“. . . Amana. That Hausa word which means trust is paramount to us because you can’t be a Kwankwasiyya while stealing public trust; you can’t be a Kwankwasiyya and you are destroying your state and country. You have to be honest. You have to be hard working and you must ensure that whatever you are doing is not just beneficial to you and your family, but more importantly to the society at large. That is the meaning of Kwankwasiyya.”
These are the very remarkable words of the Governor of Kano State, Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso on his leadership philosophy and convictions. And beyond the symbolism of the ubiquitous red caps on many heads around him and elsewhere in the city of Kano, Kwankwasiyya as a leadership cum political ideology is worth paying a deeper attention to even in our national politics because the impact is real.
To any development-minded observer, the Kwankwaso feat in Kano will naturally raise consciousness about the mind of this humble man at work, particularly the meticulous prioritization of the projects and shrewd implementation viz-a-viz the basic interest of the people. Of course having education, urban renewal, road construction, housing, empowerment and sports as top priorities of the government was not by accident. It was a well thought-out agenda designed to address pressing development challenges.
With a population of 9.38 million (2006 census), giving education such a huge attention is forward looking. The ultimate objective being the need to further build requisite manpower, boost mass literacy, self development and actualization. Thus the educational develoquent initiative has been a comprehensive one. Education is made free at all levels, many schools built with relevant infrastructure, various incentives provided for both students and teachers and qiute diversified to cater for many cadres thereby expanding opportunities to have a fair shot at life.
Basically, education in Kano State is functional and this speaks to the sense of purpose and commitment of the leadership. Kwankwaso, who reckoned that his lift in life has been a product of education justified the establishment of the Northwest University, the second state-owned university, after the Kano State University of Science and Technology, as avenue to have many more of the young people educated since placements in the federal institutions are limited compared to demand. The permanent site for the former is gradually taking shape with the Senate building ready and construction of various faculties nearing completion in what can rightly be described as an architectural masterpiece. This is aside those students on state scholarships in the various secondary, tertiary and professional institutions locally and abroad. Interestingly, government is also keen on the girl child education. A moving story was told of how the gigantic edifice hitherto known as the Magwan Water Restaurant was transformed into the First Lady College, among others in consonance with the Amana doctrine. Enrollment in the primary, secondary and higher institutions has soared and this is critical to the state’s future overall development. As a mark of responsibility, the Kwankwaso administration further took a major leap forward by banning street begging, the use of child labour and abolished and reformed the Almajiris which is spectacularly good for social sanity, harmony and our common humanity.
Urban renewal is also a significant achievement of the state government. urbanization in the ancient city has created squalor and congestion which got the government working on creative ways of decongestinng the city.This has necessitated the reconstruction and expansion of several roads, dualized with sidewalks. Even at a huge cost, Kano skyline in the night is inviting as the streets are lighted up, reinforcing the strive at modernisation. In the process, many houses were demolished though not without due compensation. Similar imaginative step at decongesting the city equally finds expression in the construction of flyovers. The magnificent 24-kilometre Kofar Nassarawa flyover, one of the longest in West Africa, the Murtala Muhammed flyover (two kilometres) and the Obasanjo flyover (half kilometre) and others around the city are noteworthy. The underpass at Gadan Kaya, akin to the Independence Tunnel at Maryland in Lagos is sheer creativity just as the Wuju Wuju way redesign and reconstruction is a fitting answer to the traffic menace along that corridor. The massive road construction is also affecting all the 44 local governments where 50 kilometres are being built in each of them.
Yet it was clear to the governmrnt that a far-reaching approach would have to be devised to address congestion by moving many people out of the Kano metropolis, building satellite towns and cities. This was how three modern cities namely, the Kwankwasiyya City, Amana City and the Bandirawo City were designed and built. The massive estates in exquisite four, three and two bedroom duplexes and detached bungalows are modern with all basic infrastructure and conveniences. There will be schools, banks, modern markets, telecoms, and every necessity to guarantee comfort of residents. The concern, however, would be that the sale of the houses is not hijacked by powerful government officials through multiple ownership as we had in similar housing projects in other states and those of the federal government in the past. It is a beautiful idea if the targeted objective is strictly adhered to for the purpose of credibility.
Although over six thousand graduates were employed into the civil service as at 2013, and about 2000 others employed under the state employment committee in various federal and private institutions, government was very aware that it cannot employ everybody. Thus a proactive poverty alleviation and employment generation modality was instituted by training and empowering over 300,000 youths in various trades now running their small scale businesses. Still, government went ahead to establish 44 garment industries in addition to 37 micro finance banks it created to facilitate entrepreneurship in all the 44 local government areas in the state.
To boost commerce and economic activities and indeed lighting up the state, the government also developed two Independent Power Projects (IPP) at Challawa and Tiga Dams, thereby generating some 35 megawatts of electricity.
Similar strides are also evident in agriculture, rural development, health, science and technology, environment, administration of justice and of course sports development. The story was told of an expansive land at Kofar Na’isa which represented choice lands to the Kano elite to build their mansions and was consequently distributed for that purpose. But to Governor Kwankwaso, a more befitting enterprise would be a sporting village (academy) and today major sporting activities go on there to raise professionals and the youths are happier for it with modern hostels to cater for tournaments. The same sense of commitment to sports development is replicated at the Institute of Sports, a technical arena to fashion out how to move sports forward and no wonder Kano Pillars is now the winner of the Glo Premiership League for the second time running. And there’s more to come with relentless support of the government.
In all of these monumental achievements, it is tempting as an inspiring enterprise to interrogate the substanstive values in the Kwankwasiyya leadership model as a national legacy. What has been the magic wand? What can we learn from it? What could be the implication if it is adopted and practised in every government nationwide? Even as corporate policy?
For a government which inherited N77 billion debt, now almost fully repaid and without borrowing a Kobo to finance the various projects in the state, Kwankwasiyya as a leadership philosophy deserves a second look. In an environment where corruption thrives at all levels including the family microcosm, where cronyism is the rule rather than exception, the nation can learn something new in Kwankwasiyya: vision, integrity, transparency, hardwork, selflessness and a huge sense of community. Yes, this is the symbolic narrative of the red, white and black dress code as handed down to Kwankwaso by the great Mallam Amino Kano which distinguishes a true servant of the masses (talakawas) from the elitist disposition of governance largely serving a few privileged interest. Without doubt, Kwankwasiyya is a moral force reinventing ethical leadership.
Thus for a man who wants to be president, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has a solid credential to sell to his party and members and by extension the Nigerian people on why and how Kwankwasiyya could be the missing link in the cause of national regeneration.
- Olutomiwa, wrote from Lagos.
