“Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.”. William Shakespeare
Isa Ashiru Kudan, the embattled Kaduna State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is overtly ambitious and has not hidden his burning desire to govern the state. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Isa Ashiru Kudan nursing the ambition,considering that he has an inalienable right to vote and to be voted for ,a right which the 1999 Constitution as amended guarantees every Nigerian citizen who meets the very minimal conditions of at least attempted school certificate. But the judgement as to capacity or the lack of it to deliver the goods was wisely left to the whims and caprices of the people,by the framers of the constitution. But like William Shakespeare posited, ambition should be made of sterner stuff and not for the fun of it.
In 2014 Nasir El -Rufai , the incumbent governor had roundly defeated Isa Ashiru to clinch the coveted governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC). As expected El-Rufai went on to thrash Ramallan Yero,the political godson of former Vice President Namadi Sambo,who everyone agreed was an unmitigated disaster. Sensing that he stood no chance against Nasir El -Rufai in APC for the governorship ticket, Ashiru swallowed his vomit and crossed back to the PDP,where he handed another serial aspirant Suleman Hunkuyi a resounding defeat to set up another duel with El- Rufai his old nemesis.
The problem with the Isa Ashiru ambition is that it seems to be fueled more by the trappings of the office, and driven by his deep pocket (Isa Ashiru is rich,very very rich. He was deputy chairman of the Appropriations Committee when Nigeria was swimming in excess and the National Assembly members could add and minus) than by any articulated vision. And even if he has any “vision”,the indications are that they are the usual routine,which for back water states might be just fine,but for Kaduna State would be a disaster. Kaduna State which has been playing in amateur league,is only beginning to play in the elite professional league due to the radical reforms the Nasir El-Rufai initiated.
Before the coming of Nasir El- Rufai the Kaduna State Public Service was largely dysfunctional very unproductive, with an aging workforce that lacked capacity to deliver,but like every other service was very “focused on taking care of itself” (recurrent budget is always funded ,as opposed to capital expenditure that is hardly funded). And like El – Rufai has rightly argued “No Nation develops beyond the capacity of its Public Service”. The perceived role of the service in the under development of Kaduna State definitely informed the implementation of the Kaduna State Public Service Revitalization and Renewal Programme, aimed at improving the efficacy, capacity to resolve issues impeding public service efficiency, address low productivity rates, redundancy, duplication of roles, high proportion of aged workers, and unskilled staff which was long over due.
Rather than deepen the reforms Isa Ashiru has clearly shown that he will not lead the people,that he will rather play along with them, than take the very difficult decisions that are needed to take the state to the next level. Ashiru has indicated that he will for instance recall unqualified teachers that were disengaged by the Nasir El – Rufai for flunking examinations for primary four pupils. By extension he will also recall the traditional rulers that were a huge burden on the local government councils and the ghost workers. The nagging questions are;what next after the recall? Has Ashiru an idea of where Kaduna State was educationally,before the reforms? Does Ashiru realize the importance of education? And that societies that invest in their children are societies that do best in the long run? What next for Ashiru beyond “we are determined to transform Kaduna State if voted into power”? The how, is the missing link in his 1990 quest for power,which Kaduna State has moved beyond. And every true lover of Kaduna State must be worried about the lack of capacity of Team Ashiru.
Isa Ashiru should supposedly be rich in “governance experience”, having worked for the state government for more than fourteen (14) years, a member of the State House of Assembly for eight (8) years and member, House of Representatives. Considering the age of his ambition,his ideas and thoughts about what is wrong with the State and the direction shouldn’t be laborious. For instance Ashiru worked in the revenue service,which before the reforms of Nasir El-Rufai was generating far below N600million monthly. Once the leakages were blocked the same service has been generating about N2 billion monthly,which has made development possible. The questions which the good people of Kaduna State should be asking Ashiru are; what happened that revenue board never exceeded N600 million while he was there and what can he do to better the present N2billion collection,because the service can definitely do better.
So far Isa Ashiru hasn’t demonstrated that he has what it takes to govern a complex state like Kaduna. Regrettably if Isa Ashiru’s past is to be used to judge the future, it is safe to conclude that Isa Ashiru can’t perform better than he did as a member of House of Representatives,where in eight (8) years he only moved eight (8) motions, which translates to one motion for each year that he was in the House. The common refrain of his key supporters are assurances that he will be a “good governor” which are not good enough. His views on issues of governance and the way forward must be “downloaded” for proper scrutiny,as he is no longer an aspirant.
Nasir El-Rufai, his opponent in the election has for instance, put together the Kaduna State Development Plan 2016-2020,which reflects the policy priorities, and outlined the government aspirations of being the investment destination and food basket for Northern Nigeria. The document is unequivocally clear that economic development of Kaduna State will be anchored on agriculture, due to its capacity to provide gainful employment to its teeming unemployed population, address food security and a source of raw materials for the agro – processing industries.It’s a strategy that is based on statistics, that about 80-85% of its 15 billion GDP is accounted for by the agricultural sector which also accounts for 42.7% of total employment of its people.
The Kaduna State Government Development Plan 2020 indicates that the state needs about N638.7billion to address critical infrastructural challenges,which doesn’t include maintenance costs. The assertions are based on facts,unlike the whimsical statement by the Lagos State governor Akinwunmi Ambode, at a lecture he delivered at Harvard University October last year. Ambode had unveiled a plan to create at least 250,000 jobs per annum,which was fine on paper , eloquently silent on the how? And this is because he lacks the vital figures. Undoubtedly Lagos needs to create a 1 million job,but is it in knowledge or agriculture? These are the unanswered questions,the kind of assertions Isa Ashiru must avoid.
Isa Ashiru must help the people of kaduna State make an informed decision between him and El-Rufai by speaking up on the future of the State and the directions for its future,considering importance of the 2019 election. They are going to be called upon to make very hard decisions,which they must be ready to live with itI must acknowledge from the very outset, that politics like religion is an emotional issue and that the people have every right to vote in whatever manner they wish, and for who ever they wish. But like the good people of Zamfara State they must be ready to bear the full consequences of any “irrational” decision. It’s gratifying that the Zamfara people finally revolted against the Abdulaziz Yari/Yerima political dynasty that held them down for years,but at a very huge cost. The benefit of experience is that the people of Kaduna State don’t have to go through what the people of Zamfara State have gone through in the last 20 years. Which is why the two candidates must educate them to make enlightened choices- between Reforms and the “routine”, between sustained development and stagnation.
