There is a clear indication that Nigeria, the most populous black nation on earth, can only be put on the path of growth through good political representation.
Sometimes ago, I wrote an appreciation article in response to a legislator’s compelling performance in terms of good representation he had demonstrated. And I argued:
“One of the determinants of growth and development in any democratic government is a good and committed representation. Nigerians have continued to suffer from the lack of both. Whether in the north, south or east, Nigerians need an ideal representation to survive the torturing bad governance they have been experiencing for decades.
“Show me a Nigerian, I will show you a man or a woman, who has survived a constant forging of the anvil and the hammer of a poor representation. Many Nigerians have been reduced to eternal mourners of a sort. No thanks to bad representation and its agents.”
The argument is borne out of my belief that Nigeria has been caught in the whirlwind of political uncertainty more than ever before. And the global pandemic of coronavirus is exacerbating the problem.
First there is a relative underrepresentation of the preferences of the masses both by political parties and by governments. Good political representation is the art of making citizens’ voices, opinions, and perspectives heard in public policy making processes.
Sadly, a political actor that speaks, advocates, symbolizes, and acts on behalf of his people in a given political arena, is very difficult to come by simply because that noble act of putting the country first before anything else has more or less faded away.
Oftentimes good representation involves putting up a stiff resistance against any perceived injustice meted out against one’s constituents especially in a fledgling democracy like ours, which is bedeviled with growing economic inequality and its attendant negative effects.
Nothing exemplifies good political representation of recent, the most, than the political temperament shown by the chairman House Committee on Works, the member representing Bichi Federal Constituency, Engineer Abubakar Kabir Abubakar.
At the time when newspaper reports are mocking some legislators for their sheer inactivity at the Senate for a period of two years, Engineer Abubakar Kabir has been as active as quicksilver. His mantra is “I will give everything to see this country attain a working architecture of governance.”
In line with the primary responsibility of a legislator, he is so preoccupied with issues of public interest; representing the interest of his constituents and Kano state in general. Querying Julius Berger and the Federal Ministry of Works for the slow pace of the Kano-Kaduna-Abuja Road project is one of them.
His last function I witnessed was when he led the members of the House Committee on Works and the management of the Federal Ministry of Works on a tour to Kano State as part of the committee’s oversight functions to assess and inspect the Federal government road projects in the state.
The lawmaker has renewed his concern. The first determined attempt to call the contractor, Julius Berger, to order was by the Senate Committee on Works. But the contractor is so defiant even as the road has turned into a whirlpool of sort that engulfs people every day.
Whether it is an act of sabotage or clandestine move to jeopardize the lives of Nigerians, Engineer Abubakar Kabir said the house would not accept it and has given the works ministry a seven-day ultimatum to come up with immediate measures to address the challenge.”
Prior to that I have observed how instrumental Abubakar Kabir was in the establishment of the Bichi Power Sub-Station, which is a catalyst for economic recovery not only in the target area but also for Kano State in general.
Engineer Abubakar Kabir had kept both Kano State Government and the management of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on their toes. The project, when completed, will facilitate steady power supply to seven local government areas in the vicinity of Bichi emirate, thereby reviving economic activities in the state.
The federal government had, through the Ministry of Power, authorized the installation of a 30 MVA, 132/133 KV Mobitra transformer at the local government area. What was needed was someone to constantly prod the authorities concerned and Engineer Bichi filled in the gap. Water they say, is life; and lack of it is capable of pushing any community, no matter how developed, to the brink of collapse.
Communities in Bichi Local Government Area have suffered from acute water scarcity for over 40 years. People walk miles every day to fetch water. Part of the solution to this nagging problem of water scarcity was to achieve a constant power supply. Unfortunately, Nigeria does not have constant power supply. In the absence of this, procurement of a mega power generator to power Bagwai/Watari Water Treatment Plant was the perfect solution.
This is what the legislator did. He was so concerned about the hardship his constituents went through to get water. He donated a 500 KVA generator worth N32 million to Bagwai/Watari Water Treatment Plant. There were sources of water springing up to the utmost joy of the people.
Presenting the generator to the State Water Board, the lawmaker said he was moved by the difficulties his constituents were experiencing to get water. It is as simple as that.
The most giant stride the lawmaker has taken recently was his move to save Nigerians’ lives and taxpayers’ money.
Kano-Kaduna-Abuja Road that has been under construction for the last three years or so has turned into the proverbial forest of horror, where the sight of mangled bodies is the “new normal”. Only God the Almighty knows how many families in the last three years this very road has bereaved.
The N155 billion road project that was awarded in 2017 is moving at snail’s pace. 26 months since the commencement of the project, only less than 10 percent of the work has been completed.
The contractors, Julius Berger, has collected N70 billion from the Federal government out of the N155 billion total sum of the contract, but unfortunately the work done has not tallied with the funding.
Believing that if this menace is left unchecked it would lead to a permanent scenario, Engineer Abubakar Kabir canvassed for the support of his colleagues and led them on a fact-checking mission to Kano State, with the intention of settling the matter once and for all.
As part of their oversight functions, the team was at the Government House, Kano on 28 August, 2020, to meet the Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and brief him on their findings.
Mr. Bichi could not hide his dissatisfaction over the delay in the execution of the project by the Contractor, Julius Berger PLC.
In a matter-of-fact tone, he said: “The House will not accept any extension of the completion date or a variation of the project.
“As a result of the delay in the completion of the project, several lives have been lost on the road, and we cannot continue to lose lives on this road. Nigerians’ lives take precedence over any other consideration.”
When one looks at the political temperament of this early bird, Engineer Abubakar Bala, one cannot help but believe that the future of this country lies in its youth.
The youth may seem to fail to command the respect, or lack the skills and experience, needed to steer the affairs of this country; but the truth is that Kabir is changing the narrative for the better.
Abdulhamid writes via [email protected]
