1st April, 2014
Aliyu Magatakada Wamakko, Governor of Sokoto State, in this interview with AROME ATTAH in Sokoto gives insight into the causes of the PDP crisis and his motivation for doing what he does
What motivates you to do what you do?
This is a very broad question, but I will try to answer it based on my own understanding. To me, the success of any government will depend on how it impacts on the lives of the citizenry. To me therefore, when I came in, my first priority was to see how best to reciprocate the gesture of the electorate by saying thank you in a very big way for what they have done to me. I contested elections three times and they voted for me the three times. In each of these elections, the percentage of votes cast was higher than the last. I have tried to focus on programmes that have direct benefits to the people; meeting their needs, concerns and aspirations, particularly in the areas of poverty reduction and enhanced productivity, and to ensure that the electorate will forever look at the projects we have put in place and say, ‘This guy is the right choice we have made’. So, along that line, my team sat down with my cabinet, and brainstormed on what we thought were the needs and concerns of the governed. And we then came up with programmes on health care delivery, agriculture, education, youth empowerment, transport, water and all other segments of governance that we viewed as relevant to the needs of our citizenry.
So far so good, we have been able to address these sectors one by one, from education, agriculture, water supply, youth empowerment and so many other sectors that need to be addressed. And we have aggressively, orderly and transparently addressed these needs in such a manner that the people of the state are so much happy with what we have been able to put in place so far.
Are you satisfied with the progress recorded in education sector?
Of course. I was a school teacher, so I should be least expected not to do well in education. Any investment in education is long-lasting and better than all investments made in other sectors because this is one investment that leads to the provision of all the needs of Mankind. Education takes a society out of ignorance, makes people more enlightened, and makes people more aware of their persons, environment, and to act and think positively. In fact, you cannot be a good citizen without education because it is with it you become a good farmer, health worker, administrator, teacher, etc. You cannot achieve any meaningful goal without education. By investing heavily in this sector, we believe we are fighting desertification, rural/urban drift, drug addiction, unemployment and so many other vices which may decide to show their ugly face if you don’t address it in that manner. We started right from the primary schools, to secondary level up to tertiary level, and in each of the stages we considered what the needs are in terms of students or pupils’ needs, teacher motivation, needs and requirements, school environment and other factors that were needed to revitalise the sector. And today, we can say the policies have yielded very, vey positive results. For instance, when I came in 2007, only about 600 indigenes of Sokoto State sat for JAMB but this trend began to change positively when over 2,000 students sat for JAMB in 2008 and today we have over 6,000. Across the board, from primary to secondary school to the university level, the enrolments during my administration have more than trebled. Teachers’ welfare needs are comprehensively addressed. This is just to say the least.
Given your experience, what do you consider as the state’s greatest challenge?
The challenges are numerous. One, from the way and manner I was elected, the people of the state expected so much from their government. The expectations are enormous, but by the grace of God, they are not unattainable. Secondly, the resources – Sokoto is not one of those derivation states – the little we collect as federal allocation and the little we are able to generate cannot adequately finance all the development requirements of a big state like Sokoto. We have some little problems here and there on some of the programmes that we really want to carry out. That notwithstanding, nothing has been compromised, no project has been abandoned, we have continued to push ahead to ensure that we serve our people to the best of our ability.
Another challenge is the issue of understanding. At times, people perceive government programmes in a very bad manner. For instance, if a borehole is sunk or a school built somewhere, most people see it as government property, not realising the fact that it is their property and they are expected to guard, protect and maintain it for longer usage.
But the biggest challenge, I think, is the political understanding of what government should do. Some of us, politicians, don’t see achievement in terms of the level of infrastructure put in place but in terms of what comes into their hands. As long as they don’t get some monetary benefits from whatever development comes to their area, they are not happy. But the act of governance is not to give people money; it is to use the money to provide services they require for now and for the future. When we came in, people were paying different kinds of discriminatory levies across the state, but we abolished all the discriminatory levies for indigenes and non-indigenes. We are sure people will appreciate the programmes that we have put in place. But government is not about distributing money. Government is about investing in services and infrastructure.
Have you been able to improve on the state’s IGR over the years? And is the provision of water a priority of your administration?
In 2007, the IGR of the state was very small, but with the employment of some consultants and other practical arrangements we have been able to multiply what we used to generate monthly when we came in by over 1000 per cent. But that is not enough because the demand for services is enormous. So whatever revenue you are able to generate, plus what you get from federal allocation, you still look for more to the needs that are supposed to be addressed. But despite the challenge of inadequate funds, we have been able to provide water projects for Sokoto and its environs. One of such was the recent commissioning of 20 million gallons per day. Currently, the modernisation of water projects done 30 years ago is ongoing and this will provide 40 million gallons per day. Our plan is to provide 100 million gallons per day of water. This way we hope to provide clean, adequate water for domestic and other purposes in the state.
Health is wealth. How has your government fared in this regard?
Health is wealth indeed, and only a healthy person can carry out instructions and duties correctly as and when due. As a policy we give free medical care to children under five years and all pregnant women. Also, we have free medical care for all our kidney patients and accident victims in the state, and this is fully extended to the elderly as well.
Furthermore, we introduced rural health care system and we purchased 30 mobile clinic vans that are fully equipped with the most modern medical facilities to take care of our communities in the remote rural areas. All the local government areas have a general hospital each. And in each of the 244 wards in the state there is a primary health care centre and very soon, the Murtala Muhammed General Hospital which was abandoned since 1991 will be completed. The Orthopedic Hospital in Wamakko has just been completed.
In the area of raising people’s awareness on what to eat, what to do and what not to do as regards healthy environment for a healthy attitude, when we came in, not many women engaged in ante-natal classes but the trend has changed. When we came in, there was so much ignorance about the issue of polio vaccine, but today anti-polio and other vaccinations are accepted gladly by the villagers because we dealt with the high level of ignorance in the state. When we came in, the number of indigenous consultants in the state was not more than three, but we provided the enabling environment by sending them to schools within and outside the country and the result is that there are over 30 of them now and many more are coming back from training. Also, health personnel are being sent for training within and outside the country. The aim is to have enough human personnel to man all the facilities provided for the betterment of lives of our people.
What in your opinion is wrong with the Peoples Democratic Party?
There are so many things wrong with the PDP. One, they are not able to manage their size and secondly, they are not good at taking good advice. Thirdly, given their size, the leadership feels it can treat members anyhow. This is based on the wrong notion that it’s the biggest party and it would remain big for life. But today they have realised that nothing in life is permanent. But before they realised this, it became too late for any meaningful solution.
The leadership of PDP today at the federal level is hard to describe. You are a journalist, can you describe it as prudent, transparent, all-caring, responsible and responsive? I have left the party, so people would not expect me to say otherwise, but if you ask people to say the truth about the party, they would echo what I’ m saying.
As a state, we are affected by what is happening in the PDP at the federal level. I was among the very few governors that went round––from G3 to G5 to G7––and we were saying that so many things were wrong with the PDP, please come and save us. In 2011 we went to see party elders, and we consulted former presidents and respected elders of the party across the country, like Gen. T.Y. Danjuma and so on. Our appeal to them was to save the party from self-destructing. Unfortunately, for whatever reason the leadership never wanted the truth. What we never wanted is what has happened, that’s why you can see the kind of PDP in place today. A party that had 27 governors at one time is now left with 18 governors; the opposition has 16 governors and there are two in other political parties. Very soon, the opposition would take over the National Assembly and I can assure you that more governors would join the APC. Many of us (Governors) have spoken with them (PDP Governors) and we know what kind of response we got from them. The reason they have not decamped yet is because the time is not ripe and right for them.
When we noticed this crack in 2011, some of us met, went round to all our leaders and elders across the country and we told them that something was wrong with this party (PDP), come and save it. In governance, it is good always to be a good listener. You don’t have to take all the advice given to you, but it is good to listen to all; you can then choose what you think is right and relevant and apply or take informed actions that would benefit all. But when you don’t listen, and you act as if you know everything about yourself, you end up listening to people who are not responsible, who will only tell you what you want to hear. Ordinarily, people that are benefiting from your leadership would not tell you anything that would hurt you. As sycophants, they fed the PDP leadership with praises that they were the best thing that ever happened to the party and all that, until crisis situation erupted and they all disappeared.
Given the large number of former PDP members in the APC, don’t you think that APC is just like the PDP?
No, it cannot be the same. The large number of former PDP members in the APC can only make the APC stronger, more energised and strengthened because we know the causes of the PDP crisis, tried to solve it and its leadership was misled and we left. We are better placed to make APC better than we met it.
…Published in TheNEWS magazine