Between Masari and the wailers

Since his emergence as the Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari has left no one in doubt as to his commitment to take Katsina back to its previous status as an economic hub and agriculturally endowed state. Less than two years in office, he has set in motion so many revolutionary policies that place […]

Since his emergence as the Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Bello Masari has left no one in doubt as to his commitment to take Katsina back to its previous status as an economic hub and agriculturally endowed state.
Less than two years in office, he has set in motion so many revolutionary policies that place priority on good governance, economic independence through sustained competitive advantage promotion as well as accountability and welfare of the people.
In the past few months, his administration exposed the grand corruption that pervaded the previous government in which billions of naira were squandered without commensurate development.
Although the focus of this discourse is not to raise issues with anyone, it is evidently clear that no meaningful progress will be attained unless good governance becomes the basic and fundamental principle of government, hence his decision to put in place an accountable system that today has become the envy of other states.
It is on record that despite the paucity of funds that pervaded several states in the federation there are developments in the state. For instance, Katsina State has not only provided fertilizer but has ensured that the product got to farmers at affordable rates. While Campa brand of fertilizer is sold in the open market at N8,500, the government sells to farmers at N2,500. Also Urea, which is sold at N10,500, is available to farmers at N2700.
More so, other agricultural inputs such as insecticides and mechanized support have been provided through a robust extension service that has led to crops improvement, land use maximisation and output support programmes, to ensure farmers get optimum benefits.
Under education, the governor has fulfilled his campaign promise to enroll his children in public schools as mark of his intention to revive and upgrade the standard of education in the state. This gesture also caused many senior government officials to follow the example, thereby boosting the possibility  of improvement in the standard of public education. Not only that, the state’s universal basic education board has since embarked on mass teacher training, facility upgrading, equipment optimisation and general support to the sector to ensure that it meets international standards. Today, the overall enrolment of pupils and students in the state is very impressive with the quality even better.
These visionary interventions are also in infrastructural development. For instance, for many years, residents of Malumfashi in the southern part of the state have lived without potable water. Now, the town has adequate water supply with improved health and sanitation as a result. The government has also concluded plans in conjunction with the World Bank to revive and complete the abandoned Zobe as well as the Mai’adua dam projects. These abandoned projects have the capacity to provide millions of litres of water daily to the state and neighboring Kaduna State when completed.
The idea is to use these facilities to boost food security through mass irrigation farming in the central and northern senatorial zones of the state. It is estimated that over three million tonnes of rice will be cultivated in these two zones annually while over one million tonne of tomatoes and other vegetables will be cultivated when completed. The administration has also revolutionized the health sector through upgrading of Daura, Katsina and Funtua general hospitals with better facilities compared with any in the country.
As a result of his commitment to return the state to its past glory, Governor Masari has also vowed to recover all stolen funds from former government officials. Already, series of committees have been set up to identify and return these stolen funds, a move that has pitched the governor against some powerful personalities in the state.  Despite the campaign of calumny to dissuade him from doing the right thing, his  resolve has been made stronger in a bid to ensure accountability and prudence management of the meagre resources of the state.
It is believed that before the end of the first tenure, the state will become a haven for commercial agriculture, a model for education, health as well as good governance and accountability.
Karaduwa wrote from No: 34, Jarmai road, Mahuta, Karaduwa and can be reached at [email protected]