Kano & Coro: Politics of Blame-trading & ‘my people-my people’; Bulum, another Professor Governor - Ik Muo PhD.

The political dynamics of Coro-war in Kano became pronounced following the worrisome incident of mysterious deaths in the state. By the way, mysterious deaths and illnesses have become a part of our Coro odyssey as they have occurred in Bauchi, Jigawa,  and many other parts of the country.  It all started when the government on 26/4/20, acknowledged the mysterious deaths, stated that investigations were ongoing but declared that the deaths were not connected with Coro but were rather caused by complications hypertension, diabetes, meningitis and acute malaria. About 600 mysterious deaths occurred within a week, and most of them were eminent people( including Prof Ibrahim Ayagi) a situation that almost overwhelmed the manual grave-diggers. But does it mean that multiple deaths are not sources of worry long as they were not CORO-related?

Furthermore, the FG did not immediately say or do anything about the matter, an action some people interpreted to mean that the PMB  government doesn’t care about ‘a whole’ Kano state. This happened when the coro-fire was already raging and there were underground disaffections  because the governor was handling the matter as a family-affair as his small-girl-daughter doctor was  allegedly in charge of the operations( even if discretely) .  People knocked Ganduje over his cluelessness on the matter with one  Dr Olufumilayo wondering why  a government that was quick to split the emirate, appoint( and swore-in) new emirs, sack  Emir Sanusi and exonerate the Governor on the dollar allegation suddenly became clueless with the mysterious deaths and coro. Then the PDP jumped into the ring, demanding an immediate investigation into the mysterious multiple deaths and condemning the governors handling of the matter. As expected, the APC responded in kind, describing the PDP comment as ‘a desperate attempt by the opposition party to play petty politics with a serious matter of national and international importance’. And then Garba Shehu, whose main job description appears to be ‘igha-aja’ ( mudslinging) against any contrary spirit warned against attempts to politicise the mysterious Kanio deaths declaring that  it was ‘not the time to waste energy on political point-scoring by current or former office holders’ or orchestrate  any differences between the Federal and State governments

All this happened at a time when the Kano NCDC office and testing facilities were in disarray with some of the staff testing positive to the extent that the center was closed. The Governor went to the BBC Hausa Service to hit the FG below the belt   lamenting “Sincerely speaking, we are not getting deserved attention. If these equipment (testing centre) are under our control, we will do our best to make sure it works properly. But we are not getting the needed support and cooperation from  Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.” (hmmmm!). This project-vehicle of the Kano Infectious disease hospital showed clearly how such matters would have been handled if it were under the  Kano state government!

It was at this point that the Muslim Rights Council( MURIC) through its chairman, Ishaq Akintola wondered whether there was a deliberate attempt at debilitating Northern population with its attendant impact on Muslim majority population in the country? That was in addition to describing the happenings in Kano as ‘fishy’.

Kwankwanso, the former governor  and a  political friend turned political fiend, then wrote an open letter (everybody has now learnt this from Obasanjo), asking the FG to take over the Coro-war in Kano because there was poor leadership( Politics?). He premised his letter on the very scary rise in the number of people that are mysterious dying in Kano the uncoordinated and unprofessional manner in which the fight against the disease in Kano state is being waged and the attendant and unprecedented mistrust of the government by the governed; the near absence of cooperation and coordination between the state and the federal government on the Covid-19 response;  the frightening reality of the tendency of the present health emergency might  become a security emergency. As all this was going on, the Kano State government  accused a former NHIS boss, Prof Usman Yusuf of playing politics with Coro  because he had alleged that Ganduje  was distributing  the disease across the North. The Commissioner for talk-talk  also reminded all of us that the incapacitated  Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital,  was owned by the federal government, and that  the state had no control over the testing centre . He then accused the Prof of  playing politics with the disease, with the core objective of denting the sparkling image of  Governor Ganduje and ultimately igniting crises in the state., regretting that he chose the political path rather than collaborating with the state to address some of these issues.

The governor who had accused the Federal Gvernmet of abandoning Kano eventually cried to the  FG to ‘come over to Macedonia to help us’( Acts 16:9). He had asked for N15bn gtrant, arguing that they needed more money than Lagos because  Lagos economy today  is much better than the economy of Kano, the acceptance of public enlightenment is higher in Lagos than that of Kano. The Federal Government  not oblige the cash request and there are some mischievous speculations as to why( see this  contribution by cartoonist Bulama on 28/4/20) but 

 it still assisted in a big way. While it was sending one or two miserable trucks of contested quality products to other states, it sent an armada 110 Trucks( yes, one hundred and ten trucks) of items to kano. The NCDC also sent a special team to the state, which resorted to the unusual practice of verbal autopsy. The NCDC then announced that the deaths in Kano were Coro-related, stating that “We have five cogent reasons to say that the mass death recorded in Kano is associated with coronavirus.”  The Minister of health eventually  countered that announcement and the mystery- death-Coro argument is still ongoing. However, when the FG imposed a curfew on Kano, the same governor begged the Government to relax the curfew on “behalf of our people who are presently running out of food items’ Two days later, the governor adopted a modified open-curfew option of  free movement in the state between 10am and 4pm on Mondays and Thursdays and continuous operations of the Ya’nkaba and Ya’nlemo markets where vegetables and fruits are sold.  So, the governor asked the FG to intervene and when the FG intervened via curfew, the governor modified the curfew. The governor was also one of the very first governors to open up the state for religious activities, in the interest of ‘my people’.  Even the other day, while PTF declared that it was not safe to open schools, viewing center and the like, Ganduje authorized the opening of viewing centers,  and to encourage that, donated 40,000 face masks to Kano Soccer Viewing Centers Association! That again I assume to be in the interest of his ‘people’. Indeed, he has no personal interest;  everything was and is for my-people, my people! To what extent do his people believe that coro is real and take responsibility for their safety? I don’t know but some of the boys were playing coro-football-tournament during the lockdown while there were allegations that the distancing and crowd protocols were not observed during the burial of the emir of Rano. But that is by the way!

Other matters: Zulum, Another Professor Governor

I did not  know much about Babagana Zulum, the Professor-Governor of Borno state but on 7/2/20, he earned my attention and admiration.  One day and one event are enough for me to ‘know’ him. After all, as our people would ask, how many lions should somebody kill before he becomes an Ogbu-Agu( lion-killer)? The day started like every other normal day and the governor started it in a manner that appears to have become in ‘his character’.  He had paid an unscheduled, cock-crow visit to Shehu Sanda Kyarimi 2 Primary School to undertake an on-the-spot infrastructure needs assessment  and was positively shocked to meet a  Mrs Mazi, a L12 class-room teacher at school around 6.30 am. She hails from Abia State and has been teaching for 31 years . The governor gave her a cash reward of N100,000.00 (about her 3 months salary) and directed the State Universal Basic Education Board to review her records after which she was promoted to an Assistant Headmistress, saying “Her gender, tribe, religion or state of origin does not surprise me but her passion, enthusiasm, dedication, commitment and above all patriotism do surprise me a lot.“ As a government, we are mightily proud of her!” Some appreciative Bornoaits also gifted her a sum of N1m. I noted his government by wandering about(GBWA)  style, his prioritization of commitment against primordial concerns and the lady’s immediate and long-term benefit for dedicated services, and moved on to other matters.  Before then, I also noted that the lady should change her name to Ndidi-ka( Patience is the ultimate)

On 22/5/20, Governor Zulum struck again. He paid an unscheduled visit to 6 LGAs (Chibok, Bama, Gwoza, Damboa, Konduga and Askira-Uba) and was negatively shocked that the chairmen, secretaries and other top officials were nowhere to be seen. They were on duty by their ABSENCE! That was two weeks after the ease of Lockdown. The Professor-Governor had heard that   executives of these  LGAs were “notorious for abandoning their local government to operate in Maiduguri only to return there for few days when allocations are received, or when they know the governor is heading there”.

 Even the ‘Gwoza LGA new secretariat which he commissioned a few months ago was locked’ and all this inspite of the fact that ‘We have been pleading with them for quite some time to operate from these local government areas so that citizens will feel the impact of governance at the grassroots but from all indication, many are not listening’. Again, government by wandering about. He heard and went on to confirm. It also shows how our LGAs operate, across the land.

 On 3/6/20, he paid another unscheduled visit to  Ngala General Hospital around 11am  and all the  resident medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians  and clerks were out of stock. The only people around were staff of a humanitarian organization, fhi360, who had come to complement the efforts of the state staff! So,  the shepherds abandoned the sheep to some hired hands, rather than the other way round! ( John 10:12). And on 9/6/20, Governors  presence  and akshon was felt at the Indimi Estate, meant to  accommodate displaced persons. As usual in Nigeria, those who needed the houses could not get it and those who did not need it, but had LONG legs, had possession of the houses.  Governor Bulum immediately cancelled the allocations to the ghost  landlords and reallocated it instantly to those who were on the ground, who needed it.

Prof ZULUM has optimized the GBWA strategy; he has shown disdain for criminal absenteeism, which  characterizes our civil service, more so in the LGAs, he has rewarded dedication without minding gender or ‘state of origin, he has preached integrity by his actions and does not believe in the circus-shows that characterize official visits, where roads are patched, offices painted and fake efforts made overnight to impress the visiting governor by genuflecting officials .  I had told people (in behavioural communication) that the best way to enforce punctuality is by action, not by circulars. I am sure that by now, every Bornoait will be punctual at work , because they don’t know when the ubiquitous governor would come calling. And like Ayede, another Professor Governor, this one read a SERIOUSE course: Soil & Water Engineering! Professor Bulum; Na you biko, for taking the act of governance serious and for making us PROUD! But, who did you leave at the Department Soil & Water Engineering at UNIMAID?

Ik Muo. PhD. Department of Business Administration, OOU, Ago-Iwoye. 08033026625