Traditional rulers and impending Katsina election

Most of these endorsements, some from unlikely quarters that are equally raising eyebrows,  are coming from those who believe Shema’s administration has recorded achievements so far, especially in the provision of roads, water supply, urban development, youth and women empowerment, amongst others. The many endorsements had been and are still coming from the political sphere. […]

Most of these endorsements, some from unlikely quarters that are equally raising eyebrows,  are coming from those who believe Shema’s administration has recorded achievements so far, especially in the provision of roads, water supply, urban development, youth and women empowerment, amongst others.

The many endorsements had been and are still coming from the political sphere. So, that can be understood. However, when leaders of the community and the custodians of the culture and heritage of the people, the traditional rulers under the auspices of the state council of chiefs and emirs, led by their chairman and Emir of Katsina,  Alhaji Abdulmuminu Kabir Usman make an endorsement, sure it is something to be curious about.

The emir who has been under intense pressure from the people on the need to compel the incumbent governor to seek another term has tried his best in doing the wishes of his people and still the governor is silent.

Having exhausted all avenues to convince Governor Shema to continue in office so as to consolidate on his achievement since he became the governor of the state in 2007, the Council of Emirs have resolved to go to court to compel Shema to seek another term.

The emir said at a recent event in Katsina: “we are ready to go to court to compel Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema to re-contest if he refuses to answer the public across the state. Having been aware of our pride of place as the custodians of the cherished customs and values of our people and inversely, the embodiment of their purposeful aspiration for growth and development, we shall support you. The effective partnership this administration is forging with the traditional rulers is worthy of commendation. It has helped in no small way in recording the reasonable successes in security and mass mobilization of citizens to support government policies and programmes.’’

Alhaji Abdulmumini said other glowing things about the governor and his government and urged the governor not to relent in his efforts at transforming the state just as he called on all and sundry to rally round the administration by supporting it in its drive to gain its rightful place in the comity of nations in the federation.

This open declaration of the emir almost turned the venue of the ceremony upside down as cheers from the crowd became uncontrollable. The Emir, as he said, was only delivering the people’s request. Not only that, such endorsement coming from unlikely quarters is causing disquiet in some political circles as the act has been seen by the rulers as subtly campaigning for the governor. This too should be expected. However,

Barrister Shema has kept mum, not saying anything in the form of acceptance or refusal to the requests. As it is, Shema wants to concentrate on delivering the dividends of democracy. Even at that, a perusal of the governor’s performance record tallies with what the emir enumerated above. They include the establishment of a chalk and paint making cottage industry in all the 34 local government areas of the state, making it mandatory for all the state government contractors that were required to use any of the two products in their contract to buy from the existing cottage industry of the locality of that contract.

To reduce the state government’s burden and other attendant difficulties notorious with fertilizer procurement and distribution to farmers in the state, the governor also established three fertilizer blending plants in Maiadua, Batsari and Kankara.

These ventures which now jointly produce enough quantity of the commodity to meet the farmers’ need has brought smiles on the faces of the farmers who now enjoy  fat profits having enjoyed the subsidies provided by the state government in all agricultural inputs. The secret to that was as a result of provision of ready markets which can now be reached with ease throughout the state as the administration has also opened up new roads, rehabilitated bad ones and improved existing ones within the state.

The administration in addition to this, completely cancelled the payments of all fees and levies to primary school pupils and secondary school students regardless of which part of the country they came from so long as they are in public schools while also the government took off the burden of paying final year students examinations fees from parents who in turn have been given opportunities to face other challenges in running their homes.

Similarly, teachers in the state were not left out as the government has implemented and settled all newly introduced improved teachers packages and went further to create competition among them by giving hajj seats annually to best performing teachers of both primary and secondary schools while other civil servants have continued to commend the government for taking good care of them, a situation which has earned good working relationship between the state government and the workers.

The government has recently constructed and allocated 500 houses to teachers and since started the construction of the second phase of the housing scheme still for the welfare of the workers apart from the twenty houses built in each of the 34 local government council headquarters.

We cannot run away from the home truth that Shema has really delivered, this may have been responsible for the endorsements from the royal fathers.

Mani wrote from Katsina