20
Reasons Why Nigerians Want Governor Shekarau As President
In May 2011
Writers Articles And Opinions
30 July 2010
By Saka Raji Audu
Every day we get closer to the 2011 presidential
election. In spite of the many contestants that have
sprang up and are warming up to participate in the
presidential contest, some of the potential candidates
are yet to unleash their blue prints and reasons why
they should be elected as President of Nigeria by
2011. The credibility of candidates is being relegated
to the background in view of the turning issue of
zoning, which we all believe, was introduced for
selfish interest and to also cause diversion and
create confusion. However, among the known
Presidential hopefuls, only Governor Ibrahim Shekarau,
the Sardaunan Kano appears focused and has always
talked about issues rather than sentiment and
animosity. He is simply a candidate that have always
addressed issues, zoning or no zoning. If he is
eventually presented by his party, ANPP, he is going
to be a candidate to beat when the 2011 presidential
poll is finally conducted. The reasons for this
assertion are not far-fetched as follows:
1.Achiever and performer per
excellence: As the people's governor, Shekarau was
able to give much attention to the basic needs and
aspirations of the people such as creation of
employment opportunity, provision of good access
roads, rural and urban electrifications, promotion of
both western and Islamic education, making hospital
accessible to people through the provision of drugs
and free hospital cards, rehabilitation of dilapidated
hospitals and building of new ones. He also provided
basic tools for improvement of agriculture,
enhancement of transportation system through provision
of tricycle vehicles known as "Adaidaita Sahu",
improvement of water supply through enhanced water
treatment plant and increase in daily supply and the
provision of structural and human development, etc.
All these performances are responsible for his many
awards and honours by the progressive minds across the
country.
2.Ambassador of Peace:
Peace, unity and stability are the basic ingredients
of advancement and progress. No society that is bereft
of these basic attributes can achieve success.
Shekarau has religiously ensured that people leave in
peace without rancour by doing things that unite the
people and avoiding things that divide them. This is
not to say that people are totally free from friction.
But he has always tried to ensure reduction of
friction and squabbles to barest minimum as we have
seen in his leadership disposition in the last six
years in Kano State.
3.Consistent: Shekarau is
highly known for his consistencies and steadfastness
because he is a principled leader. He does not believe
in robbing Peter to pay Paul. This explains why in
spite of all odds, he remains the last man standing in
the northwest geo-political zone of Nigeria. He does
not hop from one party to another bearing in mind that
political prostitution is a negation of political
ideas and ideals. Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of
Kano state has been described as the last man standing
in northwest geo-political zone and one of the last
saviours of the nation. The assertion was made by an
elder statesman and renowned playwright, Professor
Wole Soyinka when he paid a solidarity visit to the
governor in Kano. The Professor said based on the
determination of the governor as a person who finds
honour in respecting the mandate given to him by Kano
people, he deserves to be highly commended. Wole
Soyinka pointed out that as a person who has been so
passionate to democracy “we symbolically and morally
lend solidarity to people like Governor Shekarau for
his wonderful performances among other things that is
why I am in Kano."
4.Democratic prowess: He
is a democrat and has never truncated democracy or
democratic proceedings in whatever form. This is
because he knows that it is through democracy that
people can realize their wishes and aspiration. Thus,
he has always allowed people to have their way and
say. During his second term primary election, he
allowed his deputy to contest with him without any
form of coercion. Thus, his deputy was able to test
his acceptance with the people, courtesy of Shekarau's
democratic prowess.
5.Dependable, dedicated and
principled: Governor Shekarau is trustworthy,
workaholic and highly dependable. These basic
attributes have seen him through many difficult
waters. He listens to all but always endeavours to do
the right thing. He is a leader who does not believe
in jumping to conclusion, always giving way to reason
before embarking on any cause of action. All these
have been responsible for the many successes he has
recorded so far in his administration as the only
leader in Kano State who has served two terms as the
governor of the most populous and politically
sophisticated state in Nigeria.
6.Easily forgives:
Governor Shekarau is a leader that forgives whatever
wrong done to him. This is a man who was demoted from
being a Permanent Secretary to a class room teacher by
the power of his predecessor. When he also became
governor of the state, he bears no grudges or
ill-feelings against him. Rather, Shekarau ensures
that the opposition counselors whose allowances were
not paid by his predecessor were paid by him without
malice or sign of vengeance. This is unlike if his
immediate predecessor were to be in his shoes. Closely
related to Shekarau's act of forgiveness is the habit
of giving the oppositions their due rights. This type
of attribute increases pace of development and
enhancement of peace and unity among the people.
7.Empowers women and youths:
The rights and empowerment of women are prominent in
the governance of Malam Ibrahim Shekarau. His Ministry
for Women Affairs ensures the rights and empowerment
of women in the state. It is during Shekarau
administration that the restive youths are adequately
settled in gainful employment and schools against the
background of the fact that an idle man is a devil
man's workshop. This effort drastically reduced crime
rate in the state. This is also the target of Malam
Ibrahim Shekarau for the youths and women of Nigeria
when he becomes the President of the country in 2011
by the special grace of God.
8.Freedom of Expression:
The free flow of information about governance is very
crucial in democracy. It is on record that Shekarau
gives free hands to both government and private media
to operate without any form of coercion and attempt to
doctor such media contents. He is the most media
friendly governor in Nigeria. If Shekarau is voted as
President of Nigeria in 2011 by the special grace of
God, the type of draconian decree four of 1984 used to
cajole and imprison journalists will be unheard of.
Shekarau gives less attention to deliberate media
hypes and destructive criticisms by the oppositions
and partisan media onslaughts aimed at moving him and
his government away from good governance, believing
that whoever is too big to be criticized should also
be too small to be praised. This principle advances
progress and has given his government good direction.
9.Hard work and integrity:
He is known for his hard work, integrity and steadfast
approach to issues. As a result of these, his
administration in Kano established Anti-corruption and
transparency department, which has handled many cases.
His government also discloses revenue and expenditure
on monthly basis through his Ministry of Finance. He
also established the Directorate of Monitoring and
Evaluation that acts as checks and balances on
contract awards and executions. This ensured that
every contract is monitored to avoid delays and
abandonments.
10.Impeccably transparent:
It is not surprising that in May 2005, a visiting
senior official of the PDP-led federal government,
Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), former Attorney General of the
federation and Special Adviser on Ethics and good
governance to the former President Obasanjo pronounced
Malam Ibrahim Shekarau Nigeria’s most transparent and
vibrant governor. Similar commendation came from the
Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practice
Commission (ICPC), retired Justice Emmanuel Ayoola who
had advised other state governments to emulate
Shekarau by setting up anti-corruption agencies such
as the Kano State Public Complaints and
Anti-corruption Directorate (PCACD).
11.Intelligent: As a
teacher in Mathematic, Shekarau knows his onion pretty
well. You cannot manipulate and jungle figures against
him with the consent of cheating the system. Some of
the billions of public money diverted and stolen by
PDP leadership since the party came to power some
eleven years now are as a result of manipulations of
figures, which most of our leaders are ignorant about.
12.Internationally recognized:
Governor Shekarau is not a local champion that
concentrates his focus on local matter alone. He is a
man that is internationally exposed and widely
travelled. As we know, travelling enhances education
and experience. He has on many occasions been invited
to present papers at the international level where he
brain stormed on issues that affect Nigeria and
Nigerians, both at home and Diasporas. In November
2004, the former President Obasanjo appointed Shekarau
to lead a powerful multi-layer public section team to
Argentina to study the South American country’s debt
management initiatives. All experiences he garnered as
a result of his interaction with the world community
will be added advantage to his leadership experience
in the country's transformation.
13.Justice and equity:
Democracy is all about justice and fairness. This is
what Malam (Dr) Ibrahim Shekarau, the Sardaunan Kano
represents. In 1999, two civil servants were dismissed
on alleged diversion of public money. The two civil
servants later appealed. A committee was set up to
look into the case in which Shekarau was the Chairman.
After thorough investigation, the civil servants were
found guilty of committing the offence. Shekarau said
it was not fair for the system to simply ask the
culprits to go without recovering the public money so
diverted by them. The civil servants were however
reinstated and subsequently given compulsory
retirement. Their retirement benefits were used to
recover the public money so diverted by them in
addition to the refund made to the government by each
of the two culprits. In this case, justice has been
done to the system. If civil servants realize that
whatever they steal from the public coffers will be
recovered and still lose their job, they will avoid
doing so as it does not profit them. This will bring
sanity to the system than allowing such people to go
away with their misdeeds. It is unfair to the public
that owns the fund. Even though, the two civil
servants involved still went ahead to challenge the
decision in court, justice and fairness is seen to
have been done.
14.Nationalist: As a
patriotic citizen of Nigeria, Governor Shekarau is a
leader that accommodates every body irrespective of
tribe, religion, sex and region. He has travelled wide
and breadth of the country. His appointment of
non-indigenes into his cabinet and the honour he has
received in Osun, Anambra, Plateau, Niger and other
parts of the country are cases in point.
15.People's leader:
Governor Shekarau is a man that believes in a
government where the interest and well being of the
people are protected and of paramount importance. As
the two terms governor of Kano State, his
administration executed people's oriented projects in
its improvement of agricultural yields, massive road
constructions and rehabilitations, opening of new
incentives and moving the people from the nadir of
poverty to the limelight of recognition.
16.Populist: Governor
Ibrahim Shekarau is a household name in Nigeria.
Before he became Governor in 2003, he was a civil
servant and a teacher who impacted on millions of
people. The beneficiaries of Shekarau's knowledge cut
across the nook and cranny of the countrythat
hardly any minute passes away without been talked
about.Asa new generation politician,
Shekarau seems to have created good impression for a
start that has really contributed to the growth of his
political wings.
17.Respect for traditional
leaders: Shekarau is a leader that does not
disparage traditional leaders. He considers them as
partners in progress. The significant role of
traditional leaders in the development and progress of
the society is what Governor Ibrahim Shekarau adores.
This explains the enhanced relationship between his
government and traditional rulers across the country.
18.Security Conscious:
Shekarau pays high premium to security of life and
property in his governance. As the Chief Security
Officer of his state, he takes every security matter
with high level of seriousness. This is because of his
concern for peace and safety of the people
irrespective of their origin. This accounts for the
relative peaceful atmosphere his state has been
enjoying in the past six years, leading to influx of
people and investors into the state. This area has
been a source of envy to some opposition who would
have wanted heavy crises for the state. If Shekarau
becomes President of Nigeria in 2011, there is no
doubt that indeed Nigeria will be a home for every one
irrespective of tribe, religion, cultural and
religious differences. He did it in Kano and will also
do it for the rest states in Nigeria and beyond.
19.Technology personified:
As a graduate of science, Shekarau has the penchant
desire to provide technological development, which
society deserves for life improvement. In this
direction, he embarked on ICT project for technical
and human developments. In this direction, the
administration of Shekarau also established the
Ministry of Science and Technology towards the
development of this core area.
20.Vibrant reconciler: The
surest way to stop a crisis is to prevent the cause
and nip the trouble in the mud by addressing the issue
in time. Realizing the harm unresolved crises could
cause to business environment as Kano, the Shekarau
administration has had cause to intervene and resolve
some trade disputes among some business interests that
would have hitherto degenerated into high level crises
that would horrendously affect the peaceful conduct of
businesses in the state. The people acknowledge the
various steps taken by government in resolving the
naughty problems that would have escalated if not its
timely diplomatic intervention. It is this spirit of
togetherness irrespective of whatever differences that
the various business concerns operating in the state
are endeavour to live peacefully with one another in
the state.
It is in realization of the above twenty potential
qualities of Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, the Sardaunan
Kano in his leadership dispositions that made the good
people of Nigeria to call on him to contest in the
2011 presidential election. Except for jealousy,
hatred, envy and greed, there is no other reason why
with free and fair election and if his party nominates
him as her flag bearer, Shekarau should not win the
2011 presidential election, not minding whose ox is
gored. Whatever it is, time shall tell.
Saka Raji Audu writes from Kano and can be reached
on his email:
sakaraj@yahoo.com
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