The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kano

  • Kano 2015: Takai’s tacky manifesto

    It was the late former governor of Kano State, Senator Sabo Bakinzuwo, who once revealed that one of the foci of his party’s manifesto was banning the use of helmet by motorcyclists. “Helmet is bad”, he told his interviewer on Radio Kano in the early 80’s, “because it causes accident frequently. If motorcyclist wears helmet, he does not hear when you blare horn, and when a taxi driver hit him, the helmet will eventually strangle him”.

    As funny as this political skit may sound today, the late politician’s policy is, by default, still in effect in Nigeria. Indiscipline is so prevalent and widespread that government cannot enforce even the use of helmet today to minimize danger.

    But PDP governorship candidate in Kano State, Salihu Sagir Takai is taking us on a nostalgic voyage to 80’s, telling the people of Kano State that if elected, he will allow the use of commercial motorcycle (Achaba/Okada). In an innuendo-laden jingle placed on local radio stations, the candidate is also accusing the present administration of “dakile Allazi wahidun” (banning begging).

    Kwankwaso banned the use of commercial motorcycles in January 2013 in the wake of incessant attacks and killings by bike-riding gunmen.

    In a recent article contributed by this writer to justify the decision, I had explained thus: “Apart from being antithetical to ideal city transport system, the environmental hazards and dangers the trade poses to the health of the rider and the passenger, the bike is now used by hoodlums — given its runaway pliability — to kill innocent people.

    But Nigerians seem to be at home with the country’s underdevelopment. We loathe changes but love development. We seem so averse to progressive changes, yet we always yearn for changes. We are good at making comparison with advanced countries on issues of development or sanity, yet any attempt by leaders to bring sanity into the system is criticized by the same critics of underdevelopment.

    Any leader who is not progressive in his approach in this age, he is, obviously, doomed for failure. Our social system is ailing. It is the responsibility of a leader to provide the antidote or required pills needed to relieve the indisposed system — however bitter the pills may taste.

    While some people wrongly argue that Kano State government is alienating the people’s “rights to movement” (as if government has banned motorcycles completely) as ‘guaranteed’ by the constitution, they blink over the fact that the right to life is also guaranteed under section 33 (1) of the 1999 constitution. “Every person,” says the 1999 constitution, “has a right to life and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life save in the execution of a sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria”.

    That aside, the responsibility of securing the life and welfare of the citizenry rests squarely on the government. This truism is boldly highlighted by section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 constitution which states: “The security and welfare of the people shall be the PRIMARY purpose of government”. (Emphasis mine).

    Now, how will you score a leader who makes no effort to discharge his PRIMARY purpose? In a serious clime, failure to do this can spark impeachment sessions in the legislative chambers.

    Until the late 80s (some say early 90s), Nigerians never knew achaba/okada, and the transport system was less or not chaotic as it is today. We boarded taxis and buses in those days and nothing happened to us. Where, in any advanced society, is achaba/okada operating? It is a sign of chronic underdevelopment.

    Statistics at the emergency units of our hospitals however shows that most of their patients are either the commercial motorcyclists or their passengers. In just Murtala Mohammed Hospital, a total of 8,428 cases of male accident victims related to motorcycles were recorded from January to December 2012. Within the same period, 2,367 female sustained injuries through motorcycle-related accidents. And now the sad story: a total of 2,018 people lost their lives last year (2012) through road accidents —90 percent related to motorcycles— in just one hospital!”

    Should we go back to this chaotic past again? Certainly NO. Kano deserves better.

    When BBC reporter asked Kwankwaso in London about the time Achaba service will be restored in Kano, the governor curtly answered: “When London started Achaba. If it is a good, it would have been operational here”.

    In terms of ideas, PDP’s candidate in Kano always sounds primitive. He just wants to be governor. No plans. No ideas. No clout. And no manifesto that can have a synonym in the 21st century development thesaurus. His catch-phrase is just “continue where Malam (Shekarau) stopped”! Where did Shekarau stop? What is Shekarau’s legacy? Shekarau spent eight years as governor and left Kano in rubble, with decaying infrastructure, empty treasury, debt burden, thousands ghost workers, striking teachers, among others. In one fell swoop, the Shekarau administration siphoned N11 billion under what he called “reciprocal arrangement”, with no distinct recipient to justify the reciprocity.

    It requires determination and uneven willpower to ban begging in the streets of Kano. Successive administrations have attempted and fail. But Kwankwaso, like a spirited matador, took the bull by the horn and succeeded in clearing the streets of Kano from beggars. This, according to the PDP candidate, is wrong.

    Another medieval policy of the candidate is to disband Kano Road Traffic Agency (KAROTA), which employs 1,600 youths that bring sanity to the chaotic traffic system of Kano State.

    School feeding and free uniform programmes, which motivate pupils to enroll into primary schools will also be abolished. Due to these programmes, school enrollment had tripled in the last three years.

    May leaders that will take Kano to the primitive days of Achaba, corruption and fake religious demagoguery never come to pass.

    • Jaafar writes from Kano
  • ‘I am now Sarkin not Emir of Kano’

    ‘I am now Sarkin not Emir of Kano’

    Former Governor of Central Bank, Mallam Lamido Sanusi has declared that his title is no longer Emir of Kano but Sarkin of Kano.
    He said his name was now HRH Mohammadu Sanusi 11 and not Lamido Sanusi.
    The Sarkin Kano spoke in Auchi, headquarters of Estako West Local Government area of Edo State at the closing ceremony of the 29th National Quranic recitation.
    Sanusi said Boko Haram insurgents succeeded to spread to other parts of the country because the Federal Government was weak.

  • Fear of hijab grips Kano residents as female bombers break loose

    Fear of hijab grips Kano residents as female bombers break loose

    The trend is evil, callous, wicked, un-Islamic and, in fact, very barbaric… I can confirm to you that people now feel uncomfortable when they sight a young girl in hijab. I have noticed this a number of times

    Although the wave of terror attacks engineered by the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents is being contained by security agencies in Kano, the commercial hub of Northern Nigeria and one of the most populous states in Nigeria, a strategy adopted by insurgents to carry out bombings is causing panic and apprehension among residents.

    While the dreaded sect has adopted many tricks to facilitate the killings and bombings they are carrying out in the North East and some other parts of the country, the one that has elicited the most concern among Kano residents is the use of under-age girls, who hide explosives under their hijabs. Both the Muslims and the Christians in the state have never expressed any objection to the use of hijab. But while they see the hijab as morally, religiously and socially acceptable, they have taken exception to its use by innocent-looking teenagers who act as agents of the dreaded sect to conceal bombs.

    “The trend is evil, callous, wicked, un-Islamic and, in fact, very barbaric,” said Mallam Abdulkarim Isah, a Kano-based social critic. “I can confirm to you that people now feel uncomfortable when they sight a young girl in hijab. I have noticed this a number of times.

    “In fact, I remember vividly what happened in a bus when I was coming from Naibawa to Bata Junction. Two young girls were sitting on the second row of the bus and were wearing hijabs, while I sat with the driver. I noticed that passengers refused to join the bus as the driver stopped at bus stops. I later realised that as the passengers looked in and saw the two hijab-wearing girls, they would retreat. It is as bad as that, and I am sure it is a development that needs urgent attention.”

    Mallam Isah, however, cautioned that it would be unnecessary to call for a ban of hijab in a highly Muslim community like Kano. He called on the security agencies to put heads together and come up with a better strategy that can solve the hijab issue without arousing sentiments.

    He said: “It is an issue that deserves careful attention. If security agencies take it up without caution, they might end up arousing religious sentiments and that will be disastrous for Kano. I think the whole thing boils down to reorientation.

    “The government, religious organisations, traditional rulers and opinion leaders have a major role to play. We need to talk to people from community meetings to the churches and mosques, up to the schools and places of work.

    “Most of the children who engage in such self-destructive activities are brainwashed. Some of them, like we can see in the last case of a 13-year-old-girl who refused to detonate the IEDs she was given, can tell you that these mad men in the garb of religion can go more than the extra-mile to recruit people to kill.

    “These are innocent girls who can be recruited by their own parents! This is arrant nonsense. Poverty.”

    On December 23, the police in Kano confirmed the arrest of a 13-year-old female suicide bomber and an accomplice who allegedly participated in the twin-bomb blasts that occurred on December 10, 2014 at the famous Kantin Kwari Market in the city, claiming 10 lives and injuring nine others. However, the 13-year-old suicide bomber, Zarau Babangida, who hails from Damaturu, Yobe State, confessed to reporters that she was recruited into Boko Haram activities by her parents, who lived in Bauchi State.

    The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Aderenle Shinaba, who was flanked by the State Director of the Directorate of Security Service (DSS), said the arrest of the 13-year-old bomber and her accomplice was a result of the synergy between the police, the DSS, Army, Air force, Customs, Immigration, Prisons and NSCDC. Shinaba said the 13-year-old was arrested in an hospital where she was being treated after a commercial tricycle operator alerted the security agents that a suspected female suicide bomber had dropped an unknown item in his tricycle. Security agents swooped into action and subsequently arrested her.

    In her account, Zarau Babangida, narrated how she was recruited as a female suicide bomber wearing the hijab. She further stated that her parents took her to the Boko Haram training camp in Bauchi, where one of the trainers asked her whether she wanted to go to paradise. “He told me that if I refused, I would be buried alive. I had no option but to agree with his stand that I would like to make it to Paradise.

    “He told me that I had an assignment to carry out in Kano. After the necessary training, he told me that I and two other female bombers would travel to Kano to execute the assignment. After the executing the assignment, we would now be entitled to make paradise.

    “When we got to Kano, they took us straight to Kantin Kwari Market. When it was time for the execution, the accomplice told us to divide ourselves and take positions. The other two female suicide bombers detonated their concealed bombs while on my part, I vehemently refused to ignite mine.

    “As a result of my closeness to the two female bombers, I was injured on my left leg by the explosions.

    Due to the injury I sustained, I shouted for help. The commercial tricycle operator, who sympathised with me, took me to Dawanau, where we resided with my parents before.

    “However, before I dropped from the tricycle, I successfully removed the bomb concealed in my body and left it on the seat of the tricycle. When the tricycle operator saw it on the seat, he immediately dashed into the house where I was taking treatment and asked me whether I was the owner of the exhibit and I said it was mine.

    “At that time, I was about to be taken to the hospital. So, before the tricycle operators alerted the security agents, I was already in the hospital where I was being treated for the injury I sustained from the explosion. That was how I was arrested by the security agents at the hospital.

    “My parents enlisted me into Boko Haram activities because I did not know where they were taking me to. They handed me over to one of my trainers, who asked me whether I wanted to go to paradise and I answered in the affirmative. I will like to make paradise.”

    On August 2014, the Kano State Commissioner of Police, Aderenle Shinaba, soaked with emotion, condemned the killing of nine persons and the injuring of six others by the two other female suicide bombers, saying: ”We are in very difficult times; a situation that is assuming a new dimension of suicide bombing in the state. This one that happened here at the Administrative block of Kano State Polytechnic on Bayero University Kano road is frightening.

    “The incident occurred at about 3:30 pm. This situation calls for vigilance on the part of every one of us because we have tried as much as possible to deploym police officers in every strategic location.

    “So, at this critical time, what is required is intelligence and vigilance on the part of everybody. Even when we have policemen everywhere, we require information as well as the vigilance of everyone of us.

    “A situation where somebody is carrying explosives, what business does such a person have with graduates who are assembled to check their results of the Batch NYSC deployment? It is

    disheartening to note that when you see somebody around, who is looking like a primary or secondary school student to disguise with her hijab in our midst without anybody taking note.

    “We have been telling people about the issue of female teenage suicide bombers, which calls for the law enforcement agencies to be on the alert. Look for hijab-wearing female suicide bombers. Sentiments and religion should not be the issue. We should face the reality of tackling it headlong so as to avoid future occurrence.’’

    The Kano State Polytechnic incident was not the first time a female suicide bomber would terrorise the ancient city. On Monday, July 28, a female suicide bomber killed three persons at the NNPC Mega Station at Hotoro Quarters. The suicide bomber joined the kerosene queue at the station and detonated the bomb minutes later.

    The Kano State Commissioner of Police, Adenerele Tasheed Shinaba, confirmed the blast and said three persons were killed and 10 others injured.

    On the same day, another female suicide-bomber hit Zoo Road near Kano International Trade Fair. Though the 19-year-old female bomber killed herself in the process, six innocent Nigerians sustained various degrees of injuries.

    According to eyewitness account, the female suicide bomber, dressed in a hijab, got to the gate of the trade fair, but just as she tried to gain entry, securitymen at the gate insisted she must be frisked. In the process, she detonated the bomb and blew herself up. Two policemen were among those who got injured in the incident.

    Also before the Monday tragedy, Sunday, July 27 also left footprints of terrorism on Kano. In another suicide attack, which occurred at Kofar Nasarawa area of the city, a female bomber, in an attempt to lure some security men who were stationed by the North West gate with Sallah food, ended up blowing up herself.

    Also, it was gathered that the female bomber, who arrived at the scene under the newly constructed flyover at about 12:30 pm, made an attempt to deceive the security operatives that she had brought Sallah food for them, but the security men, who were on the alert, suspected a foul play, following the female bomber’s desperation.

    The security men, it was further gathered, took to their heels when they noticed that the female bomber was fast advancing towards them as they threatened to gun her down. However, nemesis caught up with the female bomber as the bomb she hid in her hijab exploded and consumed her.

    For both Muslim and Christian residents of Kano, the hijab, for now is an outfit to be dreaded. Also, it was gathered that the female bomber, who arrived at the scene under the newly constructed flyover at about 12:30 pm made an attempt to deceive the security operatives that she brought sallah food for them, but the security men, who were on alert, suspected foul play, following the female bomber’s desperation.

    The securitymen, it was further gathered, took to their heels when they noticed that the female bomber was fast advancing towards them, as they threatened to gun her down.  However, luck ran out of the female bomber, who secretly concealed the explosives under her hijab before nemesis caught up with her, when the bomb suddenly exploded and consumed her. For both Muslims and Christians, natives and non-natives in the ancient city, hijab wearing remains scary for now.

  • 13-year old boy electrocuted in Kano

    A 13-year old boy, Bashir Auwalu, has been electrocuted at Naibawa Quarters in Kano.

    The incident, which triggered a protest among the residents, occurred at 5.30am last Sunday at 842, Naibawa Tsakia Quarters in Kumbotso Local Government Area.

    Eyewitnesses said the boy stepped on a live wire in front of his father’s house when he was preparing for the Muslim early morning prayers (Subuhi).

    It was learnt that Bashir suffered multiple shocks from the live fire.

    He was reportedly found dead by his father when he was returning home from the nearby mosque.

    The boy’s father, Auwalu Kwaram, 49, said: “Bashir chose to ease himself outside, while our rest room was occupied, to beat time for prayers.”

    The distraught father explained that Bashir’s “death was one of the many trials from the Almighty and it occurred in fulfilment with destiny”.

    In tears, Kwaram said: “We are from God and unto Him shall we return at appointed times. After all, we are living to die.”

    The Assistant General Manager of Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), Mukhtar Baffa, described the incident as “unfortunate”.

    He said: “It might not be unconnected with illegal connection.”

    The KEDCO chief said the firm had begun public enlightenment campaign on the danger of illegal connection.

    Bafa added that the unwholesome practice constituted a danger to life and normal distribution of power.

    Police spokesman Magaji Musa Majia, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said the command was not aware of the incident.

  • Police kill four robbers in Kano

    Police kill four robbers in Kano

    A team of anti-robbery police squad yesterday in Kano killed four notorious armed robbers who have been terrorizing motorists along Zaria Road.

    Kano state Commissioner of Police, Adenrele Shinaba told reporters at the Bompai Police headquarters that his men engaged the armed robbers in a gun duel at about 10 P.M. along Kurna Dangora, near Kariya village, close to Nigeria Law School in Bagauda, Kano.

    Shinaba said the robbers met their waterloo when they wanted to rob travelers, but were trailed and subdued by the police who displayed superior fire-power.

    “You know this is Christmas and this robbers wanted to use the opportunity to disturb law abiding Nigerians. We have a number of security measures. We have been on patrol throughout the night. This morning, we have gone round all the churches to ensure that everywhere is calm and all security measures have been put in place to ensure that Nigerians and Kano resident have a peaceful celebration.

    “At about 10 P.M. on Wednesday, December 24, our men on patrol had encounter with armed robbers on the high way, precisely at Kurna Dangora towards the Nigeria Law School. During ensuing shoot-out, four of them died and four arms and other ammunitions were recovered from them,” the police boss stated.

    Among exhibits recovered from the armed robbers and displayed by the police include three bareta pistols, one revolver pistols, charms, amulets and ammunitions, including two masks.

    According to Shinaba, armed robbers have been operating within that axis in recent times and police mounted surveillance on them, adding that Kano remains a no-go area for armed robbers and other criminals.

    “Police are fully determined to protect lives and property. Christmas is not made for armed robbery or armed robbers; it is made for law-abiding citizens. Criminals and their cohorts should better leave Kano for us. We will never allow criminals to take over the state,” he stated.

  • Six die in Kano suicide bombings

    Six die in Kano suicide bombings

    A twin explosion at a popular textiles market yesterday killed no fewer than six people.

    Women suicide bombers detonated the bombs, which injured nine other people. It was the second of such incident in the city in two weeks.

    Last month, Kano’s main mosque was targeted during Jumat prayers by Boko Haram militants – blamed for yesterday’s blast – killing hundreds of people.

    The Kantin Kwari textile market on the ever-busy Ibrahim Taiwo Road in the North’s commercial and biggest city, was yesterday’s scene of horror.

    The police confirmed six dead, including the two women suicide bombers. Police Commissioner Aderenle Shinaba, said that the incident happened at about 3.30 pm when the bombers, who were clad in hijab, wanted to enter a bank premises near the market.

     He said the security men attached to the bank stopped them.

    ‘’They later moved away towards the market and asked for the public utility. One of them immediately detonated the bomb concealed in her body.

    ‘’Shortly after the first bomb was detonated, the second went off, instantly killing six persons, including the bombers.”

    According to Shinaba, seven other persons were injured. They were rushed to the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital for treatment.

    ‘’We have also taken the dead, including the two  female suicide bombers, to the morgue,” he said .

    He said the area had been cordoned off by security agents to prevent hoodlums from using the opportunity to loot property at the market.

    Shinaba said security agencies were working in collaboration with the officials of the market traders association to prevent anybody from entering the market under the pretext of sympathising with people to loot.

    “The police ordinance unit is working to ensure that there are no explosives hidden somewhere in the market’’, he added.

    Secretary of the Kantin Kwari Traders Association, Alhaji Abdullahi Abubakar Rijiyar  Hudu, said the pretending bombers asked some traders where they could ease themselves and when they were shown the location, one of them stopped by a shop and immediately detonated the bomb concealed in her body, killing the owner of the shop, alongside three others.

    The second bomber, who stood beside the convenience, also detonated the bomb she also concealed in her body, blowing up herself.

    The head of the bomber was severed from her body. Her body was mutilated.

    It was gathered that a male accomplice dressed in turban led the bombers into the market. He fled the scene as soon as the bombs went off.

  • State of Kano’s tertiary health institutions

    SIR: The efforts of Kano State government in establishing new schools/colleges that will add value to the socio-economic status of the state is commendable. I refer to the coming of the School of Nursing, Madobi; School of Health Technology, Bebeji; School of Midwifery, Dambatta, and others.

    However, what is obtainable in the School of Nursing, School of Hygiene, and School of Health Technology, all in Kano in the area of human resources and laboratory equipment leaves much to be desired. It can only result in the production of half-baked graduates.

    The School of Nursing, Kano has few qualified and competent academic staff majority of which are diploma holders, which fall below the minimum requirement for teaching. Graduates’ lecturers are an insignificant few. Laboratory and other instructional media are also lacking. Where they exist, they are obsolete or dilapidated, hence the need for new and modern ones.

    The School of Health Technology shares the same fate. Indeed, the actually lost its accreditation to run community health for some years. As for School of Hygiene, though there are many graduates lecturers, majority specialise in physical  and health education or general health education which cannot satisfy the different specializations in environmental health, which the school is running. Besides, many new courses like ‘Diploma in Epidemiology’ and others were introduced even when there were no competent lecturers to handle it, thus jeopardizing the future of students who could not get the best in their chosen course. In fact, the school still lacks a well-equipped laboratory.

    For these schools to remain relevant, the state government should as a matter of urgency dig into the activities of the schools and do the proper things by overhauling the management.  In an age of globalisation, our health institutions should not be in the hands of those who cannot see beyond their noses. Let the proper things be done by getting the best hands to run the institutions. I am sure, Governor Kwankwaso is more than committed to leaving worthy legacies for the state.

     

    • Musa Zubair,

    Kano

  • Kano bomb blasts

    •Maximum use of local intelligence, by security agencies, will help to defeat Boko Haram

    For a city that has had more than its fair share of terrorists’ onslaught, last week’s attack, by Boko Haram, on the Central Mosque in Kano during the Jumat service, speaks to the fierce urgency of collective action to bring the activities of the murderous group to an end.

    Black Friday indeed it was, when three Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) — two reportedly planted inside the mosque and the other outside — ripped through the hallowed ground of the ancient mosque, where the Emir of Kano traditionally leads the Friday prayers.

    In the end, more than 120 worshippers lay dead, with multiple scores injured. There have since emerged reports – although uncomfirmed – of residents foiling an attack by female bombers on Murtala Specialist Hospital Kano, where many of the injured were taken for treatment.

    Considering that it has been nearly five years since the Christmas Day bombing in Madallah, a suburb of Abuja, the Kano massacre immediately indicates how far the nation still has to go in its battle against the Boko Haram sect — and what little dent we have made on this murderous menace.

    Between then and now, the terrorists have grown bolder and more sophisticated; just as their capacity to inflict damage on the nation and the Nigerian military have since gone on steady rise. Inversely, the state’s capacity to deal with them appears greatly and tragically diminished.

    Today, they have somehow upped their pyschological advantage choosing, as it were, soft targets whenever and wherever it pleases them. In the course of their murderous activities, nothing is seen or held by the group as sacrosanct; schools, hospitals, churches and mosques are simply fair game in their warped vision to create their Islamic enclave.

    Ominously, the group has since gone from hit-and-run guerilla tactics, with bases in the bush, to as far as carving up strategic towns and villages as their territories.

    There have, understandably, been a lot of condemnations in the aftermath of the latest bloodbath by the maniacal group.  These condemnations are in order. Boko Haram’s ritual of shedding innocent blood deserves to be condemned by every right-thinking citizen.

    If it seems ironic that a group that describes itself as “Islamic” would not see anything wrong with mass slaughter of Muslim children as we have seen in Buni Yadi, Gujba, both in Yobe, or even the School of Hygiene in Kano among others, it seems even more unimaginable that the group would ever care to draw the line when it came to a mosque.

    Beyond the routine of angry denunciations and the resort to the blame game, however, it seems about time citizens banded together to confront the menace which threatens us all.

    It is in this context that we find the statement credited to the Emir of Kano to the effect that the attack took over two months in planning rather puzzling, if not unsettling.

    We are minded to ask: how did the revered monarch come by the information? What use did he make of them? Did he alert the security agencies when he got the information?

    If no, why not? If he did, what steps did the security agencies take to forestall its occurence? These questions are pertinent because in matters of intelligence, every piece of information is supposed to count. And to the extent that absence of critical intelligence is said to be a major issue in the current war against the insurgency, it is expected that those who have privileged information should make them available to the security agencies.

    Going forward, there are important lessons to take from the collaboration between the Civilian Joint Task Force and the Military Joint Task Force.

    While it may seem premature to conclude that the collaboration would sooner extirpate the activities of the group, there is increasing evidence to suggest that local knowledge and intelligence from the Civilian-JTF are actually helping in the war against the terrorists.

    We urge the military to work more closely with the local people in its continuing engagement with Boko Haram.

  • 2015 and PDP’s fight to reclaim Kano

    One interesting state to watch in the run off to the 2015 general elections is Kano. Kano is what, in the American political lexicon, termed a swing state. You just cannot predict what will sway the unpredictable and huge number of voters in the state.

    Added to this is the imminent showdown between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC). The people of Kano, of course, are not new to PDP. In 1999, the people overwhelmingly voted the then freshly formed PDP. Four years later, the PDP lost to the then ANPP. However, eight years after, the same people turned to vote for the PDP. This shows the unpredictably of the voting populace and, at the same time, the fact that both parties could be interpreted to be on the support pedestal.

    However, with the incumbency factor to its advantage and the fact that the current governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso has succeeded in building a strong support base at the grassroots, APC is poised to give the PDP a tough fight to retain the job at Kano Government House. But it is not necesarilya hopeless case for the PDP. In fact, the party has a lot of advantages that it can turn on in making sure that it hands a clean defeat for the APC in Kano.

    A number of serious and not so serious aspirants have thus far indicated interest by purchasing the nomination forms. And it is in sieving the array of aspirants to come up with the better one that the PDP can make or mar it’s chances. Some of the people on the posters dotting the streets of Kano are politicians that have used up their goodwill or have no good standing to confront the massive structure that Kwankwaso has built for himself. For PDP to weather the storm, there is the need for a new face and one who can pull the crowd. It is in this that one would see Abba Risqua Mohammed, the son of late General Murtala Ramat Mohammed as one with the right credentials.

    In this knowledge-driven and youth-oriented world, the greatest treasure of a people is to have a leader who is in sync with modernity to lead it to the utopian world of progress. If a state as historic and important as Kano routinely gets into the news for the bad reason – from drug abuse to breakdown of epidemics, it certainly needs redemption. We need someone to rescue the state to a better clime.

    The Kano of today requires a pragmatic leader who is in tune with current events trends and development all over the world. Indeed, the future of Kano depends largely on a quintessential leader blessed with vision, focus, commitment, resourcefulness, exposure, dynamism, hard work, fearlessness, noble family background and above all, credibility and the fear of God. For the state to fit rightly into the modern society, the major catalyst is for it to be steered by one who knows exactly the right direction  to go.

    By way of introduction, Abba Risqua Mohammed is the only surviving son of late Head of State, General Murtala Ramat Mohammed. When his father was tragically murdered by some people opposed to Nigeria’s progress, in 1976, Abba Risqua was only six years old. He is now 45: fully made man and accomplished in all respects. A graduate of Banking and Finance from the University of Lagos, he also holds a Postgraduate Diploma from the prestigious Cardiff Business School, Wales, United Kingdom. He is also a trustee of the Murtala Muhammed Foundation, an NGO that has done a lot for Kano people and other Nigerians.

    In terms of leadership and management acumen, Alhaji Abba Risqua had served as Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo on International Relations from 2000 to 2007. He is now managing his booming business as the Group Chief Executive of AMG Petroenergy Limited, one of Africa’s foremost energy service providers.

    Coming from that golden heritage of a hero that was late General Mohammed, Abba has no hiding place for people looking for credible individuals to take critical leadership roles. It is therefore for this and his personal attributes as an accomplished man that a number of times people of Kano approach him to make himself available to serve the people by standing in for election. This time around, the magnitude and intensity of the demand is huge. As the 2015 general election beckons, the call is for Abba Risqua to come and take up the governorship seat of Kano per chance the state will have a Midas touch that Nigeria witnessed during his late father’s short sojourn in power.

    There is no gainsaying that General Murtala Ramat Mohammed is still regarded as one of Nigeria’s true heroes. He was not only one of those fiercely patriotic sons of the land who defiantly fought to keep Nigeria as one united country; he possesses startling qualities that are cherished by all.  He was detribalized, he was authentic, he was enthusiastic about the progress of the country, he was extraordinarily bold, and he was a patriot who truly loved his country. He was a man in a hurry to accomplish great things. He died in that hurry, in the prime of his life. Imagine what he could have done with power had he lived for a little longer?

    It is also worthy of note to mention that as a mark of his prudence and uprightness, when General Murtala Ramat Muhammed was assassinated in 1976 while serving as Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he left only N13,000 in his account and one bungalow in Kano – this was despite serving in various other positions at a time of the celebrated oil boom.

    As the Hausa say the offspring of antelope also runs like it’s parent, it is everyone’s expectation that anyone from the respected home of General Murtala Mohammed will just be as good! More over, for the PDP, the name of the Kano’s illustrious son alone is a huge asset that they can capitalise on to win the election. Additionally, Abba’s reputation is also intact with the people as he was never found wanting in all the key national assignments he has held. These, among other advantages that Risqua have, make him an easy-sale candidate for the PDP if at all the party wants to take back the Kano Government House easily.

     

    • Iliyasu wrote from Gwammaja, Kano.

  • Kano blast: Kwankwaso pleads with Boko Haram

    Kano blast: Kwankwaso pleads with Boko Haram

    Governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State has appealed to insurgents to embrace dialogue and present their grievances to stop the killings of innocent people in the country.

    The governor made the plea on Saturday when he visited the Kano Central Mosque where hundreds of Muslims were attacked by insurgents during the Friday prayer. He was accompanied by the heads of security agencies in the state.

    Gov. Kwankwaso who described the attack as very sad considering the fact that innocent Muslims faithfuls were killed while observing Friday’s prayer, assured that the state government will continue to do its best towards protecting lives and property of the people.
    While lamenting that 100 people lost their lives while at least 135 sustained different degrees of injuries, the governor said the attack was barbaric.
    The governor while commiserating with the families of those who lost their loves ones, assured that government would shoulder the hospital bills of those injured. He stated that emergency units of all federal, state and private hospitals were directed to accommodate victims of the attack.

    Governor Kwankwaso, who along with his entourage, visited victims admitted at Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, Kano city, appealed to citizens in the state to be cautious of suspicious movements and alert security agencies of any attempt to breach the peace.

    Meanwhile, the governor has also visited internally displaced persons from Mubi town, Adamawa state, who are residing in at a camp in Dawakin Kudu local government area, where he promised that government would give them adequate attention in order to feel homely.