Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, rose from the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) meeting yesterday evening to say leader of Islamic Movement of Nigeria popularly known as Shi’ite Movement, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky would be prosecuted over the recent clash between his members and men of Nigerian Army that left some persons dead in Zaria.
The Governor stated this while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after the Chairman of NSGF, Governor Kashim Shettima, read the communiqué issued after the emergency meeting aimed at proffering solutions to upheavals in the region especially, that of Zaria, Kaduna State .
El-Rufai said all the parties involved in the incident will be weighed by the constitution and anyone found culpable will be prosecuted accordingly. He added that a Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the state government would examine the remote and immediate causes of Zaria incident.
Earlier, Governor Shettima has said in the communiqué that all Nigerians should respect the law and constituted authority, just as he directed every organization, religious or social to operate within the confines of the law.
The communiqué read in part, “the Governors frowned at arbitrary blockage of highways through unauthorized processions causing inconveniences to other citizens. Henceforth, processions must necessarily be with Police permit and protection as prescribed by the law.
“NSGF endorsed all the step taken so far by the Kaduna State Governor to contain the situation and assure citizens of its readiness to maintain law and order while respecting the constitutional rights of citizens to practice their faith in a manner devoid of infringing the rights of others.
“NSG reaffirmed their commitment to take measures to revive and grow the economies of Northern states to create jobs and other opportunities as efforts already in top gear to revive agriculture and industries related to agriculture.”
SIR: I wish to let the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai know that we are with him in the fight against backwardness, corruption and poverty. We thank him for opening the gates of Kaduna State to peace and plenty. We bow to change.
He wants to repair the economy and re-humanize the people? Beautiful. He wants to build new markets? We support him. However, knowing that the petty traders are among the class of the lowest of the low, where will they go during the period of construction of the market? This is important because they have to continue to pursue their survival. And you know that street trading has been banned because it is unedifying. We trust that our governor is equipped to think dialectically.
Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai yesterday presented a proposed budget of N171.7 billion to the House of Assembly.
The governor said the budget proposal comprised N109.3 billion capital and N62.4 billion recurrent expenditure.
He said the budget, titled: Budget of Sacrifice, Restoration and Change, would make Kaduna great again.
The breakdown shows that the Economic sector, Agriculture and Forestry have N5,577,475,527.60; Commerce, Industry and Tourism, N1,336,000,000 and Works, Housing and Transport, N31,352,898,071.95.
Others are: Education, N27,548,679,874.23; Health, N6,661,683,063.73 and Social Development, N461,551,200.
El-Rufai said: “The budget proposal restores the minimum of 60:40 ratio in favour of capital expenditure. This is in keeping with our agenda to expand access to Education, Health care, Jobs and Security.
“Our investments in infrastructure and interventions in school feeding, planting of economic trees and waste collection are expected to create 200,000 direct and indirect jobs among youths, women and other vulnerable groups.”
He added: “Following the town hall meeting and other public consultations, we have revised upwards the capital estimates to accommodate projects, such as the reconstruction of the collapsed dam at Birnin-Gwari, the clearance of inherited arrears on Zaria water project and construction of access roads that will bring the Kagoro Hills tourism project closer to realisation.’’
Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, on Saturday held a town hall meeting with stakeholders to deliberate on the proposed 2016 Budget before its formal presentation to the State House of Assembly.
The meeting held at the General Hassan Katsina House in the Kaduna.
The total estimate of the budget is N166bn, with a sum of N104bn voted for capital expenditure, while N62bn was earmarked for recurrent expenditure.
In his address titled ‘Putting the people first: Back to Budget Realism,’ the governor accused previous administrations in the state of reducing the yearly budget into a “fictographic art with scarcely any relationship to reality.”
He further alleged that huge annual budgets were approved in the past without being implemented, leaving a legacy of abandoned projects.
The governor, who said he would always puts the people first in all his actions, maintained that the present administration is determined to make the state great again by reversing the neglect that public interest had suffered.
He disclosed that the proposed budget contains pro-poor programs, including interventions in school feeding, planting of economic trees and waste collection, which he said, would create about 200,000 jobs.
He said: “We have called this meeting today to present to you the broad principles informing the policy choices that are reflected in the draft 2016 budget. The budget is anchored on the commitments outlined in the Restoration Programme, the manifesto platform on which the Kaduna State APC campaigned.
“When we formally launched our election campaign, we made it clear that the APC believes in the capacity of our people to make the best choices for themselves if they are properly educated, given decent healthcare and jobs in a secure environment.”
El-Rufai continued: “Year after year, only the recurrent part of the budget attained perfect performance. Capital investments repeatedly suffered, sometimes reaching only 1% in some sectors or 17% performance overall. They had reduced budgeting into a fictographic art, with scarcely any relationship to reality. Huge annual budgets were approved without being implemented, leaving a legacy of abandoned projects.
“We knew we had to reorient the whole thrust of governance, replacing it with a culture that puts the people first. Democracy construes the people as the masters; we must obey their command to improve their lives.
“Capital investments captured in the draft budget include the Kaduna Ring Road, comprehensive security interventions in partnership with neighbouring states, textile revival and youth entrepreneurship programs, lighting up Kaduna with streetlights and the statewide Tree Planting programme.”
After some widespread criticism especially over demolition, Kaduna State residents seem to believe Governor Nasir el-Rufai is on course to transform the state. The launch of some flashy cabs reinforced that belief, reports ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE
When government bulldozers moved early in Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s administration, pulling down structures and leaving their owners weeping, many concluded that Demolition Man had not lost his taste cultivated while he was Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Even his supporters had few words to defend him. Now, five months on, many believe el-Rufai is taking the state somewhere great.
•The cabs
As he took office, he declared a state of emergency on health and education, making the latter free and compulsory. Now, el-Rufai has launched some 200 comfortable taxis, leaving even his critics applauding him.
A cross-section of Kaduna citizens spoken to at the event described the launching of the luxury taxis as a positive indication that el-Rufai was ready to transform the state.
Suleiman Abdullahi said, “Let me tell you the fact, I have been a critic of el-Rufai. I was happy when APC presented him as their candidate in the 2015 governorship election because this is somebody who did a wonderful job as a minister of the FCT. But I lost respect for the governor when he came on board and started talking about demolition. Meanwhile, this is the same demolition that his opponents in the PDP used to campaign against him. All of us were here when they named him ‘Mai Rusau’ or The Demolisher.
“So I expected that when he comes on board he will first of all concentrate on developing the state before demolishing buildings where necessary. We still thank God that he is treading softly about his demolition plan now. I learnt he has promised to compensate people with valid documents even before demolishing their houses.
“I am happy today that he has shown indication that he is prepared to bring the kind of development he initiated in Abuja to Kaduna too. I know it is good for fix education and health, but we want development that we can see, touch and feel in our daily lives.”
Kaduna-based journalist and public affairs analyst, Alhaji Tajudeen Tijjani Ajibade said the introduction of the Sport Utility Vehicles was a good development in the sense that it is going to bring back the old days of Kaduna where taxis are seen plying every road. Another thing is the number of people the scheme will employ.
He said, “But it is like putting the cart before the horse. The government should have carried out rehabilitation of roads first, before acquiring the vehicles. It is however not too late, if the government has not distributed the vehicles, it should hold on and carry out the rehabilitation of Kaduna township roads first.
“Remember that these cars are meant for the public, not for a particular class of people. So, imagine the opening and closing of the vehicles doors by thousands of hands and their driving on bad roads for six months; they will certainly be off the road. So, let government fix the roads before disbursement of those vehicles, otherwise they will be nowhere to be found in the next two years.”
Similarly, Abdullahi Rigasa opined that the cabs scheme was a welcome development, but el-Rufai should also create jobs, so that people will have somewhere to board the taxis to. “He should also rehabilitate the intra-state railway. That will complement the work of the luxurious taxis.”
Another citizen who preferred anonymity said, “I must tell you that I have never doubted Malam Nasir el-Rufai’s ability to lead Kaduna State to greater heights, but he should round off this workers’ verification of a thing. At least, we believe all the ghost workers have been discovered. With this, workers will be relieved and can enjoy this luxurious taxis to and fro our working places.
“We are happy with this, and we are praying that the governor will fulfil the promise he just made to bring luxurious buses like BRT to Kaduna so that workers will have free transport system to their working places or at least at a subsidised transport fare,” she said.
National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who stormed Kaduna to commission the taxi scheme, said el-Rufai is no longer an ‘Accidental Public Servant’, but a determined and well-groomed governor.
He said of the taxis, “This is proactive effort geared at job creation. The Kaduna Cab Scheme is a long overdue initiative. And now that a people-oriented government is in charge, we are beginning to see not just bold ideas, but equally bold moves.
“I have been made to understand that the Kaduna Green Cabs Programme is an initiative to revive taxi services in the state, using modern cars and well-trained owner-drivers. It will also create a new generation of owner-drivers.
“It is an economic empowerment programme aimed at not just creating wealth, but providing jobs and affordable loans to the people of Kaduna State. The advantages of this initiative range from the economic to the sociological and to security. It will help to begin to sanitise the taxi business system since a database is expected to be established with a monitoring technique.
“I am impressed by the subsidised and soft loan nature of the scheme. It is governance with a human face. I salute Governor el-Rufai for this bold initiative and I challenge him to quickly increase the number of the cabs.
“I am sure the last five to six months have convinced many Kaduna residents that they are indeed in capable hands and that a new sheriff is in town, one who will stop at nothing to make Kaduna excel.”
The governor said the scheme was not an exercise in political patronage, but a business and a platform created to empower the industrious and the hard working among Kaduna youth.
He said, aside from the 10% deposit each of the pioneer owner-drivers of the Kaduna Cabs have made, they will pay for the full value of the cars in monthly installments of 36 months.
According to the governor, “We believe that all the major cities in our state deserve a decent taxi cab service. Whether to the airport, from hotels, or on our major roads, it must be possible for a passenger to commute in conditions of comfort and safety.
“It is our duty to provide choice, so that a user can decide which means of transportation is best suited to their needs and pockets at any particular time. We can all agree that it is an anomaly that Kaduna, our capital city, does not have a functioning, organized and regulated taxi service.
We have designed this taxi cab service to do more than expand choice. In addition to safety, comfort and an enhanced user experience, the cab scheme is a means of creating jobs and empowering owner-drivers. We hope that many of our young people will find owning and running their own taxi cab a fulfilling business.”
Chairman of Kaduna Cabs Owners Association, Mr. Nuhu Bahago who delivered the vote of thanks, assured the governor that proper safety measures have been put in place ahead of the takeoff of the taxis operation.
He also called on members of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) to see the new Kaduna Cabs owners and drivers as partners in business, and not as rivals.
·APC Leader inaugurates 200 new Peugeot, KIA as Kaduna taxis
All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has said Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai is no longer an “accidental public servant” but a determined and well groomed governor.
Tinubu spoke yesterday in Kaduna when he kick-started the first phase of 200 brand new Peugeot and Kia vehicles for the new Kaduna Cabs Scheme (KADCABS) of the El-Rufai administration.
He said: “Kaduna, suddenly, is blessed with a performer, a trailblazer and a committed governor. This time, he is no longer the accidental civil servant but a determined and well groomed governor whose experience, knowledge and deep understanding of good governance, which he has brought to bear in governing Kaduna people.
“I am greatly honoured to be part of this empowerment scheme for the people by the government. This is proactive effort geared at job creation.
“The Kaduna Cab Scheme is a long overdue initiative. And now that a people-oriented government is in charge, we are beginning to see not just bold ideas but equally bold moves.
“I have been made to understand that the Kaduna Green Cabs Programme is an initiative to revive taxi services in the state, using modern cars and well-trained owner-drivers. It will also create a new generation of owner-drivers.
“It is an economic empowerment programme aimed at not just creating wealth but also providing jobs and affordable loans to the people of Kaduna State. The advantages of this initiative range from the economic to the sociological and security. It will help to begin to sanitise the taxi business system since a database is expected to be established with a monitoring technique. I am impressed by the subsidised and soft loan nature of the scheme. It is governance with a human face.
“I salute Governor El-Rufai for this bold initiative and I challenge him to quickly increase the number of the cabs.
“I am sure the last five to six months have convinced many Kaduna residents that they are indeed in capable hands; that a new sheriff is in town, one who will stop at nothing to make Kaduna excel.”
El-Rufai said the scheme was not an exercise in political patronage but a business and a platform to empower industrious and hard-working Kaduna youths.
The governor noted that besides the 10 per cent deposit each of the pioneer owner-drivers of the Kaduna cabs had made, they would pay for the full value of the cars by instalments in 36 months.
He said: “We believe that all the major cities in our state deserve a decent taxi cab service. Whether to the airport, from hotels or on our major roads, it must be possible for a passenger to commute in conditions of comfort and safety.
“It is our duty to provide choices so that a user can decide which means of transportation is best suited to their needs and pockets at any particular time. We can all agree that it is an anomaly that Kaduna, our capital city, does not have a functioning, organised and regulated taxi service.
“We designed this taxi cab service to do more than expand choices. In addition to safety, comfort and an enhanced user experience, the cab scheme is a means of creating jobs and empowering owner-drivers. We hope that many of our young people will find owning and running their own taxi cabs a fulfilling business.”
Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that, Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai of Kaduna State is no longer ‘accidental public servant’, but a determined and well groomed Governor.
Asiwaju stated this in Kaduna on Wednesday while flagging-off the first phase of 200 brand new Peugeot and KIA vehicles for the new Kaduna Cabs Scheme (KADCABS) initiated by the Malam Nasir El-Rufai led administration.
According to Tinubu, “Kaduna suddenly is blessed with a performer, a trailblazer and a committed governor. This time, no longer the accidental civil servant, but determined and well groomed Governor whose experience, knowledge and deep understanding of good governance which he has brought to bear in governing Kaduna people.
“I am greatly honoured to be part of this empowerment scheme for the people by the government. This is proactive effort geared at job creation.
“The Kaduna Cab Scheme is a long overdue initiative. And now that a people oriented government in charge, we are beginning to see not just bold ideas, but equally bold moves.
“I have been made to understand that the Kaduna Green Cabs Programme is an initiative to revive taxi services in the state, using modern cars and well-trained owner-drivers. It will also create a new generation of owner-drivers.
“It is an economic empowerment program aimed at not just creating wealth, but providing jobs and affordable loans to the people of Kaduna State. The advantages of this initiative range from the economic, to the sociological and security. It will help to begin to sanitize the taxi business system since a database is expected to be established and a monitoring technique.
“I am impressed by the subsidized and soft loan nature of the scheme. It is governance with a human face. I salute Governor El-Rufai for this bold initiative and I challenge him to quickly increase the number of the cabs.
“I am sure the last five to six months have convinced many Kaduna residents that they are indeed in capable hands. That a new sheriff is in town. One who will stop at nothing to make Kaduna excel.”
Earlier in his address, Governor El-Rufai said, the scheme is not an exercise in political patronage, but a business and a platform being created to empower the industrious and the hard working among Kaduna youth.
He said, aside from the 10 percent deposit each of the pioneer owner-drivers of the Kaduna Cabs have made, they will pay for the full value of the cars in monthly instalments of 36 months.
According to the Governor, “We believe that all the major cities in our state deserve a decent taxi cab service. Whether to the airport, from hotels, or on our major roads, it must be possible for a passenger to commute in conditions of comfort and safety.
“It is our duty to provide choice, so that a user can decide which means of transportation is best suited to their needs and pockets at any particular time. We can all agree that it is an anomaly that Kaduna, our capital city, does not have a functioning, organized and regulated taxi service.
“We have designed this taxi cab service to do more than expand choice. In addition to safety, comfort and an enhanced user experience, the cab scheme is a means of creating jobs and empowering owner-drivers. We hope that many of our young people will find owning and running their own taxi cab a fulfilling business,” he said.
The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, Executive Secretary, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Mrs Zainab Ahmed and other notable Nigerians are expected to speak at this year’s Sustainability in the Extractive Industries (SITEI) Conference. It is a workshop organised by CSR-in-Action for key stakeholders to discuss critical issues in the industries and stimulate exchange of ideas and best practices among them and industry experts.
The conference is scheduled to hold in Abuja on November 19 with Unlocking the Hidden Potential in the Extractive Industries as its theme. Abuja became the destination of choice driven by the vision to encourage government participation in economic sustainability in Nigeria. While the private sector and civil society have typically been strong participants in previous conference, the general national vibe of change and policy reform in the air has birthed a renewed and mutually reciprocated interest in pursuing focused government participation.
Attendance will see government personnel, business leaders, change enthusiasts and innovators from all works of life. This year, SITEI seeks to renew political commitment to sustainable development while discussing structural modifications within political institutions in relation to development, investment and local participation in local extractive industries.
Senator Shehu Sani is the Senator representing Kaduna Central in the National Assembly. He has remained critical of the el-Rufai government in Kaduna State despite coming from the same party with the governor. In this interview with Tony Akowe, the civil rights crusader speaks on his disagreement with the former FCT minister, why the Senate confirmed former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and other issues. Excerpts
The senate confirmed ministerial nomination of former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, despite protest by the PDP. What informed that decision?
The decision of the senate is more of partisanship than morality. Senators from both the PDP and APC had taken positions based on the exigent interest of their own political parties. As for the PDP senators, the allegation they brought at hand were that Amaechi had corruptly enriched himself in office and so must be slapped. But in the actual sense, they had grudges against him over the role he played in the termination of the PDP out of power. As for the APC senators, the moral question raised about Amaechi’s eligibility into office was suppressed and instead, the senators took positions that are in line with the interest of the party. Posterity is the best judge of controversies. Actually, senators have a duty to confirm ministers, present the best and ensure that those who are going to serve have the right moral, ethical and professional qualification to be in that office. But politics is like a “war”. You can use any means by which you are going to win. The APC sees Amaechi as one of its own. On the other hand, the PDP is not against Amaechi because he is allegedly corrupt, but because he worked against their party and posses an existential danger to the survival of the party. Amaechi is a beneficiary of conflict of interest and a beneficiary of a political atmosphere that put forward partisan interest ahead of conscience and moral standing.
You have been at dagger drawn with the Kaduna State governor. What is the cause of the quarrel considering the fact that two of you worked for the success of APC in the state?
Well, I have said this in several interviews which I have given. The problems between el-Rufai and I began from the primary elections. I was not his favorite candidate for the primary election because he had his own candidate who I defeated. The second aspect has to do with his style of governance. Many people say that as a politician, you are not permitted to speak against any of of your own publicly. But I don’t believe in that. If you can speak out against your brother or sister, if you can speak out against your neighbour and people whom you share the same religion, there is nothing wrong in speaking out against a person simply because he is from your political party. Kaduna is today being presided over by a man who perceives himself as an emperor. He has emasculated the political party. If you go to the party headquarters in the state, nothing is happening there because he has appointed the leading members of the executive into his government and now, you don’t see anybody in the secretariat. He has marginalised all those who struggle and fought to build the party in the state and made it possible for the party to win the general election. He has also marginalized people who contested the elections with him.
He is out to experiment the Adam Smith school of thought on Kaduna. All the steps he has taken are steps meant to enrich consultants, commissioned agents, the rich, contractors and middle men. His policies are aimed at lifting the people out of poverty or unfolding people oriented programmes. He has a conservative, capitalist world view. The world is moving east and he is insisting that we go west. So, I do not live on the same frequency with el-Rufai. I am from the left wing of the political divide and he is from the right wing. My background is that of activism and his own background is that of an accidental civil servant and now the governor of the state. He has been out of Kaduna for over two decades and APC brought him back to Kaduna. He is so detached and disconnected from the people on the ground. While governors from other states are building mass housing estates, el-Rufai wants to build a five star hotel, amusement parks and shopping malls in Kaduna. He has brought in an Abuja real estate mentality into Kaduna. He wants to mortgage Kaduna to private property, private interest and private business consultants. I am disturbed about that.
So, we are deeply concerned. We need to understand that in Kaduna, APC does not have total control of the state. APC has the northern and central senatorial zones while the southern part of the state is still PDP. If we don’t take measures in winning the heart of the people, we will stand a serious danger in 2019 because the balance between the APC and the PDP in the state is still very fragile.
You have embarked on several projects within your constituency. How did you source the money for this in view of the fact that no money has been made available for that, especially the Talakawa empowerment programme you launched recently?
Before I became a senator, I have always been involved in helping the poor. The poor masses are my constituents. I stand for them and they also stood for me by voting me into office. I will use the little I have to execute projects to help alleviate their sufferings and meeting their expectations. We are living in difficult times as a nation when our earning from oil has depleted so much. The value of our currency is stagnant and government is facing serious cash crunch. There is also a mountain of expectations on those in position of authority to perform. There is also the need to prove that the change we promised Nigerians is possible. I am simply using the little I have to maximize impact in the lives of those I represent. Nigerians will not take any excuse.
It is in the realm of difficulties and hardship that leaders are expected to perform. We have a duty to rescue our country from the economic doldrums; to give hope and meaning to the lives of our people. We have a duty to restore the glory of our father land. As a senator, I have, all my life, fought for the masses and so, I cannot waste this golden opportunity. It is not how long you have been in government, but how you use the opportunity to maximize impact on the lives of the people. Our people are mostly poor. The talakawas are our primary, political and ideological constituency. We have ideological, constitutional and institutional responsibility to liberate them out of poverty as we liberate them from tyrannical and corrupt leaders. The talakawas are the most oppressed Nigerians. They have been exploited, dominated, plundered, neglected and abandoned for decades and the change government of President Muhammadu Buhari is a historic opportunity to lift them out of poverty, educate them, and enlighten them and to empower them. This is part of my contribution to that vision.
What impact would you say the talakawa project you launched recently is having on your constituents?
I call it the Talakawa Grassroots Revolutionary Development Programme. It is a programme aimed at the political and ideological enlightenment of the people to know their political status and also the political and economic indices that stand as pillars of their own oppression. Secondly, it is an intervention in education. It is also an intervention in the area of health by addressing some basic health issues that challenge their existence as a people. It is also an intervention in the area of faith. I think this is the time we should all get involved in the issue of religion itself. If the state withdraws from moderate religious courses, we will simply create a vacuum for extremists to take over, mobilise and incite the people against the state. My intervention is a revolutionary intervention to mobilise the people.
Recently, the Emir of Kano calls for the devaluation of the naira and removal of subsidy. As the immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, people expect that he knows what he is talking about. But you are opposed to this call. Why is this so?
The Emir of Kano is an intelligent economist and has proven to be a man of impeccable character and vision. He is also a man who has spent most part of his life speaking out his mind. But he is a vendor of capitalism. His views are inimical to the economy of Nigeria. He is an apprentice of IMF and the World Bank policies that has emasculated Africa and has not led us out of poverty. We are not exporting anything apart from oil and no investor is coming in to invest in anything in Nigeria other than oil. Devaluing Nigerian currency will simply make it easier for those who have been in public offices and have amassed wealth in foreign currency to live comfortably within and outside Nigeria and to oppress us the more. You don’t have to make our national currency worthless in other to revamp our economy.
Many countries in Latin America and in Europe have taken this IMF prescription that has led them to nowhere. The economic experimentation that has grown the nations of China, Brazil and South Africa has to do with putting national economic issues first. In 2012, Sanusi supported the removal of subsidy and we were on the street protesting against it. While in office, he also has the opportunity to devalue the currency. We believe that devaluation of the currency and removal of subsidy is an invitation to chaos that will lead to a national upheaval against the Buhari administration. If you remove subsidy and devalue currency, you are simply going to spark off inflation and life will be most terrible and brutal to the common man and it will ignite a national uprising that will unsettle, if not subdue the Buhari administration. I think this advice is wrong and also coming at the wrong time and that is why we are opposed to it. With all due respect, he is a respectable person who has done a lot to save Nigeria and the Nigerian economy, but his views are out of touch with the realities of life outside his palace. People are finding it difficult to eat, feed their children, pay their rent and hospital bills. The mass of our people are without employment, many of our industries have closed down, we have inherited a debt ridden economy and the masses of our people must not continue to be guinea pigs for economic experimentations. The poor should not continuously be sacrificed for the wrong doing and mismanagement by government of the past.
Considering how Buhari came into office with support from some past leaders and some of those accused of corruption, do you think he has the moral standing to try those last leaders.
Politics is not a straight line and the tragedy of change is having to deal with the wastage which becomes part of our luggage to the destination which you have reached. When you are fighting to defeat an enemy, you need all the support and solidarity as well as all the backing to achieve that. At that time, you are blind to realities and the character and content of those backing you. By the time you are in the seat of power, you will now have to battle entrenched interests who were part of the forces that brought you to power.
Why Obasanjo was not able to spark off his reform from the early time has to do with the fact that in his earlier years in power, he has to please and appease those very forces who aided him into power. When you embark on such policy of pleasing and appeasing, you will sacrifice a legacy and your opportunity to perform, so, a leader has a choice either to side with the people and hurt entrenched interests or to appease entrenched interests and sacrifice performance and delivery and this is the challenge before the Muhammadu Buhari administration. If you have found yourself in power, and faced with the problem of paucity of foreign exchange, and then you have to deal with rice importers who were part of the contributors to the campaign, then, you will have your conscience to fight. In all sense of the word, entrenched interest has been the undoing of the government of the past and also a big challenge to President Muhammadu Buhari to break away from them and move Nigeria forward.
The Kaduna State government has revisited its land recovery policy, saying federal and state institutions on Kaduna State school lands should relocate.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai spoke on the government’s policy at the weekend in Kaduna when he appeared on a radio town hall meeting organised by BBC Media Action.
The governor said he had directed that private property on school lands be valued and compensation paid to those with valid titles and planning approval so they could get replacement plots.
He said the state government had concluded arrangement to restore the Government College and Rimi College, in Kaduna, as boarding schools.
The governor, who toured the Government College and its environs on Friday, said the boarding facilities for pupils and the staff quarters could not co-exist with private accommodation.
El-Rufai also visited the government agencies that were sited on the school land, including those occupying former hostels.
The governor said government agencies would be relocated from the schools.
He noted that similar instructions had been passed to Rimi College, which used to be an iconic boarding school but whose facilities had been encroached upon by private interests and public institutions.
El-Rufai said: “Formal notices to relocate, with deadlines, will be issued to all government agencies, some of them federal, which are accommodated on school premises. Government agencies in Rimi College have received their relocation notices. Their departure will enable the government to prepare the school facilities to receive boarders.”
