Fear of Abdulrahman is the beginning of wisdom

The administration of Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq reminds me of the regime of one time Governor of Kwara state, Chief Salaudeen Olatinwo, and even the administration of the then Buhari/Idiagbon at the federal level.

Then that slogan of War Against Indiscipline (WAI) was the key thing. Most Nigerians, if not all, were on the lookout and were on their toes not to violate the WAI order.Even urinating in the public was an offense that could earn one a jail sentence talkless of jumping the queue at any public or government establishment or even coming late to work. Who said such decent morals cannot be resuscitated in the system? Though, this time round, under a civilian administration and not military.

A visit to Kwara state where business is no longer as usual might convince you that a replica of WAI is back in the state of Harmony. Since he took over the mantle of leadership, not even his closest aide can predict his next line of action or his next place of visit.

One thing about Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, Governor of Kwara state, is that anywhere he visits, he puts smiles on the checks of workers of such establishment and if such organisation is moribund or about dying, he brings life back to them and in worst scenario, when a system is dead, he exhumes.

A typical example is the state Radio, Kwara State Broadcasting Corporation where both the AM and FM channels have gone moribund when he assumed mantle of leadership, his visit to the station that did not last more than 30 minutes has done wonders to the station. Now, the FM station 99.1 is most heard, loud and clear across the state and even beyond.

Though, the governor has not visited the Herald Newspapers, Kwara State Television Service or other arms of the state information outfits, but they have started breathing fresh air and having a ray of hope.

Some institutions or agencies that were hitherto owed several months of salaries now smile to their banks. A more conducive and appropriate way of settling their months of indebtedness has been worked out.

No doubt, his visit to various ministries, agencies and parastatal is an eye opener for him to have a first-hand information and the nocks and cranes of the entire government entity more so that he or neither his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Aminu Adisa Logun, ever served in any government establishment before their elections into this completely alien or very unfamiliar terrain.

One wisdom that God has again given Governor Abdulrazaq is that he did not hurriedly show political office holders that he inherited from the past administration the way home because he believes that it is the owner of the house that knows how best to locate the positioning in that apartment.

Going by the urge and desperation of some party members and even APC stalwarts, the various political office holders and even some permanent secretaries who are presumed to be career officers would have since been sent parking.

Then comes the issue of the fear of Abdulrahman which I described as the beginning of wisdom.

The engine room of any government be it military or civilian is the civil service.

A state chief executive or a governor will see only what the civil servants presents to him.

But here in Kwara the story has changed or should I say is gradually changing.

Probably, because of the fear of the unknown, fear of retaining their positions or placing them in a higher positions, top, middle or even the lower cadre of the civil servants have opened up what is called Secret Files for the governor for him to see what the civil service is all about even areas where t he governor never intends putting his search light to.

One thing, the incumbent Head of Service, Mrs Modupe Oluwole, has been hammering on even during the past administration was punctuality to duty and hard work. One could even see the punctuality to duty of today’s civil servants with the long queues of vehicles in the streets from 7-8 am despite the fact that students are still on holiday.

Abdulrazaq is a personality that is difficult to read, hard to understand and a personality you will not know if you have offended him or you have pleased. The most confused set of people now are the core politicians, I mean those in the ruling party APC.

If you ask them about the programmes or agenda of the governor, their only answer is that they do not know his look, his agenda or his next line of action but that they only thing they know about the governor is that he’s working. Our governor talks less but he is full of action.

We have a replica of President Muhammadu Buhari in Kwara.

This writer which has said it the umpteenth time that he is not interested or keen in occupying any political appointment at any level is of the view that he is not against supporters of political parties being patronised but it should not be at the detriment of good governance.

One thing I have again observed in the governor and his deputy, Mr Kayode Alabi, is their humility and respect for the various constituted authorities as well as the separation of powers and schedule of duties which ordinarily result to conflict between the Oga at the top and his deputy.

With this golden opportunity that Kwara now has, we should ensure that we guide it jealously so that it will not elude us. Am not a critic of past governments or one that praises present administration, but like the saying goes, everyone or every administration will have the opportunity to write his or her name in gold if he or her government does well for humanity.

Unlike in the National Assembly, the highest you can spend as a state governor is eight years and already the journey of that eight years or four years of Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq has begun as he has already clocked 100 days in office.

Governor Abdulrazaq and his team, I wish you a successful tenure. Amen

Akanbi is an Ilorin based media consultant.

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