I was invited to deliver an opening remarks at an induction course organized by the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) for Civil Society Organizations that are working on extractive industries governance, held on March 1, 2017 in Kano.
The choice of Kano as venue of the programme was not a surprise to me considering that Kano, apart from being the commercial hub of Northern Nigeria, but also rich in solid minerals, and therefore, of great interest to the NETI’s mandate. What however astounded me was the NEITI findings that it had conducted its Fiscal Allocation and Statutory Disbursement (FASD) audit which covered Kano State, part of which identified among nine states that were covered in the audit exercise, as the best in term of investment in the social sector, which comprises of education, health, agriculture etc. Kano state government has since used the recommendations of the NEITI report to support the ongoing reforms in the state.
The basis for alluding to this case in point is that the strategy under which the administration of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje approached governance was predicated on principles openness, transparency and accountability which, accordingly, blocked all avenues for leakages and wastage of public funds through strict fiscal discipline and a robust financial management in all public institutions of the state as well as zero tolerance for corruption.
This measure generated savings which contributed tremendously in achieving the set targets of initiating and executing various policies and programmes that have impacted positively on various facets of lives of the people. This include construction of underpass/flyover bridges, various empowerment programmes, remodeling of markets, provision of health facilities and construction of various roads, in addition to completion of long abandoned projects.
During his inauguration in May 2015, Ganduje clearly spelt out the driving policies of his government, part of which is zero tolerance to corruption. Since then, it has not veered off, but remained firm and committed in fulfilling the pledges it made. It remained consistently focused on promoting the culture of transparency and accountability.
No doubt, corruption undermines economic development, political stability, rule of law, social development, disrupts social order and destroys public trust in the governance system. It is virtually found in the citizens everyday life; on the streets, in schools, homes, offices, markets, mosques, churches, traditional and cultural organisations, agencies and departments of governments, by the youths, students, parents, teachers, politicians, security agencies and the list is unending to our mention and damning.
As part of its bold and noble initiative, the Ganduje administration has also established the Anti-Corruption Institute, Goron Dutse which is capable of transforming the governance landscape in the state.
The measure is part of effort to provide a useful training arena for all arms of government and other stakeholders to research and learn towards evolving a home ground anti-corruption approach that reflects the peculiarities of the Nigerian context especially Kano state. Already, the government of Kano state had sponsored the training of many of the commission’s staff to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) training institute.
Kano state remained the only state that has a functional anti-corruption agency, the Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC), formerly a directorate, which is fully provided with its requisite without any interference in order to operate in line with its federal sister agencies. The establishment of the commission gave a clear indication that the fight against corruption was gaining momentum not only in the state but also in the country.
While the commission had placed the state in a leading role in the country in terms of the fight against corruption, protection and promotion of human rights, the Ganduje administration’s intervention also earned the public acceptance of the institution as an unbiased umpire, which had also established offices in all the 44 local government areas in the state to enlarge the scope of its operation and to bring it closer to the people.
The administration, as part of its effort to ensuring transparency and accountability in governance, has also approved the establishment of Transparency and Accountability Units (ACTU) in all Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) jointly supervised by the commission and the Office of the Head of Civil Service with support from development partners such as Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC).
The Ganduje administration equally subscribed to Open Government Partnership (OGP) in 2017 to ensure openness and transparency in government business which has proven to be one of the best sub-national example in terms of implementation and adherence to co-creation principles.
And with the signing of the state’s anti-corruption document, Kano State Anti-Corruption Strategy (KANSACS) 2019-2023, which public presentation was held during this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day December 9, to strengthen state institutions in their fight against corruption, the strategy would usher in an anti-corruption crusade in the state and also go a long way in showcasing more commitment of the present administration towards the fight in all its ramifications.
The document is aimed at designing a corruption prevention strategy, encouraging public engagement, ethical re-orientation, enforcement and sanctions, recovery and management of the proceeds of corruption as well as allied offences.
It also showcased the administration’s zero tolerance for corruption, through various initiatives and fulfilling the administration’s promise of providing a vibrant leadership with people of proven integrity, and of legal and civil society backgrounds, to ensure credibility in all government affairs.
The espousal of the document is an important breakthrough for the government of Kano state in its dogged effort to tackle the multi-faceted problem of corruption at different levels of governance. The strategy will be fully integrated with the OGP principles, which Kano state government is already committed to and implementing the first co-created OGP State Action Plan (SAP) 2020-2022.
In the SAP, the state is stanch to a total of 11 reform initiatives across six thematic areas including fiscal transparency, access to justice, access to information, citizens’ engagement, service delivery and anti-corruption.
However, despite the effort of fighting corruption by the state government, the corruption is fighting back, nonetheless this has not shift its focus in maintaining the attitude of zero tolerance for corruption which led to prosecution of some high ranking officials and some are still under investigation and when completed the matter will be taken to court for adjudication.
And considering the fact that the state chief executive has given the chairman of the commission, Barr. Muhuyi Magaji Rimin Gado a free hand to operate without interference, the PCACC has been able deal with high profile corruption cases and amicable resolution of many disputes involving the citizenry.
The anti-corruption czar has been very active in prosecuting embezzlers of public resources, promoting the amicable settlement of disputes and recovery of misappropriated funds. And in dealing with the menace of corruption in Kano, there is no scared cow since not even members of the state Executive Council have past the worst.
No doubt, corruption is not an easy one to fight, because it affects so many different branches of our lives, so much that some people do not even consider breaking trust is anymore a crime. The goal of the Ganduje administration is to ensure the protection of public trust. It has never been the intention to witch-hunt, but determined within the laws to call people to account.
Interestingly, from what we have seen so far, Ganduje still has the courage to continue with the fight as we observed that it’s one of his priorities.
Garba is the commissioner, nformation, Kano state
