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JUNE 18, 2007 VOL. 21, NO. 10

Lamido: Great expectations, many problems

**Saminu Turaki, former governor of Jigawa State.**

Amid big challenges, the new governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, promises to deliver dividends of democracy to the people of the state
By Suleiman Anyalewechi, Dutse
or Alhaji Sule Lamido, the new governor of Jigawa State, May 29, 2007, unlike to many of his colleagues, was not just the day he assumed the leadership of his state. It was, indeed, a day he fully realised his about 16 years dream of impacting positively on the lives of the down-trodden. In fact, after learning from the welfarist school of thought, as expounded by the late Mallam Aminu Kano, Lamido has since the early 90’s been waiting for an opportuned time to demonstrate how dear the welfare of the poor and the oppressed is to him.
For one, the former Foreign Affairs minister’s quest to preside over the affairs of his state began in 1991 when Jigawa was still a part of the old Kano State. With the Ibrahim Babangida military junta decreeing only two political parties, namely the National Republican Convention (NRC)and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Lamido was almost set to be the governor of the old Kano State on the platform of the SDP, when suddenly Jigawa State was carved out of Kano. By this development, Lamido found himself on the side of the newly created Jigawa State. However, his quest to be the pioneer chief executive of the state was dashed when he fell victim to the blanket ban placed on some politicians by the General Babangida regime that same year.
Determined to serve his people, Lamido was to vie for the governorship of Jigawa State in 1999 following the advent of democratic rule, but the combined efforts of some reactionary forces and alleged election manipulation, edged him out of the contest, paving the way for the emergence of the former Governor, Saminu Ibrahim Turaki, who ironically handed over the mantle of the state’s leadership to him penultimate Tuesday, May 29.
However, while Lamido appears keen on transforming the State, from a largely rural state to a modern one; and improving the lot of the commonman in particular, The Source’s findings reveal that he may be frustrated by many problems and the depth of rot brought about by many years of misrule and misappropriation of the state’s resources by previous administrations, especially the Turaki regime.
For one, Lamido had in his inaugural address to the people at the Kam Salem Square in Dutse, the state capital, signified his readiness to improve the lots of the people, especially the poor, through the implementation of people-orientated programmes and policies.
According to the former Foreign Affairs Minister, being that Jigawa manifests the worst indices of under-development, with the people suffering serious deprivations, his administration would be anchored on the antecedents of democratic humanism, as defined and epitomised by its exponent, the late Mallam Aminu Kano.
Lamido, in acknowledging the general poverty among the people, especially the physically challenged, who he said most times go to a degrading extent to barely keep the body and soul together, announced the payment of a monthly survival allowance of N7,000 to every physically challenged indigene of the state. According to him, the draft bill to give legal backing to the policy would soon be forwarded to the State Assembly, while an immediate stock-taking of those who fall within the category of physically challenged persons would be concluded this week. He noted that the programme is aimed at eradicating street begging and begging generally from the state within the next one year.
To ensure and facilitale quick delivery of services, Lamido announced the immediate establishment of Jigawa Development Delivery and Intervention Corps, JIDDIC, a volunteers’ scheme that would be under the direct supervision of the governor. According to him, the agency would ensure that services are promptly delivered.
Explaining the rationale behind the establishment of the Agency, Lamido said, “while I endorse the Civil Service as an irreplaceable vehicle for governance, I am tempted to accept that our present situation justifies an additional development delivery and intervention mechanism.”
Although Lamido, apart from his resolve to tackle the problem of poverty in the state, has equally pledged to restructure other areas such as agriculture, education, health care and the general economy of the state, The Source’s findings indicate that he may be encumbered by a myriad of challenges which may slow down his plan for the rapid transformation of the state.
Significantly, the state’s huge debt profile, mostly incurred in the past eight years, many argue, may prove to be Lamido’s biggest problem. Although former Governor Turaki in his address at the hand-over ceremonies put the total debt profile at N28.5 billion, The Source authoritatively gathered that the total debt profile of the state, including interest currently stand at about N50 billion.
In his farewell speech, Turaki, whose speech was delivered by the secretary to the state government, Alhaji Yau Roni, said his regime was leaving behind contractual obligations and contigent liabilities of about N28.5 billion, internal loan of about N2 billion, external debt of US $15.8 million and a credit balance of N1.1 billion. But authoritative sources put the state’s indebtedness in the region of about N50 billion.
In fact, most of the debts are said to be loans acquired between 2000 and 2006 from banks and other financial institutions. Most of the loans were also said to have been acquired for the execution of developmental projects, but were allegedly used for other unproductive ventures, such as serving individual interests. For instance, about four billion naira was said to have been raised from about three banks in 2003 for the sole purpose of the re-election of former Governor Turaki.
With the high debt profile of the state, many observers fear that the Lamido administration may find it difficult to meet the high expectations of the people.
Besides the problem of debt repayment, the new regime would contend with a large dose of indiscipline, corrupt and an inept civil service. Although the state of the civil service before the Turaki regime remains unknown, The Source’s finding revealed last week a service that has completely forgotten its constitutional role. Indeed, Turaki’s penchant for overseas travels and governance by E-mail, enthroned a regime of lack of control and observance of civil service rules. It was gathered that between 1999 and 2006, general rules and policy guidelines, as they pertain to the civil service, were flagrantly ignored leading to massive corruption, indolence and indiscipline within the system.
Although Lamido stated that his formation of Jigawa Development Delivery and Intervention Corps (JIDDIC) is to facilitate service delivery to the people, sources revealed that the establishment of the agency is Lamido’s immediate acknowledgement of and response to the messy state of the state’s civil service. It was gathered that JIDDIC would ensure the smooth- running of the system, pending the restructuring of the civil service.
Ironically, Turaki penultimate week gave kudos to the state civil services crediting it with the achievements he claimed his regime recorded. The former governor in his farewell speech, described any money paid to each and every one of the 17,000 civil servants in the state during his tenure as “well earned.” Turaki: “It is pertinent to note and know that all of our achievements were as a result of visionary political leadership and dedicated civil servants. These 17,000 state government staff and their partners in the local governments numbering about 39,000, deserve and are given our gratitude. The N518 million paid as monthly salaries at state level and N650 million at the local government level is money well earned.”
Although Lamido may have, found, perhap, a temporary solution to the problems posed by a decayed civil service in JIDDIC, how fast he restores sanity to the system would determine whether he would be sabotaged or not.
His headache would centre on how to bring back to the state capital all the ministries and parastatals scattered all over the state by the Turaki regime. In fact, Turaki had in 2000 brought a novel idea into governance, when he decentralised the state’s ministries and other government agencies, along the state’s five Emirate councils of Hadejia, Dutse, Gumel, Ringim and Kazaure. In doing so, he told the stunned people of Jigawa that the policy was meant to strike a balance among the state’s five Emirate Councils, as well as serve as a tool to bring government closer to the people. This did not only serve to weaken the general administration of the state, but helped greatly to rubbish the state civil service and aided its decaying process.
Although Lamido has promised to return all the ministries and parastatals to Dutse, the state capital, observers fear that the cost of doing so would eat deep into the already lean purse of the state. Conservatively, it is estimated that the re-location exercise, including the provision of office accommodation, logistics and the relocation of civil servants, would cost the state about N1.5 billion.
But, perhaps, the greatest problem of Lamido would be the great expectations of not only the people of Jigawa state, but those of most Nigerians for him to bring not only sanity to the state, but meaningful development in the next four years.
Since its creation in 1999, the state has remained largely a rural area, with no visible infrastructural facilities and developmental projects. Although before 1999, past administrations tried at their various levels to improve the state, it, however, suffered its biggest backwardness in the last eight years, due mainly to the alleged institutionalisation of an unorthodox system of governance by former Governor Turaki. Surprisingly, the state created about 16 years ago was only connected to the national grid about a month ago.
The Source’s findings reveal that the people of Jigawa are full of expectations that Lamido would bring about the much needed succour which has eluded them since 1991. Lamido’s problem would therefore be how to rehabilitate a state badly battered and impoverished, within the next four years going by the low level of resources available.
Acknowledging the poor and underdeveloped nature of the state, as well as the high expectation of the people, Lamido stated penultimate week: "As you are aware, our state manifests the worst indices of under-development. I was born and raised here, and have spent most part of my life in the state. I have also been actively involved in the affairs of the state since my PRP days. Nevertheless, it was the recent electioneering campaign tour that exposed me to the problems of our people in that most pathetic degree. In summary, the campaign tour brought me face-to-face with the uniquely unmitigated case of under-development called Jigawa State. How they came to the conclusion that I can make a difference in their lives baffles me. But I accept it as an invitation and an expression of their belief that some-how I can make the difference, that together we can fight poverty”.