Masari and the hasty ‘Judges’

By Muhammad Isma’il

“Success is to be measured not so much by the level of attainment but by the obstacles overcome in the process.” -Booker T. Washington (rephrased)

For some victors in the 2015 general elections, May 29th was the beginning of an awful sentence where the judges are the vanquished, the jury is a panel of unrewarded members of the winning party, the indictment is victory at the polls, the court audience is a crowd of eager and over-expectant electorate, and a verdict must be passed before dusk. What a wrong time to be in the dock. Place this in the context of an emptied treasury, dwindling national income, grave insecurity and years of systemic corruption that ensured everyone benefitted by proxy – quite a wrong time to be a leader. President Muhammadu Buhari readily comes to mind, but Muhammadu Buhari House, Katsina, is certainly another hot seat.
To many observers, Aminu Bello Masari has been a victim of hasty judgment which disregards the sorry state of affairs at the point of transition in 2015, and other factors that shouldn’t be overlooked by any fair appraiser. But governance in Katsina State is often about choosing who to serve, the elite or the people? The elite have always been the sweethearts of the system and have grown indulgent due to years of patronage. Any attempt to break away from the norm and tilt government policy toward public interest is regarded as a declaration of war against the organised elite. For instance, it has been quite a while since government undertook white elephant projects that have no direct bearing on the life of the common man, like the Katsina Dubai Market, Katsina City Mall, or the markets constructed in the 34 local government areas, mostly in areas where they were not needed – projects whose only value lies in the number of billionaires they made.
In sharp contrast, the Masari-led administration has always involved the common man in decision making directly, and has remained responsive to erstwhile neglected public concerns like security, public education and public healthcare. However, going by the dynamics of Katsina politics, elite interest can only be neglected at a cost. Part of the backlash is sabotage and propaganda in attempts to cause public disaffection with government policies. An easy prey in this respect is the conditional payment of SSCE fees for students of public secondary schools. While it may take some time to justify the propriety of certain policies particularly in the education sector, it is important to note that from 2015 to date, progress can best be appraised in the light of an objective comparison with what was met on ground in each sector.
For instance education, particularly the basic education sub-sector, in Katsina State had suffered decades of neglect which left most schools dilapidated, classrooms without furniture and with broken-down windows, doors and ceilings. These schools also suffered dearth of instructional facilities and teachers and produced the third worst SSCE results nationwide. This is beside the inadequate number of schools to absorb the increasing number of school-age children that roam the streets during school hours. I could recall that upon examination, the education needs assessment team under the then transition committee concluded that nothing less than N200 billion was needed to remedy the physical rot inherited in the sector.
While such colossal sums are unavailable, the Masari-led administration has since inception appropriated the highest budgetary provisions to education (20%), which has helped bring hundreds of schools back to life through quality rehabilitation. As at the last count, 276 new classrooms have been built while all other schools in the state are either under renovation or slated for renovation. Teachers have also been employed to improve the teacher/student ratio which had stood at 1 to 130; while improvement of teacher quality has also received premium attention. These, coupled with other policies, have led to significant improvements in SSCE results, with WAEC gradings moving up from 6% to 50% and NECO from 8% to 67%. This has also propelled Katsina State on the national SSCE chart.
The health and water resources sectors suffered a similar fate and needed a huge quantum of investment to fill the yawning gaps in service delivery. So far, three general hospitals are undergoing holistic rehabilitation and expansion of infrastructure and services; while 250 doctors and other health workers have been employed to boost manpower at the twenty general hospitals in the state, aside the comprehensive rehabilitation and upward review of admission capacity of all health training institutions like colleges of nursing and midwifery and schools of health technology across the state. It was quite incredible that as at June 2015, only Dutsinma town could boast of pipe-borne water, but today water supply has been restored to Daura, Funtua, Jibia, Malumfashi, Kafur, parts of Katsina and a couple of other towns, while seven dams are undergoing comprehensive rehabilitation in efforts to avail water to the public for household use and irrigation.
While impact appraisal is always delayed in the case of investments in education and, to some extent, health, that of agriculture and security is almost immediate. On assumption in office, the Masari-led administration stumbled on a five-year old security crisis hosted by armed robbers, cattle rustlers, kidnappers, and a hybrid of armed bandits that terrorized farmers, pastoralists and traders in nine local government areas across the central and southern parts of the state that have territory in the Rugu Forest. The crisis constituted an economic liability that halted farming and livestock breeding in these areas, with a high toll on rural life and economy.
The menace was estimated to have directly affected about two million people that feed on the agriculture value-chain in the state. The administration addressed the conflict in stages: from a joint security operation to negotiating a cease fire, to a swap of prisoners with kidnapped people and stolen animals, then the introduction of a comprehensive amnesty program that was well embraced by the bandits. Today, cattle rustling and farmer-herders conflict are part of Katsina’s sour history while agriculture and the rural economy have since resurrected.
Many other efforts have been expended at restoring and growing the economy, like the empowerment of ten thousand youths and women in two years, and the revival of industries that have laid moribund for three decades, such as the Kankia Metal Works, the Kaolin processing plant in Kankara and Neem processing plant in Katsina. Katsinawa and Daurawa can also boast of a compassionate governor that has refused to join the gang of state governors that starve workers of their hard-earned salaries. Even before the last tranche of bailout was released to state governments, Katsina has been among the few states that sustained prompt payment of workers salaries, and the only ‘poor’ state in this league alongside rich states like Lagos and Kano. The Masari administration also settled backlog of gratuities, pensions and promotion arrears owed workers and teachers by the previous administration.
Many have argued that a fair appraisal of the Masari administration should also take cognizance of the historical antecedent in Katsina State. From 1999, succeeding administrations have been adjudged to have performed below the benchmark in their first two years, even with more buoyant treasuries and better income flow from the national purse. The evident exception to this antecedent is the current administration which hit the ground running from the onset, leaving relatively more tangible records of human, material, and economic impact even in its first two years. No wonder its popularity has not declined with the common man, but with the elite who propagandize in vain. The administration has managed to remain the peasants’ best friend; and they might just be getting ready to sign another social contract with the administration for the next four years. It is a government with its human mistakes, but judgment is certainly too early. It should wait, probably for a term or two, if justice must be served.

Muhammad Isma’il writes from Katsina and can be reached at muhammadismail7711@yahoo