The Suppressed Alternative - By Ali Muhammed Garba

Fellow compatriots, government is listening to the voices of the people and is concerned about their perception of our alleged inability or failure to fulfill our campaign promises especially with respect to local government election and the joint account. Let me reiterate out commitment to grassroots democracy and the imperative for local government election. Within this framework I reaffirm our vow to end the joint account and give the local government their rights to autonomy as enshrined in the constitution.

Our view and vision of ‘government of the people by the people and for the people’ remains within our commitment to effective, efficient and result oriented leadership epitomized by good governance defined in terms of even development, growth and equitable prosperity in Katsina State distinguished by transparency, accountability, rich and evidence-based policies that reach a greater number of beneficiaries. This is our motive for contesting and accepting to govern and lead the state. And it with this in mind that we made our campaign promises. And it is within this framework that we developed our plans on how to fulfill them.

In retrospect, we should have known before hand, like every war commander knows, ‘no plan survives first contact with reality’. And I am sure by now everyone appreciate that reality. We inherited weak institutions with weak systems, processes and structure and poorly motivated staff. Corruption and indolence were widespread. Ghost workers were on government payroll. Public service has been personalized to the point that it was not serving the people but serving the interest of a few. There were many casual workers. Perhaps, given this scenario it was not an exaggeration to state that the system has all but collapsed.

At this point government had to make a decision on whether to proceed as promised or to reform the institutions first. It was a tough choice that was no choice for us. We were voted on a platform of change and on the basis of what we promised. But we also had a responsibility to create sustainable institutions that would not only serve the public better, faster, cheaper but would also allow us to implement our campaign promises in manner that would optimize the benefits for all and sustain the momentum for change for the better.

From the foregoing, the choice was clear for us. It was necessary to subordinate short-term political interest for the long-term development and growth of the state. So we chose to reform and strengthen the system first. This is common sense. We must first learn to stand before we run. We understand with the people and affirm our commitment to advance their interest. As we celebrate another milestone in our quest for developing the state, we call on the citizens to support government development policies. We are open to suggestions and to intelligent criticisms that help to advance our collective interest.

Allah Raya 'yan Jahar Katsina