Friday Discourse 238
By
Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Agenda for Yar’adua
My readers will remember that the last article that appeared in this column before the election – 2007, like 2003 – was a reprint of another article that I published just before the 2003 elections. Our fears came to be true. This time everybody, including the President, conceded that there were problems with the elections. His alibi, as usual, was that no elections are perfect. All the same, he must go.
If we were to follow the path of 2003, my reaction would have been to reprint another article, the first after the 2003 elections, titled Aisha, Leave Buhari Alone immediately after I moved to Thisday. But we are not interested in repetitions. Nigeria is a highly predictable country. The consolation here is the decision of the main opposition candidate, Buhari, to put the matter before the court of the people. Let them do whatever they deem fit with the result of the election. It is their votes. They can decide to either forfeit it or reclaim it. The people, speaking generally, as we now understand, have chosen, at least for now, to forfeit it. They voiced conflicting views on mass action; then they stayed put when they were invited to peacefully demonstrate their renunciation on Workers’ Day. Their political psyche, it appears, is so compromised that more needs to be done to get them realize that what they do on election day determines how they will live for eight years. That must be the single agenda for the opposition between now and 2011.
Meanwhile, let us see what we can do with the reality of the moment. The next President, God willing, will be Umaru Musa Yar’adua, come May 29. The mindset of this person will have remarkable influence on our lives. He may choose to betray his antecedents and reward us by making our lives difficult, as Obasanjo assiduously did in the past eight years; or he may decide to abide by them and make this country more secure and comfortable for us. I therefore consider it as part of our duty – we the commoners – to advise him, as we did during the early days of Obasanjo in 1999, on the practical steps that will make him a successful President. As he braces up for the most difficult office in the country, he will be flooded with many advices, especially from the people he interacts with up there. Though we may not have the advantage of proximity, nevertheless, it is our sincere hope that he takes what we down here would say at this moment seriously.
Yar’adua has fundamental decisions to take right now. The first and foremost is an ideological one, and in its line all others would naturally fall. Two roads are before him today: one leading to the happiness of Nigerians at the summit of a mountain that is difficult to climb; the other leading to a concert of local and multinational bourgeoisie who are wining and dining on our sweat and rights, only to end up in shame and regret. He must decide on which of the two paths he will tread for the next four years.
The last people oriented administration, my readers will generally agree, was that of Buhari, the military head of state who took over power when common commodities like detergents, grains and cooking oil were grossly scarce in the market. The economy was in shambles, corruption was grave, and hope was bleak. That was when “Andrew” wanted to check out.
On coming to power in 1984, Buhari decided to be with the people and remained so, despite all pressures, for the twenty months he ruled this country. He arrested as many economic saboteurs as he could, provided essential commodities in abundance, refused to take foreign loans and questioned the validity of many of the ones he inherited. He resisted the pressure from IMF to devalue the naira. And so on. It was not surprising that he was ousted immediately and replaced with an IMF-compliant officer.
Since then, 1985, our suffering became endless. While the purchasing capacity of the ordinary Nigerian continued to dwindle as a result of IMF compliant policies of successive governments, nothing ever came down as relief. Every promise turned out to be a deceit. The country got aligned to the capitalist manifestoes of IMF and World Bank. No need to go on narrating how we suffered between 1985 and 1999. The World Bank has recently conceded that its policies along with those of the IMF have aggravated poverty in developing countries. What other proof do we need?
The arrival of Obasanjo in 1999 brought some hope for political stability and improvement on our livelihood. We voted for him almost unanimously, with the exception of the Southwest, without paying attention to his long time connections with Washington. Unfortunately, he turned against us. Throughout the eight years of his rule, Nigerians are daily greeted with policies that disenfranchise them economically. Life has become unbearable. I believe by now “Andrew” has checked out. The naira is devalued by over 500% or more; ordinary liter of petrol that sold at N11.00 in 1999 now officially sells at N64.00 when available; and there is no end to the corruption in public offices that prevents the common Nigerian from enjoying the little that was intended to trickle down to him.
Throughout the tenure of Obasanjo, electricity supply continued to dwindle, as we are greeted with one deceit after another. Agriculture, which is the source of livelihood of majority of Nigerians, received little attention during his tenure. A 50kg of fertilizer today costs N4,000.00 in the market. No subsidies, nothing. He embarked on the large scale auction of public enterprises that would have served the common man were they managed prudently. And the big shame was the fact that he has a hand, covertly and overtly, behind the acquisition of some. He handed over to his masters overseas whatever he squeezed out of Nigerians in the name of debt settlement. His handlers often point at the debt he settled and GSM as his achievement in office. He was never on the side of the people. Conclusively, he ran the most corrupt and incompetent government in the history of this country.
Yar’adua must therefore decide, now, on which path to take and who to side with. We will not tolerate sitting on the fence for in Africa there is no centre left, centre right, or center whatever. He can either work for the interest of ordinary Nigerians or for that of the corrupt few and their multinational partners.
This ideological divide is sharp and has a lot of impact on the appointments and policies of Yar’adua. If he chooses to be on their side, then all he needs to do is to continue with the oppressive policies and people of Obasanjo. Washington, in addition, is ever ready to provide him with the necessary directives. But shame awaits him in the end.
If, however, he chooses to be with us, the people, then the new president must ultimately dispense with whatever oppressive garbage he inherited from Obasanjo, be it human, material or conceptual. He is not a military President, we understand, so he may not be as straight as Buhari; but we expect him to start taking measures that will truly make his administration people-centered.
Yar’adua cannot be on the side of the people and carry along with the punitive policies of Obasanjo or the people he used to suck our blood. No. Yar’adua must know that the two are incompatible. I consider his recent allusions to that as a short term political step that is, hopefully, part of a greater political game plan to assert his independence ultimately. He does not need to stir the waters now, given that his canoe is itself unstable. But by the time he is fully entrenched in authority, we hope he will do the right thing, phasing out the crooks that have brought so much hardship to us just as we hope he will, of course, retain the few competent ones who share his philosophy and are ready to work for our interest.
I see Yar’adua doing so in three steps. First, he must assert himself against the meddling of Obasanjo, who will be the greatest threat to his authority. In his mind, Obasanjo must have calculated that Yar’adua will do his bidding, or if he fails, it will be a matter of time that he will die and Goodluck will takeover. Obasanjo has done enough to immortalize his privileges. He hopes to control Yar’adua through the staff he will recommend to the new President as well as his position as the position of Chairman, Board of Trustees of the PDP. Through this, he reassures himself that what he invested in looting public treasury will mature to fruition. I have the confidence that Yar’adua will handle him adequately. He has already denied the President his plea to make his daughter the Senate President. The post is now allocated to the Northcentral zone. Up Middle Belt!
The second step is for Yar’adua to do away with names that are notoriously associated with the ills of the past regime, people who shamelessly nurtured and vehemently defended policies antipathetic to people in the name of development. He must not appoint them into any position and we expect him to sack the majority of people appointed by Obasanjo to head parastatals that are central to our living. He does not need to delay or compromise on this. So far, Yar’adua has resisted the persuasion of Obasanjo to approve a list of these people whose exit is imminent. The list included people like Fani-Kayode. Imagine! I will advise Yar’adua get an updated list of Third Term supporters and flush them out of his administration.
In the third step, when he will be one year in office, I expect Yar’adua to complete cutting off the remaining vestiges of Obasanjo in government. By this time also, he must have reversed all the evil policies of his predecessor, which are many, and replaced them with people friendly ones in various sectors. He must, within the shortest possible time, drastically reduce poverty by concentrating on agriculture and the provision of regular electricity and affordable pump price for fuel. All the three will have direct impact on employment as they will revive factories and small scale enterprises, as well as opening the door for mass employment at the agrarian grassroots level. Security, health and education could also be added because poverty alleviation also comes in a form of relief from burdensome social responsibilities.
Before concluding this article I would like to make some remarks, despite the strong case for policy shift which I put forward above. I am not unaware that one of the greatest problems that anyone in the position of Yar’adua will confront is finding the honest, competent and hardworking people to work with. Immediately a Nigerian is announced governor or President elect, he becomes inundated with people seeking favors, especially positions, to corruptly enrich themselves. I know it will be suicidal to send them away, but the appetite of such politicians can be satiated through contracts and many other avenues of favor, to which we will show our understanding. What he must never do is to appoint them into any sensitive public office because in office, unlike in contract, their corruption cannot be tamed. I just wish Yar’adua will silently appoint a team that will comb this country for the right individuals to run sensitive offices for him and who will pursue far-reaching projects vigorously. If he would limit himself to the PDP caucus or to those who hang around him, he is not likely to succeed.
The second point is my respect for his person given his history as someone who was once a member of the socialist left on campus and of the defunct Peoples Redemption Party. In his eight years as governor of Katsina State, he has demonstrated clearly that he still stands on his leftist ground to a good extent, though his opponents from Katsina will be eager to point at some of his shortcomings. This is natural. Ai sai da Ma’aiki a ke Abu Lahabi. I did not hesitate to praise him in 2002 when he almost single handedly assisted Ahmadu Bello University with over a billion naira to establish School of Basic and Remedial Studies, Funtua. Then, some Northern governors could not fulfill their pledge of just N15m each on the project. And when I pointed out in the article that work has stopped on the site for some delay in payment to contractors, he immediately released the funds required to complete the school. That is why I could not hesitate to welcome his candidature in the PDP in addition to that of Buhari in the ANPP, for I consider both to have come from the same political family.
My hopes for Yar’adua are high, being an old student of Malam Aminu Kano and Dr. Yusuf Bala Usman. It is his past association with these people that he must always remember in Aso Rock. I do not even rule out that would he live long, he will allow a free and fair election to take place in 2011. All he needs to do is to start his campaign right now by working hard for us and, combined with a little incumbency, he is assured of winning transparently in 2011. For these reasons, I have decided to encourage him than rebuke him. I hope other pragmatic Nigerians will do so as well.
Bauchi
9 May 2007
Showing posts with label Umaru Musa Yar'adua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Umaru Musa Yar'adua. Show all posts
Friday, May 21, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Discourse 226: Aminu Kano: The Journey to Aso Rock
Friday Discourse (226)
Aminu Kano: the Journey to Aso Rock
The tree of people's liberation which Malam Aminu Kano planted over half a century ago is still yielding fruits. A lot has changed in our political landscape for the common man since the people were gradually freed from the oppressive practices of British indirect rule and its chief aristocratic structure – the Native Authorities (N.A). The struggle of Malam Aminu, or Malam as he is simply called, compelled the Premier of the Northern region to start moderating those policies by initiating the local government reforms that resulted in the termination of the N.A. Later in the 1970s, the influence of Malam, chiefly through his disciples like Professor Bashir Ikara, carried the local government reforms to their logical conclusion, consigning any vestige of the N.A. to the cargo of history. Thus, though the party which Malam led up to 1966 – the Northern Elements Peoples' Congress (NEPU) – did not form a government, it, nevertheless, became the greatest catalyst for change through its stubborn commitment to liberation politics.
By the end of the 1970s, Malam's party, the Peoples' Redemption Party (PRP), the last Nigerian party to be truly driven by ideology, secured the leadership of the important states of Kaduna and Kano, the political and economic seats of northern conservative elements respectively. Though both governors – Balarabe Musa and Abubakar Rimi – slipped out of Malam's hand halfway through their tenure because of the difficulty in balancing theory with practice, their leadership left a record that is yet to be beaten by any governor in this country. In my opinion, the two were the most dedicated, most honest, and most performing governors we ever had since 1978. I think Balarabe, the governor of old Kaduna State, still has only a house, while Rimi could still be considered poor among Nigerian politicians, despite the enormous wealth of the State he governed and the ministerial positions he held at the federal level when the country was neck-deep in corruption.
The contributions of Malam through the influence of his doctrine have moderated the conduct of many Nigerian administrators, academics and politicians. By the time of his death in 1982, he would not have known how long his legacy would last or whether his impact would one day cover the entire Nigerian political landscape.
On 31 December 1983 the last government representing the northern conservatives was toppled. Muhammadu Buhari, then a Major-General in the Nigerian army with NEPU antecedents, became the Head of State. For the next twenty months, the person who became synonymous with discipline and honesty led the country in a manner that could now only be recalled with nostalgia. It is a widely held view that toppling Buhari was the second greatest mistake made by the military in this country; the first obviously was to earlier plunge the country into civil war. Buhari, an alloy of Malam, remains to date not only the symbol but also the champion of those values and ideals which he practiced as Head of State in the 1980s.
When he joined politics in 2002, Buhari won the hearts of the people, and he got every vote except the incumbency vote, which unfortunately in Nigeria is up 60% of the entire votes in the country! He may also be running in 2007, if his party leadership fails to sell his recently acquired presidential ticket to Atiku Abubakar.
Both Malam and Buhari might have lost to incumbency the chance to reach Aso Rock on a political platform. Nevertheless, the establishment, being human, sometimes make mistakes. History, including Nigerian history, is replete with previously underestimated leaders. Haruna Uji, a famous Hausa musician used to say, Kara da kiyashi, daukan maras sani (an ant on a stick will be carried along unknowingly). And we have been praying for such mistakes which change the course of history. If the event of last Sunday is anything to go by, Malam Aminu Kano, might reach the presidency, finally. This may be regarded as an optimistic assessment of the situation. However, given the moment, I would rather choose to side with hope than with despair.
The ruling Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), which we have many times dubbed Peoples Destruction Party, held its convention a week ago and the incumbent President pressed the buttons of incumbency to ensure that Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, the present Governor of Katsina State emerged as its presidential nominee. Since I learned through the live comment of AIT that Umaru was a very active member of the PRP my mind has not ceased from thinking or, say, hoping that he will prove the incumbent president wrong. Umaru, I have concluded after listening to and reading many comments, will be on the side of the people when he becomes President, not on the side of the Obasanjo, who hopes to use him as a stooge. The rise of Umaru to Presidency will be the first time that the dream journey of Malam is realized through the ballot box, not withstanding the bourgeois identities of the party that will shove him into power. The colour of our dress, for example, is in no way determined by the colour of our cars or offices.
You see, antecedents are difficult to change. They may be concealed when the circumstances are unsuitable for their manifestations but they will definitely remain entrenched in the conscience. And whenever the person is free to express them, they will naturally surface and take control because conviction is one of the greatest sources of free energy. The Arabs often say man shabby ala shay'in shaba alaih, or simply what the English refer to "old habits die hard." In fact, they hardly die. This is our prayer for Umaru, a prayer that is informed by an extensive analysis of his antecedents and his tenure as Katsina State governor.
Learning that he was an active member of PRP automatically placed him, in my mind, among those who decided to be on the side of the masses when, of course, coming from one of the elite families of Katsina, he had every opportunity to side with oppressors. The PRP, a continuation of NEPU, was ideologically driven, a party of sacrifice for the common good, and the only one that could be said to be a true representative of the left, as the BBC World Service quickly alerted the Western world the day the party won the governorships of Kano and Kaduna in 1979. If it were not for the deliberate bifurcation of Nigerian politics into SDP and NRC, conscientious elements of the PRP like Umaru would have formed a new-PRP. But for lack of space to manoeuvre he joined the SDP which was considered to be 'a bit to the left', as the then president once would put it.
But even before the PRP, Umaru was a member of MPN in his university days. This was an unrepentant leftist students' union under the tutelage of unrepentant Marxist lecturers, like the late Yusuf Bala Usman, who became the Secretary to the PRP Government of Kaduna State. It is true that most of us find it difficult to extricate ourselves from the ideologies we held at that impressionable level of our cognitive development. There was little wonder then that Umaru after graduation could only find PRP most suitable when the country returned to politics in the late 1970s.
Also consider his choice of profession. As a graduate of chemistry at both first and second degree levels Umaru did not choose to work for a pharmaceutical or oil company; neither did he use his family position to acquire a lucrative office in the civil service, despite the position of his powerful elder brother, Shehu, who was the second in command when Obasanjo was a military Head of State. Umaru chose to be a lecturer, clearly in emulation of his ideological mentors back in the university.
Then came his grassroots approach to politics when he was in SDP. Early this week, Mahmud Jega, a former lecturer colleague of mine and now editor of the influential Daily Trust, wrote extensively on this part of Umaru (Back cover of Daily Trust, Monday 18 December 2006). Umaru is a politician who thought the vote of every commoner was important, going by Jega's account, so he took every pain to meet him at his habitat. The same commitment was repeated when he contested under the PDP in 1999, sometimes reaching remote hamlets alone, after his campaign team remained behind after reaching the brink of collapse. Up to that point in his political career, I cannot find any reason to justify the claim that Umaru has betrayed his leftist background.
Nor was there any reason, other than modesty and caution, for Jega to title his piece Many sides of Yar'Adua, because, candidly I could not see any side other than the PRP side in his narration, notwithstanding his mention of some "controversial" stories of the bad conduct of some business "moguls" who are close to Umaru. But, Jega, being himself a leftist from head to toe, knows very well that Umaru was the closest person to the left among our present governors. Let us dwell on this a bit, for, as al-Mutanabbi would put it, the values in objects are better appreciated in contrast.
Umaru, as the present governor of Katsina state, run his office with the same modesty one would expect from Malam Aminu Kano or Buhari. Jega told us that as a guest to the governor, he was served a plate of white rice with two pieces of meat. Contrast this with the sumptuous dishes that are served to guests of other governors daily in a wasteful manner. He also told us how he was sweating at the governor's personal residence, along with the governor, after the lights went out during an interview. Upon inquiry from Jega, Umaru – the governor – explained that for fear of corruption, he would not like to accustom his family to a luxury he cannot afford later. Here, I think not only Marx, but also Umar al-Khattab, will doff his hat at the humility of Umaru. Contrast him with other governors who are spending hundreds of millions in erecting personal homes, guest houses and chalets for themselves, their families and guests.
Then it is also noted that he is not on the list of governors investigated for corruption by the EFCC. It is not surprising because, if we may ask, what has Ribadu got to investigate in a plate of danwake or white rice, or in a house that does not even have a generator. Rather, we should charge Umaru with the offence of stacking the treasury with over six billion naira at a time when other governors are already indebted to the tune of over twenty billion naira, five months to the end of their tenure.
Those governors have carted away with billions from their treasuries and squandered several more. It is not surprising, therefore, that none of them considered Umaru worth befriending. They did not keep his telephone number, up to two weeks ago. (Now they do, I believe). None of them ever invited him to commission a project in his state; and none of them ever thought he would even dream of becoming a presidential nominee of the PDP. We can go on and on.
These are the reasons why I still think Umaru is on our side. There is no doubt that in the struggle to maintain his control over his domain, given the type of party he belongs to and the parasitic nature of our elite, he might have committed some errors here and there, which will surely be exaggerated by the elite. Some people might have taken advantage of their proximity to him. But Umaru is human, like all of us, like Marx, like Umar. But I doubt how many people critical of him would live up to his ideals if they were to be in his position. So I deliberately chose to be interested in that thread of ideology that has manifested itself in his humility, honesty and sense of accountability. I think it is strong enough to weave a cord of hope, not that of despair.
Clearly Obasanjo did not study closely the antecedents of Umaru. Rather, the President misinterpreted his simplicity and honesty for docility or even foolishness – the governor's refusal to steal and squander when called upon to do so by both opportunity and time. The President hopes to remain in power by proxy of Umaru.
Some readers may accuse me of ideological deregulation given that in the above rendering of Umaru, I chose to sacrifice the means for the end, or elevated prospect over process. I am, they will contend, unmindful of the bourgeois motive, structure, forces and process through or by which he was nominated and may subsequently become president. But I want such readers to realise that, as I said before, it takes just a small mistake in the political process to change the course of history. In nature too, it takes a single mutation out of a billion others to change the future identity of a species.
They should also realise that I did not justify the means, though, truly, I might have welcome its end. I only see in this mutant the prospect of a better future for the common man whom, I hope, will clog the machine of the ongoing poverty aggravating programs. More importantly, however, these prospects compel us to encourage Umaru by reminding him of his noble ideological background, his history as an activist on campus as well as his good practices in government. This is the approach that God adopted initially in addressing the Children of Israel in the Qur'an, in spite of their age long defiance. Umaru deserves our support not condemnation. I once praised him over his generous contribution to the establishment of School of Basic and Remedial Studies, Funtua. He sunk over half a billion in the project when other governors could not even pay the paltry sum of N15million that they each pledged. Where the prospect is bright, a leader deserves applause more than censure.
In conclusion, I will say, either way, Malam Aminu Kano must be smiling from the grave, knowing that one of his disciples, Buhari or Umaru, is about to occupy the highest office in the country. While we wish both of them the best in campaign and office, we will continue to pray that God grants Malam eternal peace.
Aminu Kano: the Journey to Aso Rock
The tree of people's liberation which Malam Aminu Kano planted over half a century ago is still yielding fruits. A lot has changed in our political landscape for the common man since the people were gradually freed from the oppressive practices of British indirect rule and its chief aristocratic structure – the Native Authorities (N.A). The struggle of Malam Aminu, or Malam as he is simply called, compelled the Premier of the Northern region to start moderating those policies by initiating the local government reforms that resulted in the termination of the N.A. Later in the 1970s, the influence of Malam, chiefly through his disciples like Professor Bashir Ikara, carried the local government reforms to their logical conclusion, consigning any vestige of the N.A. to the cargo of history. Thus, though the party which Malam led up to 1966 – the Northern Elements Peoples' Congress (NEPU) – did not form a government, it, nevertheless, became the greatest catalyst for change through its stubborn commitment to liberation politics.
By the end of the 1970s, Malam's party, the Peoples' Redemption Party (PRP), the last Nigerian party to be truly driven by ideology, secured the leadership of the important states of Kaduna and Kano, the political and economic seats of northern conservative elements respectively. Though both governors – Balarabe Musa and Abubakar Rimi – slipped out of Malam's hand halfway through their tenure because of the difficulty in balancing theory with practice, their leadership left a record that is yet to be beaten by any governor in this country. In my opinion, the two were the most dedicated, most honest, and most performing governors we ever had since 1978. I think Balarabe, the governor of old Kaduna State, still has only a house, while Rimi could still be considered poor among Nigerian politicians, despite the enormous wealth of the State he governed and the ministerial positions he held at the federal level when the country was neck-deep in corruption.
The contributions of Malam through the influence of his doctrine have moderated the conduct of many Nigerian administrators, academics and politicians. By the time of his death in 1982, he would not have known how long his legacy would last or whether his impact would one day cover the entire Nigerian political landscape.
On 31 December 1983 the last government representing the northern conservatives was toppled. Muhammadu Buhari, then a Major-General in the Nigerian army with NEPU antecedents, became the Head of State. For the next twenty months, the person who became synonymous with discipline and honesty led the country in a manner that could now only be recalled with nostalgia. It is a widely held view that toppling Buhari was the second greatest mistake made by the military in this country; the first obviously was to earlier plunge the country into civil war. Buhari, an alloy of Malam, remains to date not only the symbol but also the champion of those values and ideals which he practiced as Head of State in the 1980s.
When he joined politics in 2002, Buhari won the hearts of the people, and he got every vote except the incumbency vote, which unfortunately in Nigeria is up 60% of the entire votes in the country! He may also be running in 2007, if his party leadership fails to sell his recently acquired presidential ticket to Atiku Abubakar.
Both Malam and Buhari might have lost to incumbency the chance to reach Aso Rock on a political platform. Nevertheless, the establishment, being human, sometimes make mistakes. History, including Nigerian history, is replete with previously underestimated leaders. Haruna Uji, a famous Hausa musician used to say, Kara da kiyashi, daukan maras sani (an ant on a stick will be carried along unknowingly). And we have been praying for such mistakes which change the course of history. If the event of last Sunday is anything to go by, Malam Aminu Kano, might reach the presidency, finally. This may be regarded as an optimistic assessment of the situation. However, given the moment, I would rather choose to side with hope than with despair.
The ruling Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), which we have many times dubbed Peoples Destruction Party, held its convention a week ago and the incumbent President pressed the buttons of incumbency to ensure that Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, the present Governor of Katsina State emerged as its presidential nominee. Since I learned through the live comment of AIT that Umaru was a very active member of the PRP my mind has not ceased from thinking or, say, hoping that he will prove the incumbent president wrong. Umaru, I have concluded after listening to and reading many comments, will be on the side of the people when he becomes President, not on the side of the Obasanjo, who hopes to use him as a stooge. The rise of Umaru to Presidency will be the first time that the dream journey of Malam is realized through the ballot box, not withstanding the bourgeois identities of the party that will shove him into power. The colour of our dress, for example, is in no way determined by the colour of our cars or offices.
You see, antecedents are difficult to change. They may be concealed when the circumstances are unsuitable for their manifestations but they will definitely remain entrenched in the conscience. And whenever the person is free to express them, they will naturally surface and take control because conviction is one of the greatest sources of free energy. The Arabs often say man shabby ala shay'in shaba alaih, or simply what the English refer to "old habits die hard." In fact, they hardly die. This is our prayer for Umaru, a prayer that is informed by an extensive analysis of his antecedents and his tenure as Katsina State governor.
Learning that he was an active member of PRP automatically placed him, in my mind, among those who decided to be on the side of the masses when, of course, coming from one of the elite families of Katsina, he had every opportunity to side with oppressors. The PRP, a continuation of NEPU, was ideologically driven, a party of sacrifice for the common good, and the only one that could be said to be a true representative of the left, as the BBC World Service quickly alerted the Western world the day the party won the governorships of Kano and Kaduna in 1979. If it were not for the deliberate bifurcation of Nigerian politics into SDP and NRC, conscientious elements of the PRP like Umaru would have formed a new-PRP. But for lack of space to manoeuvre he joined the SDP which was considered to be 'a bit to the left', as the then president once would put it.
But even before the PRP, Umaru was a member of MPN in his university days. This was an unrepentant leftist students' union under the tutelage of unrepentant Marxist lecturers, like the late Yusuf Bala Usman, who became the Secretary to the PRP Government of Kaduna State. It is true that most of us find it difficult to extricate ourselves from the ideologies we held at that impressionable level of our cognitive development. There was little wonder then that Umaru after graduation could only find PRP most suitable when the country returned to politics in the late 1970s.
Also consider his choice of profession. As a graduate of chemistry at both first and second degree levels Umaru did not choose to work for a pharmaceutical or oil company; neither did he use his family position to acquire a lucrative office in the civil service, despite the position of his powerful elder brother, Shehu, who was the second in command when Obasanjo was a military Head of State. Umaru chose to be a lecturer, clearly in emulation of his ideological mentors back in the university.
Then came his grassroots approach to politics when he was in SDP. Early this week, Mahmud Jega, a former lecturer colleague of mine and now editor of the influential Daily Trust, wrote extensively on this part of Umaru (Back cover of Daily Trust, Monday 18 December 2006). Umaru is a politician who thought the vote of every commoner was important, going by Jega's account, so he took every pain to meet him at his habitat. The same commitment was repeated when he contested under the PDP in 1999, sometimes reaching remote hamlets alone, after his campaign team remained behind after reaching the brink of collapse. Up to that point in his political career, I cannot find any reason to justify the claim that Umaru has betrayed his leftist background.
Nor was there any reason, other than modesty and caution, for Jega to title his piece Many sides of Yar'Adua, because, candidly I could not see any side other than the PRP side in his narration, notwithstanding his mention of some "controversial" stories of the bad conduct of some business "moguls" who are close to Umaru. But, Jega, being himself a leftist from head to toe, knows very well that Umaru was the closest person to the left among our present governors. Let us dwell on this a bit, for, as al-Mutanabbi would put it, the values in objects are better appreciated in contrast.
Umaru, as the present governor of Katsina state, run his office with the same modesty one would expect from Malam Aminu Kano or Buhari. Jega told us that as a guest to the governor, he was served a plate of white rice with two pieces of meat. Contrast this with the sumptuous dishes that are served to guests of other governors daily in a wasteful manner. He also told us how he was sweating at the governor's personal residence, along with the governor, after the lights went out during an interview. Upon inquiry from Jega, Umaru – the governor – explained that for fear of corruption, he would not like to accustom his family to a luxury he cannot afford later. Here, I think not only Marx, but also Umar al-Khattab, will doff his hat at the humility of Umaru. Contrast him with other governors who are spending hundreds of millions in erecting personal homes, guest houses and chalets for themselves, their families and guests.
Then it is also noted that he is not on the list of governors investigated for corruption by the EFCC. It is not surprising because, if we may ask, what has Ribadu got to investigate in a plate of danwake or white rice, or in a house that does not even have a generator. Rather, we should charge Umaru with the offence of stacking the treasury with over six billion naira at a time when other governors are already indebted to the tune of over twenty billion naira, five months to the end of their tenure.
Those governors have carted away with billions from their treasuries and squandered several more. It is not surprising, therefore, that none of them considered Umaru worth befriending. They did not keep his telephone number, up to two weeks ago. (Now they do, I believe). None of them ever invited him to commission a project in his state; and none of them ever thought he would even dream of becoming a presidential nominee of the PDP. We can go on and on.
These are the reasons why I still think Umaru is on our side. There is no doubt that in the struggle to maintain his control over his domain, given the type of party he belongs to and the parasitic nature of our elite, he might have committed some errors here and there, which will surely be exaggerated by the elite. Some people might have taken advantage of their proximity to him. But Umaru is human, like all of us, like Marx, like Umar. But I doubt how many people critical of him would live up to his ideals if they were to be in his position. So I deliberately chose to be interested in that thread of ideology that has manifested itself in his humility, honesty and sense of accountability. I think it is strong enough to weave a cord of hope, not that of despair.
Clearly Obasanjo did not study closely the antecedents of Umaru. Rather, the President misinterpreted his simplicity and honesty for docility or even foolishness – the governor's refusal to steal and squander when called upon to do so by both opportunity and time. The President hopes to remain in power by proxy of Umaru.
Some readers may accuse me of ideological deregulation given that in the above rendering of Umaru, I chose to sacrifice the means for the end, or elevated prospect over process. I am, they will contend, unmindful of the bourgeois motive, structure, forces and process through or by which he was nominated and may subsequently become president. But I want such readers to realise that, as I said before, it takes just a small mistake in the political process to change the course of history. In nature too, it takes a single mutation out of a billion others to change the future identity of a species.
They should also realise that I did not justify the means, though, truly, I might have welcome its end. I only see in this mutant the prospect of a better future for the common man whom, I hope, will clog the machine of the ongoing poverty aggravating programs. More importantly, however, these prospects compel us to encourage Umaru by reminding him of his noble ideological background, his history as an activist on campus as well as his good practices in government. This is the approach that God adopted initially in addressing the Children of Israel in the Qur'an, in spite of their age long defiance. Umaru deserves our support not condemnation. I once praised him over his generous contribution to the establishment of School of Basic and Remedial Studies, Funtua. He sunk over half a billion in the project when other governors could not even pay the paltry sum of N15million that they each pledged. Where the prospect is bright, a leader deserves applause more than censure.
In conclusion, I will say, either way, Malam Aminu Kano must be smiling from the grave, knowing that one of his disciples, Buhari or Umaru, is about to occupy the highest office in the country. While we wish both of them the best in campaign and office, we will continue to pray that God grants Malam eternal peace.
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