In Africa, it is believed that the words of elders are words of wisdom. Professor Adamu Mahdi, a Professor of History and former Vice Chancellor of the Usmanu Dan-Fodio University, Sokoto, between 1982 to 1989 is a respected elder statesman in Kebbi State, whose voice carries a lot of weight. In this interview with MIDAT JOSEPH, the elder statesman, who hails from Kebbi State, scores Governor Nasamu Usman Dakingari of Kebbi state high in the area of infrastructural development. He also told LEADERSHIP how the governor got his second term ticket despite alleged strong opposition by a former governor of the state.
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From your vantage position as an elder statesman, how did Governor Dakingari win the election for a second term in Kebbi State?
Well, if you want to know why the Governor of Kebbi State, Dakingari won the election for the second term, the factors are as follows.
One, the record of his achievements? during his first tenure in office, secondly, the method of his financial management of government funds, thirdly, his own personality and fourth, the attitude of the members? of the opposition party.
Now, with regards to his record of achievements, what he did was to concentrate in rural areas. He took up a number of issues which people in the rural areas had wanted and which they did not get and he concentrated in providing them. For example, many feeder roads were needed, some to be built for the first time and others to be tarred or? rehabilitated. So, he took on them almost the same time and started providing people of the state with motorable roads with the result that by the end of his first tenure, many places which did not have roads got them.
An example is the road from Malando to Ingaske to Wara. In the past, if you want to travel from Yelwa to Wara, you would? have to go through Niger State that is through Yawuri, Libeleko, Salka, Auna and then Wara and if you are to go to Ingaske from Wara, then you go to Ingaske. The road to Malando from Ingaske to Wara is now tarred. It makes the journey shorter both in terms of distance and energy.
He also upgraded many junior secondary schools to the status of senior secondary schools and converted some senior day secondary schools to boarding. He upgraded some dispensaries to rural health centres and some health centres to general hospitals thereby seeking to bring health services nearer to the people.
He also provided the people with potable drinking water, especially, through the borehole system and also through the ordinary well. So, when it was time for election, by what he had done because what the campaigners concentrated on was to point out the achievements he had recorded, many villagers did not know him, but, they knew the umbrella, they knew the services provided by the governor. So that was how he was sold to the people and he won.
Secondly, his management of financial resources of the government was different from previous ones, because he was very stringent, he would not release money unless there was evidence of work done and sometimes he visited the construction sites himself, and in such cases he goes alone, just in an ordinary car so that people will notknow it was the governor arriving and then he will ask questions and discuss with the people and get direct information. Sometimes they said he dresses like an ordinary Fulani villager, so people won’t even think it was the governor. So through his financial management, the state government was able to carry out its development projects and at the same time save some money in the treasury.
Thirdly, his own personality. He was a simple person, he could sit down and discuss with ordinary people without feeling that he is an important man and so people liked him for that.
The attitude of the opposition party also contributed. One of the mistakes they made during their campaign was they made a list of senior civil servants who were to be removed and replaced by others if they won. They also had a list of some traditional rulers at the level of village and district head to be removed and identified the people that would replace them. Now they made the mistake of making the list public, and so, the traditional rulers knew that if the governor lost, they would go down with him and some of the top civil servants knew too, and so, they put their heads together to assist the governor to win and of course when he won, it was a sigh of relief because his winning meant that they could continue in office.
After winning the election for the second term, what is his performance record?
He? called a meeting of the various advisers of committees and asked them to give him advise on what to do, he made available to them the campaign promises and they gave him advice, which he started implementing, because one person alone cannot? ensure the best for his people but through this committee system, particularly the Kebbi State Elders Consultative Forum, he got advice on how to fulfill the campaign promises? he had made to the people during his campaigns and he seems very willing to do that.
In the area of education and job creation, what did he do to impress you?
Yes, two years ago, the governor set up a committee to go round Kebbi State and identify the problems of education in the state and give him their recommendations. The report was submitted, discussed and approved by the government.? And that committee was appointed to implement the recommendation and that is what he is doing now. He recently asked the Elders Consultative Committee to go through the recommendations and to discern what further advice the members of the committee could give to him. And that committee has started doing that a few weeks ago.
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How cordial is the relationship between the Governor and his predecessor?
The relationship is very cordial at the personal level.? He is always polite to former Governor Aliero, he has refused to go into direct confrontation with him, but continued to do what is right, even though Adamu Aliero may not like it. But, since the former Governor had already done his turn and it is now his time, so he concentrated on doing things which would count for him, which would give him a credible identity as Sa’idu Dakingari. Aliero who later joined the opposition party would not like that. We want them to continue to conduct themselves as friends at least at the public fora. They should not allow the quarrel between them to take its toll on government activities.? Governor Dakingari has set up a committee to reconcile them, and reconciliatory meetings were held at various levels and all were aimed at reconciling the two and to make sure the differences between them did not disrupt government activities, even though they still remain far apart politically. The reconciliation efforts have succeeded at least in keeping their differences below the crisis level.
As an elder statesman, what is your dream for Kebbi State?
Of course, every elder statesman would want to see peace in his own area and peace in the country. So, my advice to the people of Kebbi State is that they should always remain peaceful. They should show appreciation to what the present government is doing and not on the basis that they belong to a different political party. They should forget about the political differences and come forward and request the government to do things for them and when they are done, they should show appreciation, when it is time for another round of election, then the political differences can then come up. But for now, it is time for development not politicking.
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If you are asked to score Dakingari, what will be his percentage mark?
Well, I am not a political commentator, but certainly it cannot be below the pass mark.