rusau by his admirers in the state. As it is with our mentality, of which I know he is well aware of, the masses only translate meaningful development to mean food on their table and money in their pockets. So keeping the balance would be one of his most herculean task, without which the goodwill he presently enjoys would evaporate in front of his very eyes and he would become public enemy number one. I belief former governor of Ekiti state, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has a lot of experience to share with him in that regards.

I believe the governor-elect is up to the task, as he has assured residents of the state on many occasions that their welfare is high on his priority list, one of such events was when he had a round-table discussion with some selected southern Kaduna youth groups at the Holiday Conference Hotel at Ungwan Rimi, before the APC primary elections. I was privileged to be in attendance, and I asked him the question of how he intends to balance physical and stomach infrastructure. He then reassured us of why he is running for the seat, which he said was not for personal aggrandizement, because he has almost all he needs for himself, but was in the race in order to uplift the living standard of the residents and bring back the lost glory of the state. Now is the right time to transform promises into reality having won the governorship elections.

It is obvious even to the blind that Kaduna state is in a bad state economically; with a high debt profile which is only second to Lagos, shortfall in internally generated revenue, dwindling federal allocation and poor infrastructure; we are surely in for hard times. At this point I do not admire the governor-elect; with the huge expectations, most of which are unrealistic, and an almost empty treasury with huge debt to service; the governor-elect really needs our prayers. The focus now has to be on internally generated revenue, which has over the year’s fallen victim of crass mismanagement and official corruption. The task ahead is putting a viable system that would block all the leakages that are hindering effective revenue mobilization, thereby reducing over dependence on the federal government monthly allocation.

The governor-elect must break the jinx and change the culture of paying lip service to the revival of our non-functional industries and factories; which have the potential of generating revenue and jobs for the teeming unemployed people in the state. The state presently has a poverty rate of 52. 4% as core poor and 38.2% as moderately poor, the second highest incidence of poverty in the North-western zone just behind Zamfara state. While the unemployment rate is put at 25.7%, which is well above the national average of 23.9%; this is a time bomb that he must defuse, if we are to avoid the disaster waiting to happen. This is the more reason why he must focus his attention on agriculture, which presently engages 80% of its work-force. It is the only sector that has the capacity to absorb majority of the teeming unemployed. This he can achieve by working closely with the federal government, International Donor Agencies, Development partners, private sector and Non-governmental Organizations.

The governor-elect must also look towards the direction of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) due to its potential to create wealth, generate jobs, reduce poverty, mobilize revenue and boost economic growth in the state. The United States of America and China are presently enjoying the fruit of investing in and creating a conducive environment for MSMEs to thrive. In achieving this, the governor-elect can also borrow the One Village, One Product (OVOP) from China or the One Local government, One product (OLOP) programme by SMEDAN. This would go a long way in developing especially rural businesses and economies in the state.

Other areas that have suffered neglect over the years that need the governor-elect’s full attention include but not limited to education, healthcare, community development, critical infrastructure, security, among many. These and more he must do to justify the massive support and votes he got from the residents of the state, alibis would not be tolerated due to the high expectations. We know the state has challenges and that is why we voted for him, and we would not be passive this time around, because the mandate he is riding on is ours. While we would give him all the support he needs we would also constructively criticize him when he is derailing. We call on him to be wary of sycophants that can create a gulf in between him and the people that gave him their mandate in trust. We pray that God would grant him wisdom.