Second Term: Why Ganduje Must Read This!

In 2015, immediately after the election of Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as governor of Kano State, I wrote an open letter, titled: “So as to avoid a Shinkafi Treatment, Open Letter to Governor Ganduje”. I’ve written so much advising the governor to focus much on governance and less on politics, because most of the politicians that surrounded the governor were not in good terms with his predecessor, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso.

The reason I cautioned Ganduje not to engage himself in any political fight was the derivable lessons from Zamfara politics during the Governor Shinkafi era, where a political godson rejected a godfather that made him a governor, but when the godfather fought back, the story became sour for the son.

 As far as I am concerned, Kano and Zamfara shared some similitude at that time. As the then deputy governor of Kano, Ganduje was surprisingly anointed by his principal, Sen. Kwankwaso, as in the case for Zamfara where Ahmad Yarima, the then governor anointed his deputy, Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi, to succeed him.

Before the end of Shinkafi’s first tenure, things had fallen apart. Yarima had to fight back and endorse another candidate in the person of Abdulaziz Yari to defeat and oust Shinkafi out of the State Government House, which he eventually did.

Therefore, had Ganduje listened to my advice, his political tussle with Senator Kwankwaso couldn’t have taken too far, if at all there could be one.

As a good governance advocate and staunch supporter of the masses, I wrote another open letter to the governor, focusing on the area of youth development.

 I dissipated so much energy discussing the rot in the state’s education sector, especially the dilapidating condition of the sector; challenges in the sports and health sectors which were squarely thrashed in my piece, among others.

Again, had Ganduje listened to my advice, the issue of going for a supplementary poll couldn’t have happened. If Ganduje had continued with some policies that were touching the lives of the people of Kano positively, Kwankwaso would have been demystified in the recent governorship poll.

It is regrettable, especially after having been given several advises, that Governor Ganduje went and surround himself with people that could not tell him the truth.

Incompetent and quack aides are all over his government. I hope Ganduje have learnt a lesson after the declaration of the March 9th governorship election ‘inconclusive’ in Kano.

Nothing has earned Kwankwaso high respect in the eyes of the people other than his patriotic zeal of making the life of the common man better. His free education scheme, zero tolerance for corruption, following of due process and his open-door policy of governance.

Though he has his shortcomings, the truth must be said about the former governor who had distinguished himself among others.

His postgraduate scholarship was open and on merit, everyone could have access to it in as much as one had the requisite qualification. However, I learnt that the present administration is also running a postgraduate scholarship.

 Unfortunately, an insider had told me that the Deputy Governor Nasiru Yusf Gawuna is sabotaging the governor’s effort in the selection process, subjective and based on party loyalty.

This is the first port of my losing confidence in the Ganduje government.

These are the kind of policies that made Kwankwaso so popular and was loved by the people. I’m citing these examples only to serve as lessons to Ganduje.

If there is any leader that had a golden opportunity of being loved by touching the lives of Kano people is Governor Ganduje.

There are so many progressive policies that if he had continued with them, we could not have witnessed any inconclusive election in the state.

Ganduje’s first term was tagged as anti-masses, anti-poor and a family-and-friends government that had no regards for the betterment of the common man.

 If the governor would listen to me this time and avoid the repetition of his mistakes, he will become one of the best governors Kano State would have ever had in recent times.

As Ganduje takes oath for the second term, I will advise him to take a critical step towards addressing his administration’s challenges of nepotism, favoritism, familiarization and non-compliance to due process in the administration of governance.

He should appoint competent personalities into his government in order to take Kano to greater heights. You should, as well, give high priority to education, youth and health sectors.

Doing so would be an added advantage. He should reinvigorate the sponsorship of Kano indigenes that have the requisite requirements for postgraduate studies the way Kwankwaso did.

Avoid the mistake of appointing touts that can neither read nor write into your government. It brings damage to your government. In terms of infrastructural development, I can rate you ‘excellent’.

Ganduje has performed well in this area. I make bold to say that there is no governor in the Northern part of this country that can compete with Ganduje on infrastructure.

Not over, the governor must include competent young people into his government, no nation has ever developed without the contribution of the young people.

The gerontocrats are tired and cannot come up with new things. I don’t know what they brought to your first term, let alone the second term. Some of your commissioners and aides deserve not to be re-appointed.

You know them. if you are bringing anybody back, these persons must be reappointed based on their performances. I doubt if the whole of them deserve another appointment with the exception of three to five.

Adnan Mukhtar Tudunwada is a Journalist and postgraduate student at Bayero University, Kano.