08/01/2023
IF NOT KWANKWASO, WHO?
BY AHMAD ISMAIL ABDULAZIZ
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It all started with a debate, where a friend of mine listed proudly many atrocities he believed my political mentor, Dr. Muhammad Rabiu Kwankwaso staged, although with the guise of politics in full force. Everything can be possible within our dramatically political space. Unfortunately, I was saddened by those allegations against my mentor. I am saddened not for the harsh criticism he directed towards my mentor but for the credulous mentality that surround the majority of Nigerian potential voters or masses, which somebody may term "Dyslexia" or the phrase I preferred “a bit wet behind the ears”, because after this disastrous display by the leading APC government, the masses still believe what they were told by politicians, rather reading without a bit sense of realism. Fortunately I ended the debate as a winner but I left the place with a gaping hole that left a scar in a form of question "Is Dr. Kwankwaso really the right person for the job?"
The obvious answer is "Yes" even though many people may have different opinions but hopefully not in the manner that the Obidients differ from their counterparts. The essence of this paragraph is informed reminiscent of my first university days where every lecturers before starting a class had to introduce himself. Introduction therefore is necessary for one to have a good knowledge of another. In this paragraph an attempt is made to introduce my mentor. Without much ado, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso aka Jagora or Madugu was born on 21st October 1956 (65 years old), he hails from Kwankwaso in Madobi LGA, Kano State. He was a former member of House of Representatives (1992-1993) where he was voted to deputize the then speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and now Presidential candidate of the ruling party. Kwankwaso was a Former two termed Kano State Governor (1999-2003, 2011-2015), Senator representing Kano central (2015-2019) and a Minister of Defence among others. There is no mystery in his age or his educational background impact; he is well learned to the extent of acquiring a Doctorate degree in Water Engineering, which all together made him outstanding when the recent Academic and bio data of the Presidential candidates were displayed. Kwankwaso is the primus inter pares among the four major contestants.
It is my ernest prayer that the masses understand the importance of 2023 general election. This is not the right time to do any experiment but rather an issue of examining each candidate's antecedents. We should also take note that party loyalty is not for the masses rather for the few self-centred politicians. Campaigning for your political superman shouldn’t be inconspicuous as it seems to have become a culture of many political camps, but rather a conspicuous or even so open that a doubter can go to fact check the reality of a claim or go back to the various candidates' origin, see with his own eyes and ask what did they do when they previously had opportunities.
It is without a doubt, Nigeria’s political space is in shamble to the point where we are left with only the alternative of choosing who is better than the rest, who has the first class experience of the situation the masses are in and who has legacies that align with the majority potential voters' (masses') interest and who had the blueprint of the genesis of our cultural/tribal differences. We shouldn’t let big grammar moguls, "I must be American or White by force" steal our prosperous next four years to share among their close friends and families at large.
According to Gates Foundation, developing human capital is key to turning Nigeria’s demographic emergency into a demographic opportunity. Uba Michael wrote on Vanguard News that “investment in 21st century human capital is Nigeria’s only solution to get the country working again.’’ Working again as it is in Atiku’s popular word of 2019 “Get Nigeria Working Again” did he really do that when he had the opportunity? It is not for me to answer the latter question but I can happily answer a Yes for the NNPP’s Presidential candidate, Dr. Muhammad Rabiu Kwankwaso as we can see and attest to the thousands he had done when he was blessed to lead Kano. To cut it short I am a living witness that Kwankwaso sponsored more than 5,000 children of working class Kano indigenes to study in various universities both locally and abroad for their undergraduate and postgraduate studies. He initiated the first free school feeding program in our primary schools and secondary schools, free education from basic to tertiary schools among Kano State indigenes; he created more than 30 vocational centres across the state. He doesn’t stop at only inaugurating those vocational centres but gave seed capital to the graduating students. He successfully oversee the Overhauling of our Primary and Secondary school destroyed classrooms by building new modern classrooms, laboratories and offices across the State at large, he provide Buses to convey our girls from their respective houses to their various school, Hence the name Mr Education. He created KAROTA a Youths lead Agency that overlook road traffic across the States which many Kano residents knew the importance of that Agency then and many more. My god! I just have to reaffirm Dawisu’s saying “you just can’t love Kano and then hate Kwankwaso.
Remembering Kano around Kwankwaso without a doubt prove Gerry Becker’s Human Capital theory, where he defined human capital as “activities that influence future monetary and psychic income by increasing resources in people.” And its main forms were schooling and on-the-job training, although he also considered medical care, migration, and searching for information about prices and incomes. It was a proud moment for Kano and Nigeria to learn that three of the beneficiaries of Kwankwaso’s Scholarship program were listed among the most cited scientist in the world, among them is Dr. Aliyu Isa Aliyu, a mentor of mine and a teacher to many of my colleagues.
Rabiu Kwankwaso's sharp memory and versatility made him different from his fellow political mates. I was overwhelmed by his ability during 2011 gubernatorial campaigns at local government level where we saw or heard his capability of knowing the culture, elites, respected elders around each ward across the State. Of course, to Kwankwaso politics is always local but to his counterparts it is only local when they are in need of votes or they have the need to brag. This ability will be handy in curtailing the country’s insecurity challenges and solving the looming tribal war across the nation. Most Kwankwaso’s policies align with the majority interest as we can remember his hard work on implementing Shari’ah and Hisbah across Kano after he carefully studied and understood the need of the people at that time.
It is without a doubt that Dr. Muhammadu Rabiu Kwankwaso has shun the popular saying of Late. Abba Kyari “In a world dominated by instant communication and unregulated social media, the politics of who shouts loudest is increasingly the voice that is most widely heard, often with little or no reference to the facts.” We shouldn’t let selfishness make us succumb to the menace of dirty politics and never again should we give chance to leaders who are lamentably unfit to manage even a warehouse. There is no contradiction between comparing Nigeria’s insecurity challenges to the detaching action shown by our leaders toward human Capital. For sure, Kwankwaso is not a messiah or saint but an able man that I believe will change Nigeria’s woes.
