APC: Why we sacrificed Oyegun —Kano gov

Kano State governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, in this interview with select newsmen, speaks on the insinuation of a crack in the All Progressives Governors’ Forum (APCGF), the platform for APC governors over the contentious issue of tenure elongation for the John Odigie-Oyegun-led National Working Committee, why the governors aligned with President Muhammadu Buhari on the need for elective convention for the party and other issues. TAIWO AMODU brings the excerpts:

 

WHEN you assumed office in 2015, what was your immediate focus?

When we came in, we said that our administration was a projection from the previous administration. That was why when we were campaigning, we said that our government would be a government of continuity, a government of consolidation, a government of fine-tuning and a government of new initiation and ideas.

The issue of continuity in governance is something that is very important and it is one of the problems in developing countries, particularly in Nigeria, where there is always the urge to come up with new initiatives. In the process, they leave what has been inherited in the name of development so that the person in power will have what he can call his own programme. I think that is a disease that has been haunting us for sometimes. So, in other to realise the importance of what has been left behind, we decided to take stock of all those abandoned projects by previous administrations, because when time passes, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between what was left behind by one administration or the other.

That has been our cardinal principle in trying to move the state forward. Our main philosophy for this is that whatever that was started by previous administration was started with public funds for the benefit of the people. So, it is only fair that we continue and complete what previous administrations started.

For example, the Ibrahim Shekarau administration started two gigantic hospitals, but they were abandoned at 30 per cent completion. They were abandoned for about 10 years. When we came in, we took the drawings, fine-tuned and modified them and we completed them. After that, we started looking for the most recent hospital equipment.

I am happy to inform you that the two hospitals have been completed 100 per cent and right now, our staffs are being trained on how to handle that sophisticated equipment. Very soon, those hospitals will start operation. It is not going to be business as usual, because we don’t want to run them the civil service way with a lot of bureaucracy. If we allow that, very soon, most of the equipment will break down and the huge amount of money spent on them would have gone down the drain and they will not be able to provide the needed services. So, we decided to enact a law to enable us to run them like a private sector hospital, but in conjunction with the state government, because they are referral hospitals. We are doing that because apart from providing health services to the people of Kano State, it is our intention to reduce medical tourism. It is also our intention to ensure that Kano will be a centre where people from other parts of the country will come for medical solution. I think we have started on that, because many teaching hospitals in Nigeria have inspected those hospitals and have decided to be sending their postgraduate students there for training.

I believe that when those hospitals are fully functional, especially with some international organisations coming in, medical tourism will be reduced. That is very important.

Also, we inherited a hydro-electricity project which the previous administration started. As you know, I was deputy governor in that last administration. There are two hydropower projects; one in Tiga and the other in Challawa Dam. I believe that by July, the Tiga hydropower project will be completed. We have also awarded contract to evacuate the electricity to our mega city, while work is continuing on the Challawa project. Also, there is the longest flyover bridge in the North, which is about two kilometres long which was also abandoned at about 30 per cent completion. We continued with that project and I believe that before the end of the year, that project will be completed. It is costing us about N14 billion to execute that project. These are some of the mega projects we are executing, even though there are others.

When we come to the aspect of human development; many students were sent abroad to study various undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes and we found it necessary to continue to pay the tuition fees. While some states were bringing back their students because of the Naira, we decided to continue with such programmes. Though there were over 3,000 of them, we are forging ahead. Of course, there is the issue of fine-tuning some of the projects, which we sometimes need to adjust because of the economic situation and because of the time lag.

We also started what we regard as peoples’ programmes even though what we inherited were also people-oriented programs. I identified the problems of a mega city like Kano, with a high population. We had to take certain things into consideration. First of all, we identified the fact that transport system is very important in a mega city, because when you have so many traffic gridlocks, it affects the economic activities of the city. So, we awarded a contract for the review of the master plan of metropolitan Kano, because of the new development of many shanty towns and other infrastructural development. In view of this, we needed to reconcile a lot of things in other to have a smooth development of the city.

One issue that we have taken seriously is that of road infrastructure. We found out that there are always traffic gridlocks in some places and bad roads in some places. Even though previous administrations tried their best, there is always room for improvement. So, we identified some junctions and introduced new concepts. Apart from the concept of flyover, we introduced the concept of under part. Instead of going up, you will have to go underground. The design has been done in such a way that there is no need for traffic lights and no need for people to wait for one another. No matter the number of vehicles that are coming, there is no need to wait for the other person to pass first. They will all pass at the same time. I think this is a new concept we saw in Dubai and brought to Kano and I am happy to inform you that the project has been completed. It was commissioned by the president when he visited Kano.  We are introducing it to other parts of the state.

In view of the economic situation we found ourselves, we found it necessary to improve our internally generated revenue. That was not possible until we made the organisation independent. When we came in, we told all the staff from the office of the Head of Service to return to their office so that we operate our revenue generating agency in the most acceptable standard. So, we advertised and recruited the best hands to run the agency and currently, our revenue is increasing, because we are able to put in qualified people. But up till now, less than 15 per cent of those who are supposed to be paying taxes in Kano are doing so. So, we have not gone far. It is a gradual process, especially under this democracy. Sometimes, you have to reduce your speed. But what is important is that there is hope. What we inherited was between N500 million to N700 million per month. Now, we are generating up to N3 billion monthly. It is big leap and we will continue the sensitisation, because we have to do a lot of public enlightenment. People don’t want to pay tax, especially in developing countries where people think that their money is being mismanaged. What we do now is to tag the projects we are executing as taxpayers’ money and people are happy to see that and the attitude is changing.

 

You talked about continuity and continuing the projects started by previous administrations; one issue that always comes up is that of debt burden left behind by past administrations. What is the idea of the debt profile of the state when you came on board?

We inherited about N300 billion as debt. That was what was reported by the transition committee and I knew that it might create a problem. So, I addressed a press conference where I said that it was not a crime to leave a debt behind by previous administration, because you cannot get a clear-cut expenditure like that.

Therefore, I said that the government will be a government of continuity. We shall continue paying the debt and completing the projects, which by implication, will take care of paying the debt. I am happy to inform you that we are managing that very well. We did not allow that to prevent us from embarking on new projects. I remember that I had to pay an outstanding certificate of over N500 million on the longest flyover before the contractor agreed to come back to site. What is important is how to manage it instead of wasting time shedding tears on something that I can manage.

 

The issue of alleged voting by the underage children in the recent Kano State local government election has generated public opprobrium. What actually happened?

The answer to this should come from INEC. For the sake of clarity, that local government election in Kano was the most successful local government election ever held in the state and that was not because we won all the seats. After all, previous administrations also won all the seats. When you have a local government election where nobody was killed, nobody was hurt, no building was burnt and had a large turnout of voters, we are bound to say that it was a successful election. I have been around in Kano for a long time and I can say in some cases that local government elections were not held at all, because of insecurity and some local government secretariats were burnt. I am still reconstructing some of such secretariats burnt during the previous administrations. During the last local government election, nobody was hurt, nobody was arrested and nothing happened. We had a smooth local government election because of the level of public enlightenment we carried out.

Regarding the clip you are talking about, let me say that it was totally hypothetical. How can you see a queue of all children with no single adult? That was hypothetical because it was arranged in an artificial election arena that was created. We did not use any card reader for the election and the child was holding a card reader. So,

you can see that it was a photo trick. There was no underage voting in Kano. Yes, INEC set up a committee and they came to Kano. The chairman of our electoral commission showed them our records and proved to them that the clip was taken some years back. We used our ICT experts to find out the first time that clip went into the internet. We discovered that the clip first went into the internet in 2015, because you can always verify that. So, I want to assure you that there was no underage voting in Kano. It was a kind of blackmail and anybody who is in doubt about the credibility of the election should go to court.

 

You said your mindset was not to abandon projects initiated by your predecessors but to complete them. In the course of that stock-taking, were there projects you could qualify as white elephants? Secondly, which of them would you qualify as regenerative investments?

I will not like to describe any project as white elephants. Of course, because of the change in the economic situation in the country, there are some projects that cannot be completed as earlier perceived. But we are working very hard on that. There is the housing project on the fringes of Kano. Those houses are very costly and there are liabilities on them. Even if we sell all the houses, the money will only be enough to pay the contractors that have not been paid. We are battling to solve the problem. All I can say is that it has added to the infrastructural development of the city. But because of the economic situation we are in right now, I can tell that it is a project we are pushing forward with tears. What we have decided to do in other to come out of the woods is that because the houses cannot be purchased even at the production cost, we have to bargain with the contractors to buy the houses and we will now see who will balance who. I will not call it white elephant, but it is a project that requires fine-tuning before we are able to get out of the woods.

The hydro-electricity project is an economic project which we inherited and we believe that it will improve the economic activities of the city and the state, because it will produce electricity, which is good for our industries. So, we consider it a very important project for the socio-economic development of our state.

 

We learnt that the issue of tenure elongation has polarised the rank of the governors into pro and anti-Oyegun forces. Has the feud among governors been resolved?

Yes, there is controversy on this, but we have been able to put the controversy to rest. But let me tell you the issues involved. Those who are advocating tenure elongation are advocating on the premise that when we hold congresses and conventions, there will be a lot of problems, which may linger into the election period. Well, that is a perception and it could be that way and it could be that some people wanted to remain in power and so, that reason could be advanced. However, I don’t belong to that school of thought. The constitution of our party has made provision for four years and we have to hold congresses and convention and the Nigerian Constitution has also provided for that. So, we have no reason whatsoever not to hold convention. If you say there will be some problems, you should realise that problems are part of the ingredients of politics. There is no way you can practise democracy in a developing country and run away from problem. There must be problems, divergent views and disagreements. There will be never be a time when you have 100 per cent normal period. So, even if there is problem, it is part of democracy. But we have been able to move forward. For those who felt we should be able to continue like that, we said no and Mr. President finally hit the nail on the head that he was not in favour of any elongation, because it is undemocratic and may lead us to litigation, which may not be good for the party. We are happy that we were able to convince the few governors that were for elongation and they are convinced and now, a timetable for congresses at all levels will be out.

• 2019: APC governors to meet president Buhari

Your government has been able to manage the security challenge in Kano State. How did you attain this feat?

Yes, when we came in, it was the hey days of Boko Haram and so, we had to work round the clock with security agents. I think what is important is the coordination among the security agencies. That helped a lot in improving the security situation. There was a good coordination among the security agencies and a good coordination with the communities and that brought out a lot of information from the communities. I am sure you heard that a lot of Boko Haram commanders were arrested in Kano because it was a good hiding place for them as a mega city where you can easily blend among others. With modern security gadgets, the security agents were able to fish them out. We are working hand in hand with the communities. Also, we have addressed the problem of cattle rustling and we discovered that the Fulani themselves were part of the problem, because they were also snatching cattle from their brothers. We sat down with them and I was able to provide them with some empowerment. Since we entered into that agreement, we have not had any issue of cattle rustling in Kano. We appointed a committee that worked round the clock to ensure that all the cattle that were stolen were returned.

We have the Falgore forest which is as big as the Sambisa Forest. I told the president that I wanted the military to use the place for training and he agreed and I also met with the Chief of Army Staff and he agreed and right now, the military are using the place for training.

On the menace of herdsmen killings, this is a national security problem. In Kano, we are blessed with some dams and grazing areas. You must know that the Middle Belt is more blessed with grazing areas and that is why the problem is concentrated in the region, because the climate is different. The climate is more friendly there than in the extreme North. But we have started providing some facilities and have identified five grazing areas and we are discouraging our herdsmen from going outside the state. We want to use the Falgore forest, especially now that the security situation has improved. We have designed how to construct some dams. We had to start with feasibility study and that is what we are doing. There are some rivers and dams in the forest, which we have to harness to provide some facilities for herdsmen. That is why we are inviting them to come. When we launched our free vaccination, we vaccinated over one million for free. We also sponsored the children of herdsmen to go and be trained in artificial insemination. The first qualification for that training was that you have to be the child of a herdsman, because we didn’t want a situation where we train you and you abandon the trade. We sent 70 of them to Turkey for training and right now, they are practising artificial insemination.

 

There are people who are of the opinion that some of the challenges President Buhari is facing were orchestrated by people who lost out as a result of change in government. Do you believe that corruption is really fighting back?

Yes, corruption is fighting back. Fighting corruption is one of the cardinal principles of our party. Mr President made it very clear during his campaign to improve the security situation in the country, improve the economy and fight corruption. We have taken a cue from what Mr President said during his campaign and since we came in, the security situation in Kano has improved. The economy is improving. We have taken the issue of corruption seriously and established an anti-corruption commission.

I agree with you that corruption is fighting back at the national level and even at the state level. We have people who hide under the guise of politics to be attacking the government because we want them to return what they took from the government. Of course, everyone knows how it is at the national level and that corruption is fighting back. But we have to be persistent in the fight. What is important is to refine the system so that those who want to loot government fund will find it difficult to do that. The issue is that our institutions are very weak. We must have a very strong institution so that any junior officer can tell you, sir, this is not in accordance with the rules and regulations and you accept what the junior office is telling you and abide by it because it is not an offence. So, unless our institutions are strong institutions, the anti-corruption fight will be difficult. I believe that Mr. President is doing a lot in the area of fighting corruption.

 

Finally, will you be seeking a fresh mandate in 2019?

In Kano, people are saying 4+4, urging me to contest again and I feel that in other to continue with the good development that we started, and the fact that development takes some time, which explains why the constitution provides for second term to allow you consolidate what you started, I am convinced that I should go for a second term. Eventually, it will be up to the people to decide whether I am qualified or not.