Katsina and the 2011 polls

Only last week, I overheard two teenagers in a commercial bus warning the driver ‘don’t let me get into government, I will deal with you.’ The chap who delivered this threat, although jokingly, was doing so on account of the high transport fare fixed by the driver. The young chap is under the illusion that […]

Only last week, I overheard two teenagers in a commercial bus warning the driver ‘don’t let me get into government, I will deal with you.’ The chap who delivered this threat, although jokingly, was doing so on account of the high transport fare fixed by the driver. The young chap is under the illusion that government officials wield enormous powers brazenly. Would you blame him? Because in real sense, that is what actually goes on in our so-called government.

Because of this kind of penchant, to maintain the status quo that is anti-people, any leader whose intention goes counter to this order, finds himself facing a whirl wind of opposition. Sometimes, even from within the same political bloc. The case study I have in mind is that of Katsina State because of a recent ugly scenario on the political platform.

I am a non-indigene of Katsina State who of recent showed interest in the state’s affairs when the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kabir Usman, led other royal fathers in the state to rally support for their governor Barrister Ibrahim Shema, to continue in 2011. The emir was even reported to have said he will use the instrument of the law to force Shema to vie for the state’s 2011 governorship election should the latter refuse the clarion call. I was piqued as to why the royal father would go out of his way to do such a thing, because, like I said earlier on, the Nigerian politician cannot be trusted for once. I am also sure the emir knows this too. I then thought that for the royal father to take this risk, he must be sure of what he is doing.

Interestingly, my inquiry about the governor from Katsina indigenes who are not politicians said Shema is actually working. They said it is this steady and sure progress that the emir and the people of Katsina are interested in not just sustaining, but are bent on making it to happen and that the Emir was actually doing the bidding of the people who trooped to the palace to pressurise the emir to ask Shema to continue in 2011.

But for how long can we continue with corruption in this country, because given the account of these non-partisan indigenes, those who are trying to antagonise the Katsina State governor are nothing but arrow heads of corruption.

It is painful that the likes of Shema would be vilified. If his fault is simply because he has chosen to move against the old order that seek to deprive majority of the people of government services and welfare, he must be courageous and should not allow himself to be detracted by the agents of destruction, because, in my own view, that is exactly what those antagonists represent. If Shema has really performed, then he should continue, even for nothing but for the mere fact that the devil you know is better than the angel you do not know.

At this stage, let me salute the statesmanship disposition of the emir of Katsina for daring to stick his neck out for equity before any myopic individual misrepresents him. As I was told, it was not as if the emir just went out of his way to do that. He was said to have been put under pressure by his subjects who do not want to be short-changed. If anybody comes under such situation, the pros and cons would be seriously weighed. I want to believe that the emir did just that before he rose to the occasion. Of course, he did well by standing by his people. In my candid opinion, the emir has only shown other blue bloods in this country the way forward, if they are to be respected and loved by their people. It is in this country that we find some royal fathers selling out to politicians who are the highest bidders and in the process creating avoidable chaos.

Shema must therefore not disappoint even for a second given how the emir has staked his integrity and reputation, although for the interest of the generality of the people. He must continue to deliver so that his political adversaries would not be the last to live and invariably put the emir to ridicule. Now that he has the people behind him, it is one of the strengths Shema should draw from to leave his footprints on the pages of history.

Salihu is of Quaditect Consult, Kaduna.