In the interest of Katsina
It is worthy of note to enumerate some sterling performances of Barrister Shema at least to show discerning Nigerians that he is not what his opponents paint him to be. As Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice under Yar’adua, who was governor from 1999 to 2007, he won every case in which he represented the […]
It is worthy of note to enumerate some sterling performances of Barrister Shema at least to show discerning Nigerians that he is not what his opponents paint him to be. As Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice under Yar’adua, who was governor from 1999 to 2007, he won every case in which he represented the state government.
As National Deputy Chairman of the PDP, he resolved more conflicts and reshaped the party more than any other previous occupant of that office before or after him. But it is as the Governor of Katsina State having succeeded Yar’adua in 2007 that he really distinguished himself perhaps even beyond his own expectations. He repositioned the state, enacting and executing policies that saw the state outpacing its peers. He showed that it is possible to govern a state without stealing and without violence. His is probably the only state that is free from debt and has cash liquidity to meet its obligations even without federal subvention for the next six months.
Shema’s “offenses” obviously is that he has refused to open the state treasury for those who have developed the habit of living off the state patronage to do with the state resources as they please. For that Governor Shema has been subjected to every possible unfair, undeserved and unjustifiably political attack imaginable. But the man has refused to be cowed or intimidated, he has remained focused and unrelenting in his resolve to safeguard the resources of the state for the benefit of the people of the state.
And then there are the vicious attacks even from outside the state, simply because some politically spent forces feel threatened that having lost their political relevance and he represents a threat to their coveted position, one he has never expressed any interest in. To his credit he has chosen to ignore every act of provocation and distraction, preferring instead to remain focused in his determination to put the state firmly on the path of self reliance and financial discipline that will help the state pull through whatever challenges the current changing fortunes of the nation’s economic lifeline may throw up.
When the nation’s editors converged in Katsina in August for their annual conference, they were impressed by what they saw. This is the stuff great men are made of. Judging by the ease with which he has been winning his elections peacefully in a region battling with all sort of security challenges, Shema’s opposition are simply envious that have run out of ideas on what to use against him. It is therefore not surprising that he is a target of virulent, and baseless attacks at that even the simple folks of Katsina are beginning to realize that they are engineered from those who feel that he is a threat to their position, a position they have acquired purely for their selfish ends.
It is worthy of note that among the numerous successes of the amiable Shema is the sustenance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Katsina even when leading personalities of the opposition parties are also sons and daughters of the state. Even when many of the governors across the country were angling to upstage the senators of their state or to even replace them at the end of their tenure, Governor Shema was not selfish as he allowed other interested aspirants have their way though he would have emerged the candidate of the PDP and go ahead to win the seat if he has been interested.
That was why it was extremely difficult for those peddling the rumour that Governor Shema was working against the PDP which he massively helps to build and nourish. When other governors in the region were having difficulties keeping the opposition at bay, he not only kept the state for PDP, he also ensured the decamping of opposition figures into the PDP. Would it not be right then to team up with Barrister Shema in the interest of Katsina and the nation at large?
Kaura wrote in from Abuja.