BY: COMRADE TAJUDEEN HABEEB
In preparation for the 2019 general elections, the year 2018 is a definite one as it is the period that will determine the eventual outcome of 2019. It will be the harbinger of either good or evil; prosperity or poverty; real change or being stuck with the depressing status quo. It is the year we will all remember for a long time, if not for the rest of our lives.
So it is not out of place, if I welcome Nigerians, particularly Kwarans to the Year 2018 with a message that will help shape our thoughts and actions towards the actualization of a Kwara we will all be proud of.
It is a cliché to say that democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people. But no other definition will suffice. The operational word from that definition is people. The ‘people form the basis of leadership as well as the followership. This, in simple terms, means democracy is all about the will and choices of the people. If we make good choices by electing credible leaders, our society will prosper, while the reverse will be the case if we dont.
Do not get me wrong here. I dont mean political affiliation as there are good and bad candidates in all the parties. The choice of Governor Ben Ayade of Cross Rivers; Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of Gombe both of the PDP, and Akinwunmi Ambode of the APC cannot in all honesty be compared with that of Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state and Yahaya Bello of kogi state, both of the APC.
The latter duo has arguably a hallmark of incompetence in handling their state matters. The same can be said of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and Nyesome Wike of Rivers State both of the PDP who have relegated governance to pettiness and thuggery. Compared against APCs Aminu Waziri Tambuwa of Sokoto state and Mallam Nasir Elrufai of Kaduna state, for instance; Wike and Fayose look like school boys. It is then our responsibility to distinguish between parties and personalities, taken into consideration the intellect, competence, compassion, antecedent and most importantly the zeal of the aspirants.
kwara State, 2018 budget tagged “budget of sustained growth and prosperity”. In total, recurrent and capital expenditure is N181,886,056,555.when appropriated by the Assembly increased by almost 9billion naira. For the 2018 financial year as passed the budget is N190,997,425,571.
Breaking these figures down, N12,628,47,156 representing 11.8% due to Education,N 23,918,318,992. Representing 22.4% is due to health, N7,550,770,62. Representing 7.1% to the general public service and the economic affairs sector has the largest percentage with total budget of N53,744,166,521. Representing 54.4% has earmarked for capital expenditure.
Considering the fact that budget is anticipatory, and that the projected revenue by the Government in total anticipatorily for 2018 stood at N71.5billion. N38,336,131,710 as internally generated revenue and N33,116,928,484 as the statutory revenue from the federation account. It is safe to say the performance of the budget will produce the same result as those of the past. Consequently, not commensurate with Kwaran’s desired rate of development.
Taken education as a measure, the whole of Kwara state educational sector budget stands at 12billion naira. Alone, in a financial year Harvard University in United States budgeted $4.5billion, amount equal to the total budget of the state, yet we expect an Harvard like University in Kwara State University, Malete.
Realistically there is no magic in governance, it is not a rocket science. The current financial status of our dear state cannot give us the anticipated development in correlation with the pace of expectations. It is then left to the leadership of the state, the manipulative prowess to think out of the box in a bid to increase the level at which the pace of our dear state moves development wise.
This is especially true as the revenue projection for our state is not encouraging. It appears days of going cap in hand to Abuja for revenue to run the state are over as federal allocation dwindles yearly. So we need a governor who can think out of the box, who can create something out of nothing and who can take the state to a new level of autonomy. That is the reason why, in my opinion, the two possible choices that represent this ideal for Kwara are Lukman Mustapha for the PDP and Bolaji Abdullahi for the APC.
It is important I state here, that I am not affirming them as the best we have or can have in Kwara State. The emergence of other willing Kwarans to lead our dear state, especially from the Northern part, will further shape political discourse. I have just pulled the two out of the pool as perhaps the best possible aspirants.
LUKMAN MUSTAPHA
As earlier postulated, the choice to chose between developmental politics and political pettiness might be a hard one to make considering its immediate hardship effect but its overall effect in the future life of those who make it are evident and can’t be overemphasized.
Lukman Mustapha is not a practicing politician, according to the established rule of politics; neither can he be viewed as charismatic. But he brings some dynamism to the table, a competence that has been tested and proven in the private sector.
As the only private sector person touted to be seeking gubernatorial seat, a technocrat as I will like to call him, his choice of candidature will breathe new ideas into our polity and initiate new ways of doing things in a more productive way. It is my hope that his experience in that area also will help build the economy of the state through strategies and policies capable of wooing private investors to the state, who will in turn through corporate social responsibilities and taxes, contribute to the infrastructural development of the state.
Mustapha is a homeboy who has demonstrated knowledge of the peculiar problems besetting Kwara and who through his philanthropic acts has provided succor to many. It is my sincere observation that to move Kwara forward, your understanding of the problems and terrain is relevant. Mr. Mustapha has always demonstrated his commitment to social rebirth and redemption of our lost cultural heritage of discipline, respect, hard-work and morality, which he has blamed in several fora as reasons for the decadence of our society.
I have reiterated severally that if the opposition will have any chance of dislodging the ruling party in Kwara, they must not field an aggrieved member of the ruling class who turned opposition as a candidate will stand no chance. A fresh brain and personality will automatically do some wonders politically as no propaganda can be used against such a person. So it is safe to say that if the opposition is going to increase their chances of winning, Mustapha will be a perfect choice considering his wide acceptability and his decent personality.
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STRENGTHS
As a career banker and businessman of more than two decades which has seen him traversing the length and breadth of the Country and beyond, it is expected that his wealth of experience in judicious utilisation of funds, especially investment banking will birth a fresh life to government as the Chief executive of the State.
He has sustained his silent philanthropic gestures to the less privileged especially Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) which is the soul of any Society, Educational grant and scholarship to indigent students, provision of drinkable water through digging and repair of boreholes among others for almost a decade, even as a private citizen.
Top on the list of things working for him is the timely venturing into media ownership through the establishment of SOBI 101.9 FM, which has helped broken the government’s monopoly in broadcast Information dissemination.
His coming onboard to a large extent will help write the wrongs of 2015 where the PDP lost the guber polls the day it announced result of its acrimonious primaries.
The opposition definitely needs to learn from the just concluded LG polls, where the personality and acceptance of its candidate Com. Musbaudeen Esinrogunjo helped swayed votes and sympathy for it in Ilorin West LG.
Another major thing working for Mustapha is his never ending contact list, as upon assumption of office, he can activate his contact list especially in the business world both locally and internationally to attract the much needed industrialization of the State through the establishment of factories and industries, thereby solving unemployment and reducing crime rate simultaneously.
He’ll however have a lot of convincing to do, knowing that his would-be predecessors in the persons of Dr. Bukola Saraki and Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed were both Bankers like himself. He’ll definitely have to grapple with this co-incidence and convince the school of thought that now sees bankers as the problem of Kwara State to have a rethink.
Above all, with the growing disenchantment with the ruling oligarchy in the State, coming on the platform of the opposition will further cement his alignment with the masses.
CHALLENGES
He is in all ramifications a greenhorn in the political terrain, dabbling into the murky waters of politics might rob him of his personality and name, especially with the 2019 elections tilting towards a mudslinging and character assassination.
His major challenge will however be how to convince the career politicians to cede the governorship ticket to him on a platter of gold as an outsider, as against picking someone from within the fold who had been at the forefront of the battle to send the Saraki political machinery packing.
With decades of failed promises, the electorates will receive his campaign pledges with a pinch of salt and he’ll need to device a campaign means which will be able to galvanize the required movement that will have a chance of sending the ruling party packing.
Knowing that money plays a pivotal role in electioneering in this part of the world, raising the required war-chest to neutralize the ruling party who has at its beck and call the State treasury will also be difficult.
BOLAJI ABDULLAHI AS AN OPTION.
Does anybody need any Jupiter to tell the political situation in Kwara state? The simple analogy of the situation is testing a new food having eaten the same thing for long. But the reality of life is that if another spice is added to that same food. Many might opt for a repeat of the same old food in anticipation of a better taste than settle for an untasted’ delicacy.
However, adding spice to the current political situation the ruling class find itself, I believe should be one of the strategies of the ruling party to attract the peoples confidence again. For realistically same way wont bring same result as obtainable in the past.
That spice which may tempt Kwara people to eat the same old soup again is Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi. His antecedent as a commissioner for education speaks volume as his achievements have not been surpassed. He has further demonstrated his leadership capacity as the minister of youth development and sports. As minister of sports, one of his major achievements was that Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations after 19 years of failure to make a mark at the tournament. He also led the reform of the Nigerian Professional Football League, working with other stakeholders to establish the League Management Company, which has significantly improved the league.
As Minister of Youth Development, he began the reform of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), based on the policy that corps members will only be posted to four cardinal areas, but that policy was not sustained as Abdullahi was posted from Youth to the Ministry of Sports.
Abdullahi combines intelligence, passion and an unusual ability to get things done. He is a damn good manager of resources, especially human resources with a very sharp eye for human development. He is humble, respectful and loyal. Through thick and thin, he has stuck with his political leader, Saraki; a demonstration that he is a trustworthy person, an omoluabi.
In my opinion, if elected Mallam Bolaji Abdullahis strength will be in human capacity development, infrastructural development and educational Advancement, which will, no doubt, enhance the economy of the state.
STRENGTHS
Abdullahi has left a mark of excellence in all his previous appointments both at the state and national levels. He is reserved, urbane and an intellectual.
He also has proven his loyalty the Saraki family, when he chose to pitch his tent with his benefactor, Dr. Bukola Saraki in 2014 as against his principal and then President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, when Saraki decamped to the newly registered All Progressives Congress (APC), thereby costing him his ministerial appointment.
WEAKNESSES
One of his major weaknesses is his recent appointment as the National Spokesperson of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), he is daily losing some of his non-partisan admirers through his daily press releases justifying the seemingly unjustifiable.
Closely related to this is the controversy trailing his local government of origin which has been shredded in secrecy, that which is viewed in some quarters as desperation on the part of Bolaji.
Conclusively, if good governance is the aspiration of kwarans, then politics should be left aside for competence. An ideology driven personnel is all the state needs to move out of the current situation of underdevelopment. And I am convinced the choice of either of the two will achieve our development goals.
As we move through 2018, I say may God Bless the state of Harmony and Nigeria.
TAJUDEEN HABEEB, is a political/social analyst.
Can be reached on: 08056121368.
tallest2015@gmail.com
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