Muhsin
Ibrahim
Kano
is the commercial nerve centre of northern Nigeria, a region now known for its
illiteracy and poverty, with millions of children roaming its streets in search of food. The rate of
ethno-religious conflict rises side-by-side with kidnappings along highways. Boko
Haram also still attacks rural areas of Borno and Yobe states. The ills
bedevilling this one-time prosperous part
of the country are too many to discuss in a quick, brief and, perhaps, poorly
organised article like this one.
Nigerian
political leaders do not improve conditions
for the populace. Corruption remains
their frailty. Generally, though, bribery and corruption have been firmly instituted
in the country. They have permeated our everyday life. An Al Jazeera
English journalist interviewing the then-presidential
candidate Muhammadu Buhari in 2014 stated that Nigeria and corruption were
synonymous. Disturbing as this may sound, it is true. Mr Buhari unseated a
sitting president, Goodluck Jonathan, to win the 2015 election. The electorate
wanted him to achieve two principal goals, among others. One, to crush the Boko
Haram insurgency. Two, to fight the menace of corruption head-on. Thanks to his
records as the military dictator in the 1980s.
Today, President Buhari has effectively failed to meet those two primary objectives. He
has, doubtless, degraded Boko Haram by retaking most of the territories they
once occupied and so on. However, many Nigerians believed he had a magic
wand to ward off the country’s numerous challenges. Some observers, however,
alleged that he does his best but that the damage inflicted by his predecessors on the
nation is too significant. Others said that he was unprepared.
Still, some pointed out that he was incompetent and cronies had hijacked the government. Be it as it may, the recent
emergence of video clips of the Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, allegedly receiving “a bribe” from contractors is a test of Buhari’s commitment to fighting corruption.
Kano
has been Buhari’s vote powerhouse. He has consistently won elections in the
state since his foray into politics in 2003. Therefore, the President must, or rather should, have been
carefully calculating the situation. How he approaches it matters greatly. Against all the odds, no one doubts the massive
goodwill he still enjoys in the state. Regardless
of how he handles it, he has a strong
chance of winning the 2019 election. But that is not all. Where is the trust
of millions of faithful voters in him?
The Kano State House of Assembly (KSHA) has initiated an investigation into the videos. They invited
the journalist-publisher Jaafar Jaafar, who published the videos on his Daily Nigerian online newspaper. He
courageously answered questions under strict security. Following the
hearing session at the assembly, two entirely
unrelated issues surrounding the whole saga have haunted me since then.
First,
although I am not a lawyer, I am sure the KSHA is not the best institution to
investigate the matter. The governor enjoys immunity; however, agencies such
as the DSS, the EFCC, and even the police are known to have experts in such crimes. The KSHA
are lawmakers, not law enforcers. Therefore, if they genuinely mean business, they should hire people with technical know-how on videography, forensics, etc. Additionally,
some of the members of the house are already subservient
to the governor, as is the case with many assemblies in Nigeria. Ganduje reportedly
purchased luxury cars for each of them about two or three years ago, among other
incentives that must have been exchanged between the two arms of
government.
Second is the way some reckless teachers forced innocent,
underage schoolchildren to demonstrate against the
journalist’s appearance at the KSHA. In the photographs shared on social media, the children appeared mystified and
oblivious to what was happening. They were supposed to be in their classes attending
lessons, as their peers elsewhere were. The
witlessness of this action is too gross and, thus, every well-meaning person
across the country should unreservedly condemn it. We are better than this. Governor
Ganduje’s political force’s confusion should not infect unsuspecting boys and
girls. They lack any idea of how to fight this video hurricane. What
they did now is among the most egregious actions in the history of Nigerian politics.
To be fair to the embattled governor, however, he might
not be aware of this show of shame. It could be a work of supererogation by
some zealots. Whatever it is, I strongly
condemn the sheer stupidity. I call on NGOs and others concerned about the
well-being and education of children to launch and sustain pressure groups until
the perpetrators of this insanity are punished.
The government already performs very poorly regarding
education in the state. The backlash over the children’s ‘protest’ is
significant, because it exposes the government’s contempt for, if not an abandonment
of, education.
Frankly,
Ganduje’s government is anti-education. Early this week, the BBC Hausa reported
that Kano state-sponsored students in Cyprus were still living in poverty after several calls on the government to pay
their fees and stipends had gone unanswered. Now, they face not only expulsion from their universities but also eviction from their residences.
Worse still, some cannot even purchase return tickets to Nigeria. It is
all the more worrisome because the majority
of them are women.
Engr. Rabi’u Kwankwaso, the immediate past governor of
Kano, scrapped fees for all schools for
the state indigenes. That was done
without a comprehensive financial model. He also sent students abroad without, as
alleged, much feasibility study and prioritisation, considering the imminent recession the country experienced. Still,
Dr Ganduje’s take on both cases is defective and politically wrong.
Ganduje misplaces priorities by undertaking unnecessary infrastructure projects such as
flyovers. If he cannot sustain the free education for all, it should remain so
at least for the girl-child. Moreover, the governor should instead bring back overseas students and
place them in our local universities. Sokoto State governor, Aminu Tambuwal, did the same. That is way more honest than abandoning them to fend for
themselves or die in limbo.
Beyond the “kickback” collecting video imbroglio, the
truth of which I pray will eventually surface, and
the culprit(s) punished, we need to respect and prioritise education, especially
of our future generation. Otherwise, we continue to lag in every facet of
development. We now rank at the top of virtually every negative metric. It is sad.
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