Tijjani Mohammed
The creation of Jigawa State in 1991 was nostalgic, coupled with mixed feeling over who owned the state. The various military governors and administrators that ruled the state focused on putting in place basic infrastructure and amenities in Dutse, the state capital. The first democratically elected governor, Barrister Ali Sa’ad Birnin Kudu, continued with the work of his predecessor, Ali Sa’ad, but was short-lived as the military returned in 1993.
In 1999, Alhaji Ibrahim Saminu Turaki was elected as governor at age a little over 40 years. Governor Turaki relocated ministries and parastatals to local government headquarters in the guise of diversification of development. But the real was to re-ignite the mixed feelings and abrasive creation of Jigawa State in 1991. He proposed many programmes that were not actualized.
The division in Jigawa further widened to the extent Turaki shared Jigawa State allocations to the citizens monthly through what he termed “Kudin Akwati” (polling units funds). The Turaki administration had nothing to show in terms of infrastructural development, social services, and capital investments in Jigawa when he left office in 2007.
In fact, the incoming Governor Sule Lamido administration sourced for overdraft to pay workers’ May 2007 salary because Jigawa State account was overdrawn by Turaki administration by over N5 billion.
Lamido was sworn in as governor of Jigawa State on May 29, 2007. He inherited a blown overdraft, a divided state with ministries spread all over the state, a burden of inflicted grassroots corruption through “Kudin Akwati”, a state with the lowest human development indices, a glorified local government headquarters as its capital, no degree awarding institution, no tertiary health facility, a state divided along five emirates lines, etc. Lamido also inherited a state with five first class emirs, best class of ulamas, best academicians, celebrated retired federal and state civil servants, highly qualified, dedicated, and engaging civil servants, highly resourceful youth and women, students with high intelligence, and a new generation of Jigawa citizens that are looking up to the state for opportunities.
To set his administration into conquering its many challenges, Lamido called a stakeholders’ meeting. A programme was developed, bringing Jigawa from its below sea level to the current status of above sea level. Before Lamido left office in 2015, his administration used the inputs of the stakeholders to design a 50-year development plan which was viewed as an action that might equate Jigawa with newly found‘heavens’ like Dubai and Doha.
Lamido declared a state of emergency on education, health, roads, agriculture and all the sectors of the state’s economy and a statewide infrastructural improvement commenced. Three institutions awarded degrees, a situation which was zero when he took office.
Programmes and policies were created to help develop the human capital of the state including the famous Manpower Development Institute. Dutse International Airport, attested to be the most modern in the land, was constructed. A state university was built. The most modern TV and radio station was built. new high court and Aminu Kano Triangle were built now referred to as three arms zone.
Dr. Lamido handed over a Jigawa State with no pending unpaid workers’ salary, a situation which was and still prevalent in other states in Nigeria. Lamido handed over the state to Governor Badaru with no financial loan from any bank or individual.
But what is disgusting about the Badaru administration is his effort to undo all the good works of Lamido without recourse to their importance to Jigawa citizens.
One further unreconcilable situation to people like Lamido is the quest of Badaru of re-igniting the creation differences of Jigawa State which he fought hard to cement. While unity was one of the fundamentals of Lamido administration, Badaru is busy trying to fulfill his campaign promises based on emirate sectionalism.
I am privileged to read all the three last speeches of Governor Lamido. At the commissioning ceremony of JTV in Dutse early in May 2015, Lamido called on his supporters and Jigawa State people to support the incoming administration of Badaru. Lamido further requested Jigawa people to pray for Badaru because whether he did the right thing or not, the consequences of his actions will impact on the lives of Jigawa citizens who are brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters of the state.
Lamido has completed his two terms in office and cannot contest for the governor of Jigawa State, nor will he lower himself to ascribe to other political positions in Jigawa, given his antecedents. Lamido is one of the former governors, if not the only one, who refused to contest for Senate because “it is unfair for him to unseat his political son.”
Although all his former colleagues are arguably silent in the affairs of their state except for Kano, which is an APC affair, the soul of Jigawa State is currently evaporating due to the Jigawa State governor’s desperation and carelessness calculated to dismantle what Lamido and the Jigawa State aggregate united and built over the eight years of Lamido’s administration.
My take: following the political training of Lamido, and his stance on the future of Jigawa, he cannot fold his arms and witness what he and Jigawa people worked so tirelessly and built perish in the hands of Governor Badaru. Lamido was quiet about Badaru’s clamp on Jigawa people for some time early in Governor Badaru’s regime despite various intimidation posed on him and his family aligning with corruption charges of EFCC, a norm that was never witnessed in the Nigerian traditional institutions cycle. He can only be Jagoran talakawa if he continued to fight for them.
Even though the struggle of Lamido was typical under democracy, but Badaru used his power and instituted a petition that landed Lamido in jail in the name of incitement, a situation that has never happen in Nigerian political history where a serving governor jailed his predecessor.
Lamido’s quest for the soul of Jigawa is a quest for all patriotic Jigawa citizens, nobody should be left out otherwise, divided we fall, and Badaru and the vultures that surrounded him will be the winners at the expense of Jigawa citizens.
Mohammed, an indigene of Buji, Jigawa State, writes from Abuja
