Alhaji Mukhtar Yero was sworn in as the governor of Kaduna State on December 16, 2012, following the death of Governor Patrick Yakowa in a helicopter crash. In this report, Correspondent Tony Akowe examines his 100 days in office.
He woke up on December 14 as the deputy governor of Kaduna State. He went to the office of his boss, the late Governor Patrick Yakowa, for a briefing. The governor told him that he was travelling to Bayelsa State. That was the end. Yakowa died in a helicopt crash. Barely 24 hours later, on December 15, 2012, the mantle of leadership fell on him. Alhaji Muktar Yero was sworn in as the governor.
The former deputy governor was catapulted to the front seat by fate. He ceased to be the spare tyre. In a twinkle of an eye, the burden of managing the complex state fell on his shoulders. He had no premonition of what destiny had in stock for him. But as Yero inherited power, he also inherited its burden.
Analysts argue that the governor has been a lucky politician from the onset. When he was appoined as commissioner, he did not expect it. He was more surprised when he was selected as the deputy governor three years ago. What has sustained is his cautious attitude. Both as commissioner and deputy governor, Yero was fiercely loyal to his boss. He was a dependable aide, in whom Yakowa was well pleased.
In his first 100 days, the challenges were undaunting. Kaduna politics is often shaped by the tension triggered by ethnicity and religion. So far, Yero has succeeded in managing the centrifugal forces. He has maintained the image of the governor of all in the state. His tenure has been crisis-free. The governor has not created problem for himself by any false step.
Traditional rulers, politicians and other stakeholders have given him support because he had carried them along. Many also believe that he is still learning on the job. He has shunned pressures to disband the state executive council and appoint fresh blood. His relations with the opposition is also cordial. Although critics have accussed him of being slow, his supporters said that cautious approach has prevented him from making mistakes that are unpardonable. Yero has continued with the programmes of his former boss. Thus, he has also earned the trust and loyalty of Yakowa’s supporters.
Yero assumed the reins when the financial year was about to end. It was a period when government and the private sector were taking stock for the year. The state government had just presented its budget and winding up for the year. It took another two months for the budget to be passed by the House of Assembly.
Before he came into the office, many contracts had been awarded by the government. Though Yero promised on assumption of office that he would carry on with Yakowa’s programmes, not many people believed him. However, he has kept faith with them, thereby assuring the people that his government is the continuation of the Yakowa Administration.
Yero has disbursed monies approved by Yakowa for the victims of the post-election violence in the state. He has distributed operational vehicles to the state security outfit, ‘Operation Yaki’. He has given money to the victims of the flood disaster.
Governor Yero has reiterated his determination to return Kaduna State to its glorious past when the residents lived freely in any part of the state without fear of attack, irrespective of their religious inclinations. Ethnic and religious crises had divided Kaduna metropolis along the lines of Christianity and Islam. The Christians live predominantly in the southern part of the metropolis and the Muslims live in the northern part.
But how far these efforts will go, is left to be imagined. The failure of the Peace and Reconciliation Committee to submit its report to the government may have created a wrong impression in the mind of the public. Sources close to the committee disclosed that there is a lot of suspicion among the members of the committee.
Some of the members have been quoted as saying that there is a hidden agenda. A source close to the committee told The Nation that , though there was no disagreement among members during their sitting, suspicion had set in shortly after some members were asked to correct some observed errors in the final report, which was ready before the Yakowa’s death.
The source said: “Forget the talk about disagreement. I can tell you that there was no disagreement among the members. If you must know, the report was ready and was to be presented to the former governor before he died. We delayed the presentation because there are minor corrections to be done and we nominated eight members-four Muslims and four Christians- to do the corrections.
“They were on it when Yakowa died and they abandoned the work. Eventually, the corrections were done and we are ready for presentation anytime the governor wants it.
“Unfortunately, there has been suspicion among members, with the strongest suspicion coming from the Muslim members. The committee started with about 70 members. Some have died and others have left and the number came down to about 45. When we came to present the report, some members did not come, apparently not knowing whether they would be required to sign the report before the presentation.
“While the governor was meeting with the co-chairmen in his office, we managed to get many of the members to sign, and by the time they came down to join us, over 30 members have signed. But we had to shift the presentation to allow time for those who are yet to sign to do so”.
This suspicion has adversely affected peaceful coexistence in the state, which the committee was meant to address. The committee, which was inaugurated by the late Yakowa comprised eminent citizens and opinion leaders. If the members of the committee cannot remove the suspicion among themselves, it is left to be seen how their recommendations can bring about peace and reconciliation in the state.
However, the failure of the governor to constitute his own cabinet is seen by many as a weakness on his part. There are those who believe that he is being tele-guided on the choice of cabinet members. But others believe that he is only buying time and making wide consultation before selecting his cabinet. It has been alleged that on two occassions, he had discarded a list of possible cabinet members because the list became public knowledge before they finished work on it.
This could not be independently verified as at the time of writing this report. Be that as it may, the fact that Yero has worked in the last 100 days with the same commissioners he accused of looking down on him and had no respect for him when he served as the deputy governor is a clear indication that he has a large heart and he is ready to accommodate all shades of ideas and opinions.
In the last 100 days, Yero has received lots of criticism by those who felt that he has a separate agenda from what he inherited from Yakowa. While the House was yet considering the state budget submitted to it by late Yakowa, the state was awash with claims that Yero had withdrawn the budget and replaced it with his own.
Those who made the claim attributed the delay in passing the budget to the withdrawal. But as it turned out, the budget was passed as presented by Yakowa, with the Assembly making a few additions, which is their constitutional right.
The issue of security is of paramount importance to every governor and Yero is no exemption. One of his first moves was to immediately release operational vehicles to security agents in the state. The state has been calm. Except for the attack by unknown gunmen in villages in Birnin Gwari and Zangon Kataf, the state has been free from any form of violence since he assumed office. However, the governor has a very big task ahead of him to ensure that the security agencies are kept on their toes to avoid any unfortunate incidence in the state in the days ahead.
