By Hassan Sani Indabawa
Following, closely, the trajectory of evolution of Kano’s political leadership and its performance, by any keen observer, would reveal an obvious loss of values. The banality in governance and absence of clear and well defined policy further demonstrate the profound loss of values by the charlatans that now parade themselves as leaders in Kano.
In an article published by the _Daily Trust_ of 10th May, 2023, titled, _”Kano: Losing Its Past Glory”,_ I discussed the decadence and retrogression of Kano in all spheres of life due to dearth of quality leadership. I recalled, by going back to history and highlighted some of the glorious, historical moments of Kano, when leaders, were then more focused and concerned with the progress and welfare of the people of Kano, unlike the present day where governance is reduced to personal whims and caprices of some extremely few ” prebendal and rapacious politicians.”
The past leaders of Kano were God-fearing and conscientious. They placed Kano in the forefront by spearheading masterpiece policies that inspired other states and the federal government to emulate and replicate.
Kano found itself deep in the present malaise due to the misfortune of having a bunch of “rapacious and egocentric charlatans, garbed as leaders,” and this, I argued, had made Kano to be paying “a heavy price of mis-governance and maladministration.” And this has consequently paved the way for “retrogression and decadence…that Kano (now) remains distant in all spheres of development; especially in the field of education, agriculture, health and even in politics.”
With an increased FAAC allocation to all states, the state government allocation under president Tinubu’s first year rose by 38.64 per cent to N4.09trn compared to the N2.95trn disbursed in the preceding period under Buhari. For the local governments, the revenue disbursed under President Tinubu rose to N3trn from the N2.18trn shared under Buhari, which represents a 37.61 per cent. Similarly, allocation to Kano State rose by 39.11 per cent to N120.35bn from the N86.52bn released by FAAC. Kano was among the states that got the highest amount during the first year of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
But instead of translating this humongous earnings into well conceived landmark projects that may facilitate critical infrastructural and social development of the state, Kano witnessed a wasted year in a needless political witch-hunt and vengeance. Major infrastructures like primary and secondary schools, health care, urban and rural roads, affordable transportation systems, and agricultural hubs, that drive development and generate revenue were all neglected due to needles distractions with government dissipating precious time and resources, fighting perceived “political enemies.”
This is a veritable symptom of a leadership failure. In _”Politics as Dashed Hopes in Nigeria,”_ (2019) published by a historian and a political scientist, Auwal Anwar, he described how a good leader should conduct the affairs of the State: _”The appropriate manner in which a worthy leader is expected to behave, especially on achieving victory, is that he should not harbour ill feelings, or carry out act of vengeance or vendetta against his enemies.”_
In Kano, since the herald of the 4th republic, in 1999, the two major political actors that dominated the political space, proved to be the main problems of Kano, throwing a cog in the wheel of progress of the state. While other states, especially neighboring states with lesser potentials than Kano have been continuously recording remarkable achievements and progress, due to sustained continuity, in spite of having succeeding administrations from different parties, Kano has, however, remained stagnant under the firm grip of two of the most extremely wicked and egotistical politicians.
The concept and definition of how politics should be practiced has been completely redefined by the duo to suit their insatiable quest for political and material power. In a clearly well played out script, the duo exaggerated a split, by promoting enmity, misgivings, Ill feelings and rancour among their followers and supporters to hoodwink the public; while busy looting the state’s common wealth. The duo have no known businesses apart from politics, but yet, they are alleged to be amongst the most richest politicians in Nigeria.
While the boss was known to have initiated the looting of Kano resources, by carefully designing multi-billion projects, to serve as a conduit pipe, the second-in-loot, surpassed the boss by involving his immediate family in the looting spree, when he received the baton, and ruled for 8 years, of what can best be described as the years of massive plunder of state treasury.
This did not go well with the boss, who has now assumed a new title of a “kingmaker,” —of both political and royal. To out do the second-in-loot, a dyed-in-the-wool, who doubled as a son-in-law, was carefully chosen, prepared and now installed to entrench the continuous rape of Kano. With similar inlaws, cousins, nephews, brothers, friends and cronies forming the administration, the plot to perpetuate the familial continuity of the death grip against Kano has been perfected with a biological son of the kingmaker, an apparent heir, being placed in the cabinet, to be likely groomed for possible succession. Kano has never had it so bad. In the whole of the Nigerian federation, there is no administration as nepotistic as that of Kano. The idea of liberal democracy and its meaning is lost to the good people of Kano. An ancient city known for progressive ideas and politics, world class statesmen and world renowned scholars, has now been reduced to a personal fiefdom of the kingmaker.
As I posited elsewhere, Kano has now become a pitiable state, due to intense political power struggle, characterised by unhealthy competition and rivalry between extremely few (just the two of them — kingmaker and the second-in-loot), rapacious and prebendal politicians.
In the labyrinth of Kano politics, I still maintained my understanding that the only difference between these two wicked political jobbers is absolutely none existing, because both of them are egotistical and megalomaniacal.
What I prefer to call an elite nonchalance, is what brought about the loss of values in Kano politics and its leadership. As a community deeply rooted in culture, tradition and religion, allowing a few opportunitists to impede the collective aspirations of an entire society is certainly suicidal. There is an urgent need for the good people of Kano to rise to the challenge and chart a different course that would extirpate the corrupt politicians that now pose as an existential threat to Kano and its people. This should be by aggressively forging an elite consensus; and, by going back to rediscover our lost values.
In _”Rediscovering a Lost Value”,_ a sermon delivered on February 28, 1954, to an audience in Detroit, Michigan, Martin Luther King Jr, said, _“If we are to go forward, if we are to make this a better world in which to live, we’ve got to go back. We’ve got to rediscover these precious values that we’ve left behind.”_
This call should or rather must perfectly resonate with the people of Kano; that unless and until we do away with these pretenders, whom we all identify as our major problem, that proved to be a clog in the wheel of progress of Kano and its people, we shall continue to be looked down and mocked by others for having charlatans, mediocre and egotistical figures as leaders. And the problem is, this set of political class has no value, no shame or the fear of Allah to provide the kind of leadership that Kano deserves. They will only continue to promote hate, enmity, division, mutual suspicion while busy stealing our common wealth and without even pretending to be working for our welfare.
