A Kaduna group, the Kaduna Restoration Group has berated and blasted Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna State over his style of leadership, according to the group in an open letter signed by its Chairman, Alhaji (Dr). Ahmed Tijjani Ramalan and its Secretary, Professor Yusuf Dankofa on behalf of the group it said, “The Kaduna Restoration Group is a Political and Ideological coalition of different stakeholders in the polity of Kaduna State in Particular and Nigeria in general.”
In the open letter to the Governor titled: “Kaduna State: Matters Arising and The Growing Trend of Civilian Dictatorship.” The group said; “it became necessary to write the letter alerting the Governor of the fact that Kaduna State under his watch is fast sliding into the abyss, a deep and seemingly bottomless pit which portends grave danger to the socio-economic fabric of the State due to some autocratic actions being blatantly exhibited by his government.”
The group has painfully observed that despite his government’s saintly and pious declarations especially in his midterm report read on his Democracy Day speech, of having delivered in terms of his Party’s Manifesto especially in the area of welfare delivery for the poor, the reality on ground is that the so called achievements are nonexistent, rather his administration largely exists for itself and a few band of core loyalists with mercantilist tendencies imported into the state. His so called positive and high credit ratings are therefore trivial, feeble and delusional.
The government has failed to unveil any pragmatic agenda that will convince skeptics that it has a functional master plan; rather all its energies have been dissipated on how to make life more depressing to the hapless and poor people of Kaduna State. From its wrongly thought-out school feeding programme which by his government’s own admission, gulped more than N10,000,000,000 (Ten Billion Naira) in 8 months (excluding so many schools in some villages) to the commissioning of the so-called Zaria Water Works which has failed to provide water to end users and to the mindless demolition of houses of citizens and perceived opponents, the story in Kaduna State has remained a tale of woes on the populace especially the poor that came out in droves to vote for the APC led government in anticipation of positive change. The group stated that two years is sufficient for any responsible government to implement and execute its marshal plan that will ameliorate the depressing conditions of the poor.
The group said his government has involved in contract scams as revealed by Sahara Reporters even though his government came out with a vague and unconvincing defence.
The Civil and Unified Local Government Services in Kaduna State has been thoroughly bastardized, discredited and replaced by an amorphous contraption called “Consultants” whose terms of reference are at variance with bureaucratic culture that triggers development.
The group has noted also that he hardly stays in his duty post in Kaduna. The group noted with dismay the sacking of close to 5000 traditional title holders on the excuse that government cannot pay them. This is also dubious and manifestly anti people.
Under the Governor’s watch, capital projects initiated are mostly never completed, and those projects like roads that were completed despite huge expenditure have been washed away by the rains.
Another indication that his government has divested itself from the governed can be seen in the barrage of Court Orders and Injunctions being obtained against the government on a daily basis by people of the State.
It is based on all these that the group feels the need to caution the Governor to restore his derailed administration back on track and remind him also of the trust and burden of the social contract between him and the people of Kaduna State, a contract trusted upon him on oath, and by God and history.
‘It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do”.
The group is further piqued with the level of secrecy involved in the auctioning of some state government properties i.e. the Legislative Quarters, the State House Kawo, Kaduna State liaison office in Lagos and some other essential government holdings.
Most of his promises to the State have remained largely unfulfilled. The Local Government Autonomy that he promised Kaduna State has remained a mirage and in view of all the aforementioned distortions being deliberately fueled by his administration and other antagonistic postures, the group hereby adviced that he review and change his pattern of governance which is “family and friends” based.
In essence, the government has derailed from its primary purpose of welfare delivery to the good people of Kaduna State has been abandoned. The group stated that his government’s anti-people’s policies are endless.
The group suggested that the hostile reforms of his administration should be revisited for the purpose of re-evaluation and reworking; his government’s refusal so far to conduct local government elections and also to allow for its autonomy to flourish despite his promise before he assumed the mantle of leadership is a policy that is not in line with progress; the re-opening of all the closed institutions in the Southern part of Kaduna State as this is not only inimical to the human capacity development of the area and other parts of the state, but also remains regrettable; implore him to give adequate security to the zone in particular and the state in general, but not to deny them the opportunity to be in school; accountability and transparency in the appropriation of State funds should not be shrouded in secrecy; the structure of his government in Kaduna State which looks more of El-Rufai’s and Partners than a reflection of the local government councils that make up Kaduna State should be reconstituted. This has always been one of the tensions created by his administration; kaduna should be governed by its own people not outsiders.
Development is about collectivism and not “I Know It All Syndrome”. Governor El Rufai must therefore listen to other views if indeed his mission is to make Kaduna great again, the group said.
