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How Buhari’s Interventions Saved Governors From Embarrassment, Averted Economic Hardships In States, By Bashir Ahmad

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There is no doubt that the present administration, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, came into power at a time when the country was bedevilled with a lot of crisis, including economic hardships, security threats of Boko Haram insurgents and other challenges obstructing the smooth running of the country. That’s to the extent that, at the time, many recognized National and International agencies predicted that if not for President Buhari, Nigeria would have plunged into a serious crisis.

The situation had put the elites and the masses of the majority states of the country, if not all, into serious economic backwardness, with some giving up on paying salaries. Many state governors resorted to borrowing money despite the federal allocations to pay salaries and run other governmental responsibilities.

To some extent, some state governors resorted to hiding behind the hardships as reasons to abscond from running contracts, infrastructural development, and capital expenditures, among many other developmental activities. They indeed lost hope in providing assistance to the masses and their states.

However, with the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari, as a true democrat, who always put the masses first, the president introduced many interventions to the state governors, irrespective of their parties or region, mainly to bail them out and rescue them from collapsing. As such, several states are now afloat because of the financial reliefs the Buhari administration provided for them.

The Bailout Funds

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From the start, N477 billion in bailout funds were released at the instance of the President through which most states sustained themselves. Additionally, no fewer than 24 states, across party lines, had demanded and received refunds from the federal government for works done on federal roads and bridges, and records show that the refunds were to the tune of about N500 billion. Those claims certainly were not based on works done during the Buhari administration only, but also in previous administrations. This is a little of what the federal government has done between 2015 and today to ensure that states stay afloat. Honestly, without the federal government bailout, most states would have gone under.

Apart from these refunds that were made, when President Buhari came in, 27 states could not pay salaries, and the federal government had to bail those 27 states out. Not only did he give them money to pay salaries, but he also gave them a bailout to pay arrears.

The Paris Club Funds

Consequently, upon seeing the reality and the fact that the states were in difficulties and could not start any new projects, in terms of infrastructure, the federal government also gave each of them N10 billion. When the price of oil again, collapsed, and states were in trouble, the federal government gave out a bailout of a billion naira per month to each state for eight months and N800 million per month, per state, for over eight months.

Nigerians can also recall that when the states complained that they did not benefit from the Paris debt refund, the federal government gave the states their own share of the Paris Fund. I know of a northern state, where the governor, if not for Buhari will not go anywhere, received N40 billion of this Paris Club Refund.

Again, when states complained to the federal government for deducting what they owed the federal government, Mr. President also said they should be refunded because times were hard even though there were so many corruption allegations against the governors, as to whether they used the money judiciously or were diverted for something else.

Covid-19 interventions

During the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected the economy of the whole world, particularly developing countries, President Buhari supported the governors with a series of interventions targeted at saving them from doing nothing while the masses were suffering.

Although some states could not appropriately use the intervention as some of them diverted them to their personal gains, the gesture cut across the country and made a significant impact. Some governors were alleged to have kept them to use during campaign periods. The availability of the Covid-19 interventions is to the extent that some states failed to utilize them and carelessly dumped them where they were affected by rain and other adverse weather conditions.

The political angle

Apart from saving the governors through such interventions, I believe Nigerians will remember how almost all the governors, especially under the platform of APC, benefitted from the popularity, patriotism, trust, and respect Nigerians have for President Buhari to win elections in their various states.

Many of them are ignorant of the fact that without him, by now, they would have been in prison. He was there for them when the masses doubted trusting them. He encouraged the masses and urged them to vote for them with the assurance that they also were like him and only wanted to get to the position to serve them. In 2019 he had to visit all the 36 states, some twice to encourage people to vote for some of these governors.

Recall that President Buhari went around the states in previous campaigns raising hands of these same APC governors, encouraging people to vote for them. A lot of them wouldn’t have been elected without that support from the president.

It is shocking, to say the least, that these people whom president Buhari helped are now turning their back against him because of a government policy whose aim is to address issues of corruption, insecurity as well as improve the economy. What we expect of them is to rally around the president, educating the people to bear with the unintended pains for bigger gains.

What Nigerians should know:

The new Naira redesign policy is not intended to cause hardship to any Nigerian. Government has taken every step to address and alleviate any unintended hardship associated with the policy. The cashless policy of the CBN is in line with global best practices for sustainability and economic prosperity.

I want Nigerians to know that President Buhari means well for all us. He does not take the trust Nigerians gave him lightly. He will continue to uphold the constitution and adhere to the oath of office he took. No government policy is without hitches in implementation. These hitches are temporary and are being addressed. Nigerians will certainly celebrate the numerous gains and benefits of these policies.

Posers…

Why is it that a selected group of politicians is suddenly allergic to this policy? Why is the loudest noice against the policy coming from this quota? What happened to their voices when policies that affected the masses were being implemented? Are they really for the masses or for their political goals? I wonder!

Bashir Ahmad, is the Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Digital Communications

Opinion

Izala Sect: Crisis of Leadership, Accusations of Shiism Meddle in Polarising Its Members, History Repeats Itself

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By Yakubu Nasiru Khalid

Formally, the Izala sect was formed in 1978, created to eradicate innovation (bid’a) within the Islamic doctrine. It has a modern structure and leadership both at the state and national levels. Therefore, the leadership of the Izala has come with a well-structured and hierarchical bureau and the feeling that they are different from who they see as the “Conservative Islamic Group.”

The structure comprises three arms: the Council of Ulama, the Administrative Council, and The First Aid Group. Each of the councils has its own head and followers to achieve designed goals. Even with this structure, the sect experienced crises at both levels, which polarised its leadership.

The reasons attached to the polarisation of Izala at the national level later descended to many states where the organization has a large following. The reasons were multifaceted, from jurisprudence, political, financial, and external meddling to sundry issues.

Initially, there was a problem regarding the leadership of the organization, especially the question of who was the supreme leader of the organization between the Administrative Council and the chairman of the Ulama Council. At the time, the head of the Administrative Council was Alhaji Musa Muhammad Maigandu, from Kaduna, and Sheikh Ismail Idris was the chairman of the Ulama Council, Jos faction recognized Ismail Idris.

The Jos faction rejected Maigandu for not being a scholar but a businessman, arguing that an Islamic organization should be led by a scholar, not a businessman. This added more fire to the crisis.

Furthermore, the Kaduna faction was very critical of some views and fatwas of Ismail Idris, especially those that dealt with the issue of bid’a. According to Ismail Idris, the followers of Izala would not pray behind an Imam who’s not a member of Izala, they would also not marry from the family of a person who inclined to Sufism and would not eat the meat of an animal slaughtered by a follower of the Sufi group.

The Kaduna faction was outrightly against these views and opposed them. Another vital factor that played a role in the split of the Izala group was the accusations and counter-accusations of financial management. Ismail Idris was accused of organizing in the Arab countries, and he was further accused of personalizing vehicles donated to the Izala sect.

In addition, Ben Amara argued that the eruption of the Gulf War in the 1990s between the USA and Iraq was another important factor in the polarisation of the Izala. The Jos faction supported the American invasion of Iraq because of the Saudi Arabian interest, while Kaduna supported Iraq. The Jos faction called Kaduna “Saddamawa” meaning (supporters of Saddam) while Kaduna called Jos “Bushawa” meaning (supporters of American interest).

The leadership of the Jos faction blamed Shia for the internal crisis of Izala and accused some Ulama of being secret agents of Shiism who were working toward dismantling the group.

yakubunasirukhalid@gmail.com

 

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Opinion

Gov. Yusuf’s executive order extending retirement age for HoS, Kano Assembly Clerk, and others unconstitutional

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Sani Usman-DanAbdullo, a Director of Admin and General Services at the Kano State Agency for the Control of Aids, KSACA, has written to the state assembly, seeking its intervention in the
Executive Order issued by Governor Abba Yusuf.

Mr DanAbdullo, in a petition dated January 6 and addressed to Speaker of the Assembly, Jibrin Ismail Falgore, recalled that the governor had in January 2025 issued Executive Order No. 1 of 2025, extending the service period of some civil servants.

According to him, the governor extended the service year of the Head of Service, Assembly Clerk, some judicial officers, Permanent Secretaries and a host of other staff in the state health sector for 2 years after they were due for retirement as of December 2024.

The lawyer also recalled that the state assembly had enacted a law fixing the retirement of staff at 60 years of age or 35 years of service, depending on whichever comes first.

Mr DanAbdullo, therefore, asserted that the governor’s executive order was unconstitutional, “since the House has already made laws which the order seeks to alter”.

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He noted that that executive order is not meant to alter, amend, modify or expand the law made by the legislature.

“This act, is, therefore, a clear violation of the principles of rule of law and separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution being not only a clear attempt to usurp the legislative powers of this Honourable House, but to contradict the existing laws already enacted by it in exercise of its powers as such,” the petition added.

While dismissing a claim that the governor issued the order in the spirit of the Doctrine of Necessity, Mr DanAbdullo said there was no justification for extending the service years of the affected retired officers since there are many competent hands with adequate qualifications to be appointed.

“And as for the staff in the health sector, they can be retained on contract arrangement in line with the existing service law of Kano State,” the petition added.

Mr DanAbdullo, therefore, warned that the provisions of the Constitution must not be subordinated to any other law, and must not be subjected to the indignity of deletion of any section or part thereof.

“In view of the foregoing, I urge this esteemed House to employ all legal mechanism at its disposal to overrule the Governor’s decision in the act complained of, which is capable of setting a very dangerous precedent that will ruin the entire public service system of our dear State, if allowed.

“TAKE NOTICE Sir, this act of indiscriminate issuance of executive order, if allowed, will cause the entire Kano State the following catastrophic effects,”

The State Assembly failed to attend to the petition even if it means dismissing it for fear of the governor, if the petition is not attended to we will have no option but to go to court”. He added

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Opinion

The Movement (Tafiyar Matasa) and the Very Big Questions to Answer

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Comr. Habu Hassan Abdullahi

Comr. Habu Hassan Abdullahi

Yes, I am not some sort of social critic who would unfairly denigrate someone’s achievement for personal gain or political interest that I do not have. Thus, this is pre-eminently the right time to speak the truth to the members of my generation in Nigeria whether they care to accept it or not. But remember the truth is always truth and can stand alone.

No doubt that not everyone is happy with how leadership is running in this country, with the exception of those at the corridor of power. But this is not enough to be a raison d’etre to handle our dear nation to the hands of inexperienced youths. Forgive my pen for the use of “inexperienced”. Just because most of them have never been to real leadership. Of course, I am myself opposed to the exclusionary habit of the present politicians, they’ve relegated youths to the mantle of power but we have to cautiously control our faculty of thinking to avoid getting entangled in a lust for power.

I was very happy when I heard the idea of “The Movement” known as “Tafiyar Matasa” in the Hausa language. And of course, the genesis of the movement was attributed to the unavoidable “EndBadGovernance” protest of 1st August, 2024. The movement began immediately after the protest, in fact, it is one of the noticeable outcomes of the protest due to the unity it brought. The idea of the movement was preached and promoted by some prominent northern activists and social media influencers to serve as a last resort to the youths in their effort to bring good governance. No one can deny the fact this is a laudable effort. But the very big question supposed to be asked here is: youthfulness is the only parameter and yardstick to measure the caliber of a good leader? If yes, why Yahaya Bello (Former Governor of Kogi) and Abdurrasheeed Bawa (former EFCC Boss) were arraigned for looting the public treasury! The point I want to make here is, being young or old will not be a determining factor for an individual to be a good leader. We can have corrupt leaders within any range of age.

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Another important issue to take into cognizance is the failure of some youths to comprehend the logic and existing distinction between being a good activist and being a good leader. Leadership is quite different from activism, therefore, a good activist may not necessarily be a good leader. It is common knowledge that the conveners of this important movement lack practical leadership acumen and organizational skills that are fundamental for successful leadership. Okay, should we handle our future to the trial and error leaders? We have to exercise extraordinary care when it comes to leadership.

Yet another problem faced by this movement is financial constraints. To be sincere and frank, the quantum resources required to run a great national political movement like this oversizes the pockets of the conveners. Another organic question to ask here is: where the movement conveners can solicit humongous financial resources? From the politicians they are castigating? If yes, this is performative contradiction!

Finally, I would like to remind my fellow youths that new breed, as the late Yusuf Maitama said, cannot solve the Nigerian problem. There must be mutual cooperation and understanding between the new breed and old breed. We must work together with them to acquire all necessary experience, knowledge, and practical leadership skills.

Written by
Comr. Habu Hassan Abdullahi
From Bayero University, Kano
Department of Education
Contact via 07065941454 or habu92hassan@gmail.com

 

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