SAFAR 7 1431 A.H.
FRIDAY JANUARY 22, 2010.
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Kano in search of the next Malam (II)
By Musa Bello
naisamusa@yahoo.com
The employment of hundreds of medical doctors and other health professionals with better conditions of service coupled with the building and equipping of new general and specialist hospitals and renovation, with a view to upgrading and expanding many existing ones all over the state, made quality healthcare readily available, accessible and above all, affordable to the teaming populace of state. Furthermore, the free maternity care offered pregnant women has led to a modest but important reduction in maternal morbidity and mortality in the state.
The civil service in Kano has never had it so good.Salaries, promotions, allowances as well as multiple bonuses and other incentives come as and at when due; full package retirement benefits and monthly pensions are received promptly; staff training, retraining and professionalism highly encouraged in addition to an overall better condition and atmosphere of service. The labour congress in Kano so far has never had cause to embark on industrial action due to a purely state government matter during Shekarau’s administration.Overall, almost fourty thousand new members cutting across all cadres of staff were employed into the workforce in Kano.
The construction of the multibillion naira gigantic Kanawa ultramodern market and trade zone and the concrete attempts at independent power generation through public private partnership is a step in the right direction towards reclaiming the lost glory of the state as the centre of commerce of the nation.
The total approach to rural development through the energetic ministry of rural development and also via the Kano satellite towns project has ensured a steady stream of development and delivery of the long awaited dividends of democracy evenly to all the nooks and crannies of the state.
No state government, past or present, in the nation has ever undertaken an urban renewal and roads rehabilitation project on such an unprecedented qualitative scale like that currently under execution by the Shekarau administration. Indeed, even the most ardent of critics cannot help but to shower accolades onto the governor and his administration for embarking on this project which will definitely go a long way in addressing the fast growing menaces of traffic congestion and environmental degradation which threaten to make life unbearable for citizens in the metropolis. Even the biting global economic downturn could not stop this man who has now made an indelible mark as a force to reckon with in the political circles not only in Kano and the North, but also in the entire country.
These and many more achievements in the state could not have been possible without the tremendous support of the people of Kano together with the foresight, humility, diplomacy, forebearance and emotional intelligence of their governor.
As the captain of the ship sailing through troubled waters, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau seems to have capitalized on the mistakes of the past PDP government under Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to display the very essence of leadership which according to Sir William Osler, is “...to capture power and use it for common good.”
A servant leader, Shekarau’s too trusting and too tolerant personality seem to portray a weakness on his part, but with these attributes he had greatly sanitized and re-branded the political arena in Kano to the extent that freedom of expression is enjoyed by all via any medium without fear of harassment or persecution of any kind.
Despite all this however, more could still be done to better the lives of the citizenry in Kano as development is not a static but a dynamic phenomenon. Shekarau can be said only to have rescued Kano from the road to social, political and economic disintegration to chart a new course and begin the journey that would take Kano to the Promised Land. It is up to the next Governor, when he steps into the giant shoes of Mallam, to ensure that this journey remains on course and gains mileage as rapidly and as coherently as possible.
With just over a year left for Mallam to leave office, Kano is once again enveloped by an atmosphere of apprehension and uncertainty over who succeeds as Chief Executive to continue leading its good people in the direction of lasting peace, prosperity and sustainable development. With many contenders both in the ruling party and the opposition, perhaps what the people would use as criteria to elect a successor for Shekarau are simple and basic: He must possess those leadership qualities and attributes that ensured the success of Shekarau’s administration, and more qualities that would enable him to identify and capitalize on its unavoidable mistakes. He must be able to offer Kano continued dynamic and purposeful leadership which is necessary for it to take and maintain its rightful place in the scheme of things in Nigeria and indeed internationally. He must be someone presentable, knowledgeable, acceptable and capable of representing Kano people at all levels of official and political engagement in line with current global realities. He must be able to speak for the people, project and protect their aspirations and above all, give that genuine selfless servant leadership guided by the fear of God, needed to take Kano to the next level. Mallam himself had said it is not every Tom, Dick and Harry that should think of succeeding him as governor as “success without a successor is failure”.
The race for the gubernatorial seat at least for now, is composed of candidates both within and outside the ruling party with admirable records of achievements in their respective areas of endeavour and great leadership potential. Whether any of these gentlemen possesses the ability to meet and improve on the current standards set by Ibrahim Shekarau and therefore, earn the confidence of the Kano people is something for time to tell and the ballot box to decide.
concluded
Musa wrote in from Kofar Na’isa quarters Kano.
