By Yusuf Ayoka
For those of us who have been following the political events in Kaduna State in the last two years, the current Government of Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has made positive impact in the running of the aff airs of government business and activities that may not be seen now by his detractors. Many would agree that under the present government, the era of godfatherism and over dependence on government to provide everything of their need to make a living have reduced and people are now up and doing on their own rather than rely on crumbs as it was in the past. To any sane mind in the state, without being misconstrued by armchair critics, this administration has taken vital decisions meant to orient government to actual public service delivery that have started to yield fruitful results. However, instead of acknowledging the fact that things are taking good shape which would be benefi cial to all the people of the state in the nearest future, a group of politicians are up in arms to distract the government by always criticizing every of its policies.
Th eir action are clearly intended to paint the government in bad faith without considering the harm they are doing to the entire people of the state. In furtherance of their conspiracy, they resorted to blackmail and instigating the people against all government policies without suggesting solutions for a way forward, thereby attempting to put the people of the state and government on war path. Th ey needed to do some form of introspection to see that the people have understood their grudges which are not genuine or done in good faith but a fallout of their political rascality. This is class of people who have nothing to off er but contempt and scorn for the wider society. Instead, they want to encourage intolerance and hatred between the people of the state and the government because they have lost unjust access to wealth and power.
Th eir action is an emotional blackmail carried too far. Crucial question to ask the group who declared themselves as “APC Akida” in Kaduna State is why they fail to realize and appreciate Governor El-Rufai’s rigorous commitment to the entrenchment of good governance and according to the yearnings of the people of the state. Recently, the “Akida” group came out hard on the government policy as regard the restructuring of the districts and village heads carried out by the government and was instigating the traditional institution against a constituted authority. The government followed all the due process of law by taking the issue to the law makers at the State House of Assembly through the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Aff airs.
Many of those whose names were used to sue the government have backed out of the case, alleging that their names and signatures were forged. Today, the aff ected traditional institutions have sent their lists of qualifi ed men to the government for approval and appointment as districts and village heads. While majority of the people of the state were happy over the development which was meant to save the total collapse of our local government areas, the so called “Akida” has another agenda aimed at rubbishing any government policy. More worrisome is the immaturity the group displayed on who should be personal staff of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai which is his constitutional role as the chief executive offi cer of the state. Many of them who want us to believe they are indigenes of Kaduna State have not contributed anything to the development of the state at any level even at the time they served in past administrations. El-Rufai is not the fi rst state governor to appoint non-indigenes into government jobs to contribute their own quota to the development of the state. Th ere are records of many governors in the state who did it in the past because they acknowledged the contribution of such people to the development of Kaduna State. Instead of them dancing naked at the market square, they should wait for another two or six years as the case may be, when the people of Kaduna State and the nonindigent voters would once again decide who should rule them, and stop parading themselves as friends of the masses. The action of government in all directions was to raise the tempo of political participation among the people of the state, who were in the past kept in total darkness and are today part and parcel of government participation and decision making. Finally, it is not too late for them to realize that we are all part of the crew on the same boat threatened by storm who should work together to ensure our collective survival and not to allow their action to be tantamount to that Igbo proverb in Chinua Achebe’s works of the fellow deduced enough to challenge his personal god to a wrestling bout. Ayoka, a retired civil servant, wrote from Kaduna
