Opinion

How Buhari and Masari allowed Katsina to become a killing field

Published

3 years ago

December 13, 2020

By Abdussamad Umar Jibia

If you judge me as an opposition writer you are not being fair to me. I supported Buhari when he needed support. As a non-political person I never joined his party or any other political party. But since the time he joined politics in 2003 I made sure I voted for him and mobilized those I could mobilize to vote for him.

My hopes, like majority of Nigerians, were thus high when he won the 2015 election. My prayer along with others who went on hajj the previous year was answered. Jonathan was defeated. The killing of innocent Muslim Northerners was thus over.

However, just before the inauguration of Buhari administration in 2015 something happened. I had a discussion with a more experienced colleague which like you may be dismissing this write-up, I dismissed as a hate observation from a PDP supporter.

Of course I knew that colleague was not a PDP member and in fact, like yours sincerely he was never in politics.

However, my love for Buhari beclouded my sense of reasoning. The person asked how Buhari could provide security for Nigerians while it was the same person who, as a military leader was toppled and arrested from his house with no iota of resistance. The point here is that if Buhari could not deal with saboteurs as a military leader with full autocratic powers how could he possibly do so as a civilian president? Whether my colleague’s observation made sense or not is left for you to say now that my choice president has spent four full years in office.

AYCC Condemns Katsina School Attack, Urges Govt. To Secure Lives

But I m not here to discuss sabotage. Sabotage or not, Buhari as the president of this country is responsible for the protection of lives and property of all Nigerians.

He is answerable before God and then before Nigerians for any innocent blood dropped on the Nigerian territory. This is even more so because Nigerians voted for him for his promise that their security will be his top priority.

But Buhari is not alone in it. Along with him are 36 state Governors each of whom is roughly called the Chief security officer of his state. Let me not take you far. My state of origin is Katsina and I am talking about His Excellency Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, the executive governor of the state. Both Masari and Buhari are citizens of Katsina who took over power when there was relative peace in their state compared to its immediate neighbour, Zamfara.

There were however rampant cases of cattle rustling and banditry especially in local government areas neighbouring Zamfara. That those cases will be over in a matter of a very short time was the belief of people like me who had confidence that APC shall be better than PDP notwithstanding that Masari himself was a full blown PDP member who only joined the Buhari political train after falling out with his best friend, the late President Yaradua.

Not long after the inauguration of Masari administration, he set up a security committee under the SSG, Alhaji Mustapha Inuwa. Mustapha Inuwa was a Commissioner of Education and later SSG when Yaradua was the state Governor. His committee was what could be described as a colossal failure.

Inuwa’s committee did not prevent cattle rustling from taking place in any parts of Katsina state. A good number of villages were sacked and Inuwa’s security teams only arrived the scenes, when they did, many hours after the incidents took place. Perhaps they realized that the Government itself was not serious and they decided to stay in the cities and enjoyed their allowances, after all many of them had no families in the state. It was in this period, for example, that I lost an uncle of mine to the rifles of bandits. If you expect me to stop talking about my dear who was the religious leader of his people and the patriarch of my mother’s family so as to cover the failure of Katsina and Federal Governments you are in for a disappointment.

Somehow, sometime in 2016 Governor Yari of Zamfara state decided to grant amnesty to bandits and cattle rustlers in Zamfara state. That came as a relief to Katsina State Governor who was said to be spending a lot of money to pay security people ‘on patrol’. Thus, like a copycat, Katsina state Government also announced an amnesty for criminals.

A 15-man amnesty committee was set up under our Mustapha Inuwa which was mandated by the state Governor to “meet with various gangs of cattle rustlers operating in the state with a view to identifying their grievances, and advice the government, accordingly”. Yes, those were the words of Governor Masari on the 12th of November, 2016, unfortunately. The implication was that the Government had identified ‘gangs’ of cattle rustlers who had been responsible for the murder of innocent Nigerians and it did know their locations. But instead of applying the might of Government to bring them to justice, it was going to meet them and even listen to their reasons for murdering Nigerians.

That was not all. The governor continued, “The government decides to employ dialogue after it had used force by about 80 per cent and yielded no much positive results”. In other words, the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with all its Police, Army, Navy, Air force, DSS, NIA, etc. had no strength to subdue bunches of criminals terrorizing villagers in one part of the country. Haba! This was said when the challenges were by far less serious than what we have now. Do we have any hope now?

After the inauguration of that committee, the lies began. Two months after the inauguration of the committee, the SSG announced that 28,000 cattle were surrendered by the cattle rustlers who had now repented. Out of that number, according to him, 24,567 had been returned to their rightful owners and 3513 died before they could be surrendered with some 99 still available. Here, one would be tempted to ask questions. Where is the list of those who repented and where are they now? Had the cattle rustlers been keeping the animals they rustled somewhere safely in expectation of this amnesty programme? This is only possible if there is complicity by some people close to Government. Who are ‘the rightful owners’ who reclaimed their cattle and which method did the committee use to ascertain ownership? I am yet to see their list. The villager victims of cattle rustling could not ask these questions for fear of being with-hunt by Government. After all, they saw some of the suspected cattle rustlers moving with Government protection after the amnesty declaration.

The meaning of all these is that the security of lives and property of the people of Katsina state was allowed to deteriorate by the Government (this Government) by not solving the problem when it was still at the infancy stage. Now that it has become much worse the Governor is running up and down and is sometimes seen shading tears. A friend of mine called them crocodile tears and many people may have reasons to agree with him. For example, on visiting the Jibia flood site last year the Governor openly shed those tears and promised to tackle the root cause of the flood. One year after, the problem has not been solved and if there is another rain similar to last year’s only the special grace of God will prevent another flood. Somehow, my darling President Buhari has shed tears on a number of occasions and his people in his home state are still being killed on a daily basis.

Did you say I am insulting Buhari and Masari? That may be your opinion. It is, however, the kind of opinion that has made Nigerians in leadership position to see every constructive criticism as an insult. But like the famous Caliph Umar b. Alkhattab said, “There is no good in you if you do not tell us the truth, and there is no good in us if we do not accept”.

Opinion

Exposing the fraud in NASS budget-Jaafar Jaafar

Published

4 days ago

May 2, 2024

Nigerian Tracker

By Jaafar Jaafar

In an unprecedented budget fraud, the National Assembly has appropriated N370 billion on running costs, contingency, vague and duplicated projects for the Senate and House of Representatives in the 2024 Appropriation Act.

I’m not talking about the hundreds of billions of naira padded in other ministries, departments and agency, but what they budgeted for their welfare and running of the National Assembly.

In the N370 billion NASS budget, the lawmakers duplicated projects and created new, unnecessary projects that increased the budget from N170billion in 2023 to N370 billion this year.

In budget (under Statutory Transfers ), the NASS budgeted 36,727,409,155 for the National Assembly Office; N49,144,916,519 for the Senate; N78,624,487169 for the House of Representatives; N12,325,901,366 for the National Assembly Service Commission and; N20,388,339,573 for Legislative Aides.

A senator recently told me that each of them (and members of the House of Reps) is entitled to five aides, while the four presiding officers (Senate President, Speaker and their deputies) have at least 3,000 aides. In total, you are talking about over 5,000 aides!

Despite the foregoing, the NASS budgeted N30,807,475,470 for “General Services” and N15billion as “Service-Wide Vote” – known in administrative parlance as “contingency” or “security vote”. The NASS never had anything like service-wide vote in the past as “service-wide vote” is always exclusive to the Executive arm. Insiders said this is a clear case of budget padding as the purpose for the huge appropriations are vague.

Even the retired clerks and perm secs (despite receiving their pensions) are not left out in this public funds buffet as they got N1.2billion padded for them.

Apart from padding the intangibles, the NASS will spend N4billion to build recreation center; about N6billion to furnish committee rooms for the two chambers and; another N6billion to build car parks for senators and members (don’t ask me whether they lack any parking space).

And despite this, the lawmakers padded N30 billion in the FCDA budget for “Completion of NASS Chambers” and N20billion for “completion of NASS Service Commission”! In the same budget, the lawmakers set aside another N10billion (under NASS budget) for the completion of National Assembly Service Commission building! How did this happen? No be juju be dis?

Still hungry to devour public resources, the avaricious parliamentarians budgeted another N3billion for the “Upgrade of NASS Key Infrastructures”. How come? What about the N30billion budgeted for “Completion of NASS Chambers”?

NASS Library Complex, named after President Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, got N12billion as take-off grant and another N3billion for purchase of books.

Like other institutions under NASS, the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies got N9billion without clearly stating how or where the resources will apply to. The same institute also got another N4.5billion (is this ‘jara’?) for completion of its headquarters.

Despite the dedicated powerline and powerful generators backing up power supply in the National Assembly, the lawmakers budgeted N4billion to install solar power system. I guess this will give them a reason to pad billions for the purchase of batteries every year.

The committee that superintended this butchery of public resources, the Appropriations Committees of the Senate and the House of Reps, got N200m each for a job well done.

Opinion

Workers’ Day and The Nigerian Workers In Perspective

Published

5 days ago

May 1, 2024

Nigerian Tracker

By AbdurRaheem Sa’ad Dembo

Every 1st of May workers celebrate their day globally .It is always a day of reflection, celebration and emancipation of workers around the world.

In Nigeria,May Day as a holiday was first declared by the People Redemption Party (PRP) Government of Kano State in 1980.Afterwards it became a national holiday on May 1, 1981

Before venturing to restrict myself to Nigerian workers let me take a broad look at how May Day emerged in the world.Workers’ Day, stemmed in part, from an ancient European Spring festival,but its modern manifestations arise from the organised efforts of socialist and communist groups to establish a time for honouring workers and the working class.To be specific, the holiday was first promoted by the International Workers Association in 1904 to commemorate the slaughter of protesting labourers in Haymarket Square in Chicago ,United States of America in 1886 and it was to be a day to push for the eight-hour work day and other demands.

The date May 1st was chosen because,in the USA, the eighth- hour workday first came into effect on that date in 1886.It was predicated on the demands of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labour Unions.There was a general strike and a riot in Chicago in 1886, and eventually, the eight -hour workday was legally recognised.

Many people tend to attend the National May Day celebration in Abuja and other State capitals.The president or State Governors would be there as the case may be to make a speech, and thousand would fill the Eagle Square or state stadium to listen to the President or Governor.Some people attend number of other events that hold across Nigeria on May Day,organized by schools,labour unions,hospitals,and other various institutions.People use the day for relaxation since it is a public holiday.

In Nigeria,some people participate in nationwide marches and rallies on workers’ Day or Labour Day.More often their major concerns are usually to clamour for an increase in the minimum wage,an end to workers being left unpaid for months,the need for government action to address the high unemployment rates of recent years ,and the necessity for government action to address the high unemployment rates of recent years, and the need to move Nigeria off of over dependence on petroleum exports.

On a May Day in Nigeria, politicians and labour leaders will give out speeches on the strength and the challenges of Nigerian economy , and on how to improve it for the general good of the country.

It is significant to say that Nigerian workers both in public and private sectors are facing enormous challenges.The disparity in the salary structure and irregular payments of salary as witnessed before the coming of Buhari’s administration in 2015, where a lot of state Governors could not pay their workers for several months.

The Buhari administration ensured that bailouts were given to states to enable them offset their unpaid salaries to workers.That was a plus for the Daura man administration.

Meanwhile, President Tinubu’s administration has also sustained the legacies of prompt payment of workers salaries in the last one year.It is expected , because even as Lagos State Governor he had no history of owing workers.

In a larger context, welfare of Nigerian workers are not properly taken care of, most especially those in private sectors.There are situations where teachers in private schools are being paid peanuts as salaries,whereas the owners or proprietors charge the parents homongous school fees.This is not a hearsay I was once in that shoe as an English language teacher.

The area where the civil servants in both Federal and States are feeling the heats is the non regular payment of promotion arrears.According to sources some agencies under federal government are being owed promotion arrears since 2018.This is not a healthy practice, though some sources said the federal government has put the payment in batches and it is now being paid bit by bit.In some states the promotions are not even implemented let alone payment of its arrears

As Nigerian workers join others around the world to mark 2024 workers’ Day,it is expected that the ongoing negotiation by the federal government and labour leaders on new minimum wage will yield good results.

It is imperative to say that the Federal Government should fix the economy for the collective good and progress of the country.No minimum wage can ameliorate poverty, if there is consistent economic instability.

The level of inflation ravaging Nigerian economy is worrisome.Any minimum wage that is less than hundred thousand naira today won’t make any appreciable impacts in the lives of average Nigerian workers.

Essentially,Corruption can only be tackled effectively and holistically,if there is a reasonable living wage for the civil servants.You can’t fight corruption in a country where workers welfare and retirement package are relegated to the background.According to the human rights lawyer,Femi Falana ” corruption cannot be meaningfully fought by governments that pay poor wages to workers,owe workers and pensioners arrears.”

To the NLC and TUC leaders, providing sincere leadership is key to the quality ,emancipation and progress of Nigerian workers.Adam Oshiomhole was an example of a good labour leader in the history of Nigeria.He stood for the workers even in the face of oppression.So the current leaders should take a cue from his tireless comradeship for the benefit of Nigerian workers.

Nigeria is a blessed country and a land of prosperity; her workers have no reason for penurious lives.

Happy Workers’ Day

abdurraheemsaaddembo@gmail.com

Opinion

Minimum Wage Increment: Be Proactive My Governor.

Published

6 days ago

April 30, 2024

Nigerian Tracker

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf

By-Abba Hamisu Sani

1st of May every year is a special day for workers in Nigeria working with the government or with the Private sector.

The main issue ahead of this year’s celebrations is the expectation of the new minimum wage Increment.

President Bola Tinubu is expected to announce the new salary scale as Vice President Senator Kashim Shatima hinted recently that by the 1st of May, the new minimum wage will be ready for implementation.

Here I want to salute the courage exhibited by the Edo State governor Godwin Obaseki who has increased the minimum wage for workers in the state from 40,000 naira to 70,000 naira ahead of the 2024 Workers Day celebrations.

This prompted my attention to urge my state governor Abba Yusuf to follow the suit of Edo State governor in this direction.

Kano workers suffered a lot in the hands of the immediate past administration, ranging from different kinds of deductions which causes uncertainty on the amount to be collected by a worker and even pensioners every month.

Governor Abba if you do the same as Obasaki, the Kano people will be happy with you as it will boost the state economy and currency circulation.

It is very imperative at this time to be proactive and not wait for the Federal government announcement before taking your step in making Kano workers happy.

Infrastructural development is quite needed but at this time social security is the most critical as it has been said “A hungry man is an angry man”.

Workers’ salaries are too low to cater to their basic needs, such as food, rent, transportation, and school fees for their children while they see politicians cruising in jeeps and other expensive cars.

Finally, Governor Yusuf remember that these workers have sacrificed a lot during the 2023 elections to see that you emerged as Kano governor.

Is very important to consider their plight at this moment of critical economic hardship.

I urged all comrades in different forms of struggle including civil society Forum to join me in pushing the Kano State government to implement a new minimum wage in a dignified manner as the Edo State governor did.

Abba Hamisu Sani is a
Media Consultant /CEO Time Base TvAfrica & Africa Press.
Can be reached via timebasetv@gmail.com