Who are the real enemies of the North?

According to him, “for Northern Nigeria, the greatest enemies of the region might not even be Obasanjo or Goodluck Jonathan but its self-centred, self-serving governors. The political manoeuvering of the past few months have shown beyond doubt that the governors, with may be a few exceptions, are, in fact, the main problem facing our people […]

According to him, “for Northern Nigeria, the greatest enemies of the region might not even be Obasanjo or Goodluck Jonathan but its self-centred, self-serving governors. The political manoeuvering of the past few months have shown beyond doubt that the governors, with may be a few exceptions, are, in fact, the main problem facing our people today. If they are not deepening the underdevelopment of Northern Nigeria, they place their personal interest above the collective.”
In his conclusion, Ishaq said, “frankly, the time has come for the people to stand up to be counted. If the North does not want to suffer the fate of Northern Cameroon, it must decisively defeat these opportunists in January’s election. These governors should be thrown out of power along with their PDP.”

Our man, Ishaq, is less concerned whether some of these governors have performed in terms of good governance in their respective states, but for not supporting a northern presidential candidate, they must not be re-elected. Even if the people who will succeed them are even worse than the so-called PDP governors, they must be voted by the people.
The likes of Ishaq are more interested in power, even if the person to hold the power will not exercise it for the benefit of the region. For instance, the Zobe dam project in Katsina state that was abandoned over a period of 20 years by successive administrations in Nigeria is very dear to the people of the state.
Throughout the eight years of the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua as governor of Katsina State, he used to impress it on President Obasanjo anytime the President visited the state on the need for the federal government to complete the project. However, it was revealed that the contract for the completion of the dam project was awarded by President Obasanjo at the cost of N7 billion, toward the end of his administration in the year 2007. Not only was the contract for the completion of the project awarded, the sum of N3 billion was approved for release to the contractor.

In 2007, when Yar’adua became the President and appointed an indigene of Katsina as minister in charge of the relevant ministry, the dam project was still not completed.
The greatest enemies of the North are its past leaders. Today, any individual or political office holder who does not share the view of Ishaq on the issue of presidency is the enemy of the north. For accepting to serve as regional coordinators for Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign, Ishaq said “Gabriel Suswan, Isa Yuguda and Ibrahim Shema chose to trample underfoot, the interest of the North.”
The record shows that what Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema has achieved for the state in the last three years is a feat that has surpassed the record of all his predecessors in the state. This is a governor who has completed all the projects he inherited from his predecessor, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua. The Shema administration inherited 255 secondary schools established over a period of 20 years by previous administrations in the state. However, the success story is that within three years of the Shema administration, a total number of 109 new secondary schools were established. Similarly, within three years, record shows that the state government has sponsored over 400 students for overseas courses in Computer Engineering, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Arabic Calligraphy. These are the facts that can be verified and challenged. Between 2007 and 2010, Katsina State, under the leadership of Governor Shema, has constructed over 3,000 affordable housing units, among other so many developmental projects executed by his administration.

The likes of Ishaq need to know that it is not an oversight that Shema’s opponents in Katsina State have not been able to criticize him on the issue of good governance. This is simply because there is not much to hold against him. If, by the perception of Ishaq, the likes of Nasir El-Rufai, Nuhu Ribadu, Isa Yuguda, Ibrahim Shema and other northern youthful governors are anti-North because of their political persuasions, there is need for him to suggest to us those who are better alternatives. Since el-Rufai left the FCT as a minister, has there been any better successor to him?  Yet, to Ishaq, el-Rufai must be demonized and crucified as a sycophant. In the history of democracy, what is happening in Ishaq’s home state, Kwara, is an absurdity. He will do the north a lot of good if he devotes his time and strength to write on the current abnormality in Kwara politics where the public offices have been usurped by one family.
For every true lover of the north, Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State has captured it very well during his speech at President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration of intent to run for the office of the President in 2011.

Governor Aliyu said, “Mr President, I came here on Wednesday and today I’m here. Why? Because, politics is about democracy, politics is about service, politics is about negotiation and because I am the chief servant of Niger State, I have been mandated to negotiate.”
During the time of Yar’adua, northerners could not fight for their rights because he was one of us. If by having somebody outside the region as president we can criticize and stand up to demand our right and get it will be of great benefit for the north, why not vote for this option.
There is a saying that success without a successor is a failure. If, as at today, the likes of General Ibrahim Babangida, at the age of 69, cannot mentor presidential candidates from the North to pursue the developmental agenda of this section of the country, then we should be talking about self-centeredness and personal interest and the whipping up of sentiments and emotions for personal gains.
Hassan wrote this piece from Banawa in Kaduna State.