There is a common saying in the political and developmental circles in Kaduna state that former Governor Nasir el-Rufai has swapped position and place with his former colleague in Katsina state, Rt. Hon. Bello Aminu Masari.
The statement is an euphemism suggesting that the bold ideas and purposeful leadership that the diminutive Malam gave to Kaduna are now being replicated in Katsina while Kaduna is witnessing the lacklustre performance synonymous with the Masari years in Katsina state.
As someone from Southern Kaduna, I am not a fan of Malam Nasir El-Rufai because of some of his actions and inactions. But, my personal reservations notwithstanding, one cannot in good conscience deny his developmental strides within the eight years that he held sway as helmsman in our dear Kaduna state.
That is why I became uncomfortable with some unpleasant tunes coming from Sir Kashim Ibrahim House – the seat of power in Kaduna State.
In recent times, there have been media reports and interviews suggesting some friction in the relationship between the incumbent governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani and his predecessor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai.
Two men – one Alhaji Yahaya Jisambo and another who claims to be a civil servant and ought to be apolitical – in line with civil service rules and regulations – have been most vociferous in the campaign of calumny against El-Rufai and the government he led between 2015 and 2023.
In their vain attempts to rewrite recent history and paint the El-Rufai administration black, the mercenaries have sought to fault everything el-Rufai did, by either questioning the intention or the cost of such projects.
They have made a heavy weather of the state’s debt profile, decline in revenue and faulted some of the legacy urban renewal projects of the El-Rufai administration.
Only recently, a Kaduna-based newspaper reported about a “discovery that the state was hugely indebted to a whooping (sic) sum of $600 million foreign debt”.
To think that this is coming is coming from within the ranks of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state makes it the more discomfiting. And this can be deduced from the silence that Sir Kashim Ibrahim House has paid to these disturbing reports.
Having waited in vain for weeks for some kind of rebuttal, even if perfunctory, without seeing any, it is perhaps safe to conclude that the campaign is orchestrated for some selfish and insidious motives.
But, how can the government of a man who was a member of the highest decision-making body in the El-Rufai administration and who promised to continue on the “path of continued progress” began by his predecessor turn round to undercut and run down his benefactor so soon? Is it really the way of politics and politicians? Or why play the Pontius Pilate when his supposed supporters are seeking to outdo one another in an attempt to paint black his predecessor, leader and benefactor?
It is even more disturbing when one recalls that the incumbent served as Special Adviser to Malam El-Rufai in his first time and went on to become a Senator in his second term. He is on record to have facilitated and moved a motion for the procurement of a $300 million loan facility for our dear Kaduna state when he served as Chairman of the 9th Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Financial Institutions.
Unknown to the mercenaries or perhaps out of pure mischief, there was nothing to “discover” in the state’s debt portfolio as El-Rufai had told the whole world when he was handing over that he left a domestic debt of N80.60bn and a foreign debt of $577.32m for the new administration.
He also announced that he left N5bn and $2.05m in the state treasury.
el-Rufai added, “Kaduna State has receivables for reimbursements of infrastructure and security spending from the Federal Government, amounting to about N41bn, that will be paid to the state in due course.
“This does not include the sums due to the state as share of the accumulated stamp duties receipts, estimated at over N100bn, that the incoming government will certainly receive before the end of this year.”
Clearly, government is a continuum. And to that extent, it is supposed to inherit both the assets and liabilities of the state.
That was why close observers of Kaduna politics were upbeat when the incumbent governor, Senator Uba Sani, as a governorship candidate, was quoted to have promised to continue with the policies and programmes of his predecessor and commended him for re-engineering governance in the state.
His words, “Before the coming of this administration, government’s resources was (sic) being shared amongst a few elite, after payment of salaries. So, there was nothing left for development, in spite of the huge resources that Kaduna state was receiving as federal allocation.
“But, Malam Nasir El-Rufai changed the narrative by improving education, revamping healthcare and building infrastructure that is (sic) benefitting the good people of Kaduna state, instead of a few people.”
Prior to becoming a candidate, in his declaration speech entitled, “Sustaining and Building on a Legacy of Outstanding Public Service and Impact”, he said El-Rufai had elevated the bar of governance in the state, with his innovative and transformation policies that have impacted positively on infrastructure, agriculture, health, education and water services in the state.
Given the effusive praises of Malam El-Rufai by Senator Sani, it smacks of playing the ostrich if some lackeys now go public without any caution to amplify the state’s liabilities without highlighting the assets it inherited and looking for scapegoats in the people who gave their utmost best for the development of our dear state.
All over the world, governments at national and sub-national levels borrow money to finance capital intensive but impactful long term projects. That is why it is often said that it is not a crime to borrow money but what is important is how the money was spent.
In the case of Kaduna State, there are visible legacy projects that the El-Rufai administration spent the state’s resources on.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari during a two-day state visit commissioned 19 urban renewal road projects in Kaduna, Zaria and Kafanchan.
Other projects commissioned included the multi-storey Basic Education Mega School in Lokoja Road in Rigasa and the Infectious Disease Hospital in Mando, among others.
Commending El-Rufai, the usually taciturn Buhari said, “you have committed yourself to changing Kaduna and you have been very successful and people throughout the country are appreciating it. You are writing your history in letters of gold. I congratulate you for your achievements so far.”
In the area of revenue generation, the El-Rufai years saw to the quadrupling of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from less than N13bn in 2015 to N52.82 billion in 2021 and rising to N58.09 billion in 2022.
Kaduna State under el-Rufai maintained a steady trajectory of growth in its IGR: N44.96 billion in 2019, N50.77 billion in 2020, N52.85 billion in 2021 and N58.09 billion in 2022.
These remarkable strides, according to those who should know, owe much to the legal and institutional reforms undertaken between 2015 and 2022 to strengthen Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service’s (KADIRS) ability to collect revenues and block leakages.
The Tax Codification and Consolidation Law enacted by the el-Rufai government appointed the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS) as the sole collector of government revenues, outlined all the taxes and levies payable in the state and prohibited the cash collection of revenue by any public officer.
It is doubtful if most of the institutional frameworks and those who were the major drivers are still within the system. Most of them have been removed without competent replacements.
One is further compelled to intervene before things get out of hand because of some not too cheery news filtering into my ears: that investors are beginning to run away from our dear state on account of the primordial demands being made of them. Those who are yet to leave are reviewing their investments and weighing their options.
Regardless of our political, tribal or religious leanings, all illustrious sons and daughters of our dear Kaduna state; all men and women of goodwill must not look away and allow things to get out of hand before lending their voices. In the final analysis, when two elephants fight, it is the people (the masses) that will bear the brunt. We have no other place to call our own than our beloved Kaduna state. Someone should please tell the present occupant of Kashim Ibrahim House and his supporters to stop looking for scapegoats and giving excuses. Leadership is all about identifying challenges and fixing them. Anything short of that is pretentious.
Malam Nasir El-Rufai has had his time and left the stage when the ovation was loudest. In keeping with his words, he has stayed out of Kaduna state to allow his successor to govern the state as he deems fit. He should be left alone to enjoy his well-deserved rest and pursue other private endeavours while those in the saddle tries to justify the confidence reposed in them instead of fishing in self-induced troubled waters.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Godswill Gankon wrote in from Kafanchan, Kaduna state
