2015: The issues and choice before Kaduna

In the first piece written soon after he was named the new FCT Minister by the former president Olusegun Obasanjo titled “Garlands for El-Rufai”, I lauded some of his courageous reforms which had began to yield fruits just a few months after their introduction. Jeremiah Useni’s crude and incompetent handling of affairs had left the […]

In the first piece written soon after he was named the new FCT Minister by the former president Olusegun Obasanjo titled “Garlands for El-Rufai”, I lauded some of his courageous reforms which had began to yield fruits just a few months after their introduction. Jeremiah Useni’s crude and incompetent handling of affairs had left the comprehensive Abuja master plan in tatters. Abuja risked becoming another vast urban slum with illegal structures strewn all over the place. The situation required urgent remedy and El-Rufai, backed by Obasanjo, did not flinch at the daunting challenge.
It is to his credit that Abuja’s designated green areas were quickly reclaimed from the powerful owners who erected illegal structures on them. The illegal structures were demolished and replaced with public parks equipped with conveniences. I noted at the time that the process was a remarkable departure from the past when the scenes of similar demolitions were left to assault our sensibilities like severely shelled battle fields.
For his courage and dare-devil determination, El-Rufai was called all sorts of names. To Christians whose illegal structures were demolished he passed for an Islamic fundamentalist. When he also dared to pull down some mosques erected in defiance of the same master plan he was swiftly dismissed as an atheist.
But El-Rufai, like the rest of us, is also human. There were times during his tenure at the FCT when it seemed he was somehow carried away by the trappings of power, much like his erstwhile boss Olusegun Obasanjo, with whom he enjoyed a chummy relationship at the time. There were reports of serial disobedience with court orders especially on the eviction of public servants from their official quarters. For lengthy periods during his time at the FCT, it seemed as if for El-Rufai, the ends fully justified the means.
Whatever the merits or demerits of the case, the former Minister could clearly have shown more tact in the case involving the late Justice Bashir Sambo in particular. Numerous other cases of alleged high-handedness by the FCT administration at the time necessitated the appearance of the former Minister’s before the dramatic sittings of the Senate Committee under the Chairmanship of Senator Abubakar Sodangi.
But I am never one for throwing away the baby with the bathwater. No one can dispute that there are things even El-Rufai would be the first to admit that he would have done differently with the benefit of hindsight. But are those reasons potent enough to overshadow his strong points?
Can we, in all honesty, ignore the message so evident in restoration of the Abuja master plan which is now being systematically abused by his successors in office? Can we pretend that he did not clean up the land administration process though in the FCT which put legions of serial scammers and land speculators out of business? Can we ignore the merits of the Abuja Geographical Information System (AGIS) he established? Didn’t he rid Abuja of the menace of commercial motorcyclists and street beggars?  Fact is that most of his bold initiatives were subsequently replicated in many urban centres in the country including Lagos.
The truth, so convincing in the face of abundant evidence, is that in the few years El-Rufai was in charge at the FCT, he taught the rest of the country some vital lessons on what it takes to run state capitals and urban centres more efficiently. He sowed the seeds for others to start thinking of maximizing their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) with what he did with AGIS and others.
These then are only few of the reasons why I am convinced that El-Rufai, is most suited to take Kaduna state to the next level if he is voted into office. My conviction is predicated on the view that the state capital Kaduna in its present condition is not better than an urban slum waiting for vital reform and regeneration.
And Kaduna is not just the capital of Kaduna state; it is a major trade centre and transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas. It has vital rail and road junctions that serve as gateways to different parts of the country. Kaduna state is home to numerous academic and commercial institutions dating back from the First Republic.  Kaduna itself was founded in 1913 by the colonial powers and became the capital of the old Northern region in 1917. Legions of retired military brass and public servants call it home.
To these gentlemen and others without an inkling of what its glorious days looked like, the sordid condition of most of the Kaduna metropolis must be extremely traumatic. Zaria, arguably its second biggest city, appears not to have experienced any positive change in the last three decades. Like Kaduna, it is another story of poor or non-existent urban planning, overcrowded streets, and poor sanitation. Vast swaths of the population in Zaria and Kaduna still have no access to portable drinking water.  Apart from his proven capacity to drastically address these urban challenges, there are other more compelling reasons why I strongly believe El-Rufai will fit Kaduna like a glove.
What Kaduna state requires at this material time is the injection of the badly needed intellect in its Government House. First, because of its history of ethno-religious strife, the next Chief Executive of the state will need the crisis management skills of its former Governor Ahmed Muhammad Makarfi. El-Rufai demonstrated that capacity in the manner he navigated the demolition of Illegal religious structures in the FCT.
Second, dwindling allocations from the federation account means that Kaduna state, like all the other poorly managed states in the country will require more than prayers to survive in the next few years and even beyond. It will need a Chief Executive with the proven capacity to maximize its IGR something El-Rufai achieved with great satisfaction in the FCT.
Obviously, one thing that will make voters wary of the former Minister is the fear often expressed that electing him would inevitably lead to grief for many city dwellers. They fear that he may embark on the type of ambitious urban renewal programs he initiated in Abuja including wholesome demolition of illegal structures. But that, in my view, is a reality they will have to live with if El-Rufai wins the election. It is not possible to make an omelette without breaking some eggs.
The only consolation is that if what El-Rufai did in Abuja is anything to go by; the good people of Kaduna can be guaranteed that they will be served a very delicious omelette by the time he is done with reforming Kaduna metropolis in particular. Nobody realized that Mushin and Oshodi could be made so beautiful before Governor Raji Fashola happened on the scene.
Nasir El-Rufai has the same capacity to inflict temporary pain and long term happiness for the general benefit of the good people of Kaduna state. He alone, from among all the candidates that have declared for the position so far, has the critical grey matter and courage required to confront vested interests in the state without blinking an eye. That is what it will take to reform Kaduna state in its present state. It must not be business as usual with zero impact.
I wish you all a happy New Year!