The Eagle Has Landed, By Mahmud Shuaibu Ringim
Engr Abba Kabir Yusuf’s journey to Kano government house was long, tedious, hectic, stressful and combative.
When he reached the finishing line on 18th March, 2023, it was a victory to be celebrated. A hard earned success brought about by the many concerned Kano voters who clamoured for change
Undoubtedly Abba Kabir Yusuf is eminently qualified to occupy that converted seat of Audu Bako leadership legacy passed from generation to generation.
Abba Kabir Yusuf has seen it all from the vantage position of an insider in the art of governance from 1999 to 2023 when he served as PA to then Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and as his Personal Assistant when he became Minister of Defence in 2003 to 2007
He later served as the Commissioner of Works and Housing in 2015 to 2019. His sojourn in government has groomed and equipped him sufficiently well and learned how to walk the tight rope of leadership
He equally learned the craftsmanship and the art of leadership skillfully on how to weather the storm by navigating the sharp bends and narrow bridges of governance.
The Governor elect has an equally charismatic, competent and energetic deputy in the person of Commarade Abdulsalam who has also served as the Commissioner of State Affairs an equivalence of Chief of Staff to Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso from 2011 to 2015.
It is not easy to be a governor of the most populous state in Nigeria with the highest number of local governments in the country and a home of youth whose majority are not gainfully employed with the high percentage of out of school children roaming the street. The task of taming their misplaced aggression on the society is herculean and by no means not insurmountable
The success of the NNPP at the polls in Kano can be attributed to the serious short comings of the outgoing APC government’s eight year of broken promises and casual approach to governance.
Consequently APC as the governing party has to carry its own cross. More so, the pursuance of some of the out going government’s repugnant and unpopular policies dragged its reputation, credibility and unethical behaviour into the mud
This gave NNPP a head start up to the finishing line. Let’s also not forget the role played by the APC candidates for governor and his deputy respectively in the infamous 2019 inconclusive saga. The necklace of that behaviour continued to hang on their necks. And Kano people appear not have forgotten or forgiven
As it stands now NNPP has won 23 seats in the House of Assembly, while has 5 seats are won by the APC and remaining 12 seats out of 40 seats have been declared inconclusive. This gives NNPP upper hand and a strong possibility of having the 2/3 majority needed to pass its legislative agenda smoothly, uninterruptedly on a record time.
It is a foregone conclusion that the disciplinary nature of NNPP and its unity of purpose as a close knitted family, Abba Kabir Yusuf administration will have his appropriation bill and other legislations scale through without hitches..
This gives the administration the opportunity to hit the ground running after its inauguration on 29th May, 2023
The abandonment of all inclusive policy on education, health care, agriculture and youth empowerment scheme which APC inherited from its predecessor hanged the party high and dry at the polls.
The NNPP flag bearer played a key role in the policy formulation and implementation of the laudable policy initiatives of the government that carried its people along which was led by Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
An example of the huge success recorded during that period were the scholarships given to the children of the underprivileged students to pursue post graduate courses in specialised areas such as piloting and science and technology in different parts of the world.
Some of the beneficiaries of the program have successfully finished their courses and are engaged by relevant institutions as lecturers or pilots respectively thus adding value to society.
Secondly some of the undergraduate students sponsored to various private universities were made to self finance themselves to complete their courses because the new administration of APC failed to continue with the scholarship given by the previous regime
School feeding programme and free transportation for students were implemented haphazardly until federal government intervened to salvage the situations.
The once vibrant and functioning public hospitals became deplorable and were not attended to properly, hence they became mere consulting clinics
The challenges of governance that lies ahead of the incoming administration are monumental and huge. Surmounting such obstacles requires taking tough decisions accompanied by political will, wisdom and good judgement.
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The most important and strategic areas that requires immediate attention are education, health, agriculture and manufacturing.
The in-coming administration of Abba Kabir Yusuf has already identified them as his priorities that needed to be fixed. It is worthy to note the strategic importance of the industrial sector in creating employment opportunities, job creation and wealth creation.
At this juncture Kano needs to recover its lost ground as an investment destination in Northern Nigeria. The famous industrial areas of Bompai, Challawa, Sharada, Gunduwawa are filled with closed manufacturing and moribund industries at best turned into ware houses, while kano township is littered with plazas and shopping malls stacked with imported items from abroad or locally produced materials from other parts of the country. This trend need to be reversed for the better.
Secondly, there is a need for the composition of a strong economic advisory council that will chart the course of reinvigorating the potentials of inner strength, will power and business acumen of Kano people who produced the richest men in Nigeria and Africa in the persons of Aliko Dangote the Chairman of Dangote Group and Abdulsamad Rabiu the Chairman of BUA Group
The council will be responsible in identifying investment opportunities by exploring and exploiting the rich and vast investment opportunities in Kano
The council should be headed by an indigene who is an accomplished individual with a track record of honesty and integrity . Somebody who is knowledgeable, experienced and well connected in both financial, investment and industrial world nationally and internationally.
The council will be responsible in identifying investors who will have to be convinced of the safety and profitability of their investment. Investment in Agro Allied, Non Metallic Minerals, Ceramic Sanitary Wares and Tiles,Tannery and Leather, Textile and Garments, Solid Minerals etc are key sectors that needed to be offered for the purpose of resuscitating the closed and moribund industries in addition to new investment in old and new frontiers.
The council will also be charged with the responsibility of identifying source of funding in order bridge the financing gap of the industries needed to be resuscitated.
Further more, the Tiga Hydro power plant started by Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso should be completed in earnest and commissioned for the benefit of industries who are the target market of the power to be generated from the plant in addition providing light for the street .
Challawa Gorge Dam needs to be rehabilitated for industrial and domestic consumption. It will put to end to the acute water shortage been experienced in the state
Availability and sufficiency of waater and electricity constitute two major infrastructures needed to attract direct foreign investment and local investors.
Fortunately the recent constitutional amendment signed by President Muhammadu Buhari removed the provision of power generation from exclusive list to concurrent list. This gives the states the opportunity to generate their power requirements independently.
The granting of financial autonomy to the judiciary and state assemblies resulting from the constitutional amendment in addition to the Petroleum Industry Bill has made it mandatory for the Abba Kabir Yusuf administration to intestify efforts in blocking leakages and identify sources of revenue in order to argument any shortfall that will arise due the aforementioned constitutional amendments and PIB.
The tax administration of the state needs to be looked into with a view to revamping it and be made identify more sources of revenue for the state. The taxes should be managed prudently and collected at minimum cost, it should also pass the test of effectiveness and efficiency in its collection and administration.
In areas of education, health care and agriculture there may be a need for the encouragement of Public Price sector Partnership in moving the sector forward because of governments heavy debt burden and limited financial resources
At this juncture the government might wish to look into the possibility of establish a Debt Management Office in order to manage its debt which hedge from falling into any adverse consequences on its finances.
It is expected that there will be a harmonious relationship between the new administration in the state and the new administration at the federal level. This will go along way in promoting federal and the state inter governmental relationship.
Members of National Assembly from the state are expected to be spearheading the interest of the state at the federal legislature and develop a synergistic relationship with the state government in areas that will help the state government in accessing funding opportunities and developmental projects to the state
Indeed the Eagle has landed with a vision, determined, focussed and result oriented. The new leadership is expected to take Kano to greater heights with the support, guidance and counseling of its stakeholders.
HALIM Consulting Ltd.
mahmudshuaibu44@ gmail.com
