Kano political appointees forum; a dead or a living engine?-Alhassan Haruna Dambatta

Kungiyar Matasan Kano Advocacy Organisation was invited and ably represented at the Town Hall meeting organized by the Special Assistant to the President (SSA) on social investment programs, Barr. Ismail Ahmad on the 15th of November and various issues were raised and the one that catches my attention was what the SSA said about a ‘Kano political appointees Forum’ whose existence I believe is only known to few and whose activities are basically nontraceable.

I was there at the Town Hall meeting with a team to represent Kano Youths under the umbrella of Kungiyar Matasan Kano and I was opportune to have been called upon to be the first to outline complaints of Kano Youths at the occasion.

Even though the time allotted to each of the respondents was in nowhere enough, I was able to utilize my two minutes aptly by delivering the massages of Kano Youths on various issues but most importantly, the Federal government social investment programs.

The truth is always bitter but this time around it turn out to be sweet especially when the complaints of the Kano Youths were delivered in a form appreciated by 98% of the audience who happened to be Youths from various strata of our society.

Even the Civil Society Organisations CSOs present at the occasion couldn’t hold their excitement when I forwarded issues bordering on Youths Development and progression. The issues were discussed and serially defined and solutions provided by Kano youths for onward delivery to President, Muhammadu Buhari for immediate and prompt action.

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Of course, we forwarded the results of our investigations on FG’ SPW to the SSA on social investment programs Barr. Ismail Ahmad concerning the diverted slots of 1000 unemployed Youths of the 44 Local governments. The FG’s SPW in Kano state allocated 1000 slots each to the 44 local governments in the state but the apparent mismanagement of the scheme so exposed by Kungiyar Matasan Kano got the attention of both the dignitaries and the attendees at the event.

Whilst the event was ongoing, the SSA to the President on social investment programs, Barr. Ismail Ahmad informed the audience of the existence of a group called, Kano political appointees forum, chaired by the present Minister of Agriculture, Mal. Muhammad Sabo Nanono whose activities I believe is merely left in their doorsteps because nobody knows about them. The SSA  assured the audience of his willingness and readiness to engage the so-called forum and advise them to imbibe the spirit of representation and speak out on issues bordering on Development and progress of the north, but in particular, Kano state.

The debate started on the basis of the brutal truth I spoke about on issue that has stagnated our progression as a state and most importantly is the request on the SSA by the Youths of Kano for onward delivery to the president of Nigeria calling on him to act with patriotism in the Development of northern Nigeria, in particular, Kano state, a state whose bloc votes made him the president of this country twice.

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The refusal of the Minister of Transport, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to employ ‘priority tag’ for the construction of the standard gauge rail line from Kano to Kaduna and from Ibadan to Kano has made many of us angry and bitter about the non-performance of the president in the northern part of Nigeria and most especially Kano state.

The sabotage for the construction of Kano-Kaduna-Abuja 6 lane road by the Minister of Works, a former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola is another dilemma refusing us peace within ourselves.

This is the same road we were assured by both the president and the minister that funds for the project is a none issue, but 8 months to the end of the project deadline only less than 30 kilometres were done.

This is entirely in contrast to what is obtainable in the southwest and south-south of the country. Their roads have been paved and reconstructed, the Second Niger bridge almost completed, the dredging of their seaports completed and put into use, their airport reshaped, redesigned and rebuild, various roads in their domains reconstructed, their Youths taken care of, while our Boro port is still as it is today, the Mambila power plant is constructed on lies and deceit, the Kano-Kaduna-Abuja road is nowhere to be found, the standard gauge is all a political statement after all.

This is the reason why my delivery at the Town Hall meeting was full of emotions because we in Kano are very passionate about these projects that have refused to see the light of the day because of sabotage and the various plan to underdevelop the north and in particular Kano state.

Barr. Ahmad, the SSA to the President lavishing intent to call on the Forum to speak out against the abandonment and none inclusion of the North in the Developmental plan of the president’s 8 years in power was a little too late.

This is because, those in the forum are not for the Development of Kano state but are for their selfish intentions and stomach infrastructure, hence, it will be difficult for them to say to their principal what other kitchen cabinets will not like hearing — which is the Truth.

I cannot believe we have such a forum of the Federal government political appointees in Kano state, I cannot fathom how they operate with a mouth closed, the discovery of such a forum in our state that has never uttered a word of truth to the realm of power have further discouraged us.

They have never spoken or call on the government to deliver on its promise and the Kano-Kaduna-Abuja road, the standard gauge rail line, the dry port and other various structures and infrastructures of the federal government are required in Kano state, but nothing seems to be coming to us.

The federal government’s presence has been recorded in the Southwest and the Southeast with various magnificent infrastructures, I don’t need to mention, but what is there for the north? What is there for Kano state?

Our state has been left behind in every stratum of democratic dividend as measured in Nigeria, we are only insulted on a daily basis while our leaders — the Forum in Kano kept mute.

In view of these, we wish to inform the SSA to the President on SIP to keep to himself about calling on this inept forum whose groins have already been flattened to the ground and has never been relevant to our marriage of unity of purpose in a country from which our Noble ancient, historic, commercial city is being left behind in the federal government interventions on infrastructures.

Very soon, the election drum will sound and like the sheep theory on crowd management, we will be requested to come out en mass to elect another party and just like the sheep, we will never fail to come out one behind another to stamp another 4years of misery and lifeless existence with our hands. What an irony, what bad luck.

Comrade Alhassan Haruna Dambatta, Chairman Kungiyar Matasan Kano Advocacy Org.

Alaski1972@gmail.com