Inaugural Address By His Excellency, The Executive Governor of Kano State,
Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau

Venue:  Sani Abacha Stadium, Kofar Mata, Kano
Date:Rabi’ul Awwal 28, 1424 (May 29, 2003)

Courtesies

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. All praise is to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, the Bestower, and the Benefactor. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

I say to my people, the good people of Kano State, Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Ta’ala wa Barakatuhu.

Today, Thursday, the 29th May 2003, which is equivalent to the 28th day of the month of Rabi’ul Awwal, 1424 years after the Hijra of our Noble Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is a day of reckoning, a historic day. It is a day that symbolises the continued survival of democracy in Nigeria. In recent weeks, Nigerians went to the polls three times. It is heart-warming to acknowledge that all the three times the people of Kano went out to vote, Allah, in His infinite ways of protecting His wards, had allowed the events to go violence-free. In His Mercies too, Allah had decreed victory for the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in Kano. This election victory for the ANPP in Kano manifests the high level of political awareness of the people of Kano, and their desire to, once again make history by changing the entire political landscape to suit and conform to their needs and wishes. It is also indicative of the people’s need for a departure from politics characterized by money, intimidation and deceit.

It is on record that Kano State recorded the fairest election in the whole of Nigeria. This was made possible by the people’s determination to stand their ground to prevent electoral malpractice in all its ramifications. We therefore must be grateful to Allah.

THE TASK AHEAD

The decision made by the people of Kano State to vote the ANPP into power clearly signifies their need for a new order - a God- fearing system of governance, an arena devoid of nepotism, bribery and corruption, an arrangement for a proper implementation of Shari’a, a process that would enliven our youth and give them a new sense of direction, a structure that would wage war against indiscipline and provide the direly needed security in our neighbourhoods, an approach that would boost agriculture and water supply, and a method that would address the provision of health care and tidy environment.

I would want to assure the people of Kano State that we would live up to their expectations. We shall work towards providing ample opportunities for all and sundry. We shall do our best to lead on the basis of truth and transparency.

OUR PRIORITIES

Our vision is to make Kano a model State, leading other states of the Federation in good governance and exemplary leadership. We are convinced that our greatest potential and strength lies in our people. They have for long demonstrated sterling qualities to make Kano State a center of commerce, industry and learning, and a nucleus of intense political, cultural and religious activity. We are therefore determined to further bring out the best from our people by offering honest and transparent leadership at all levels. We shall endeavor to provide all citizens with the basic necessities of life, by developing their spiritual, moral and intellectual capabilities to their fullest, and by creating an environment where prosperity, happiness and justice shall reign.

To achieve these, we identify the following as our areas of focus:

1. Protecting the Sanctity of Islam: It will be our foremost priority to protect the religion of Allah. We shall ensure that our people, as a Muslim Umma adhere to the dictates of Allah. We shall also pay particular attention to the discipline of our youth.

2. Providing Security to the Populace: Our Government shall ensure that the lives and properties of the citizenry are fully protected.

3. Upholding and Preserving our Religious and Cultural Values: It will be our preoccupation to preserve and protect our religious norms and rich cultural heritage, especially as they pertain to marriage.

4. Education: We shall make it our duty too, to provide sound and functional education to our youth to ensure sanity and discipline in the society.

Leadership under the Dictates of Shari’a.

Muslims who have always demonstrated a deep commitment and readiness to live by the ideals of Islam inhabit Kano State predominantly. The task ahead therefore is to channel the energies of the entire population to lead purposive, productive, contented and spiritually fulfilling lives, while maintaining the State’s track record of accommodating people of differing ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. For over 500 years Kano had adopted Islam as way of life. Shari’a was therefore prevalent until 100 years ago, when the colonial masters modified it to suit their interests. This action was the genesis of our socio-religious woes. It encouraged deceit, recklessness and high-handedness in the leadership, and poverty and a sense of insecurity in the followership.

The efforts made by pious men among the citizenry resulted, about three years ago, in an attempt to re-establish Shari’a in Kano. The Government shunned it, but later showed a half-hearted interest in it. It, not surprisingly, turned out to be a deceitful venture; they pretended to back the effort and went ahead to invite the largest gathering in Nigeria in the name of Shari’a. But everybody knew it was only for fear of reprisals from the public. The effort was shredded in a trash basket a day later. Three years after the re-establishment of Shari’a in Kano, you hardly can see any evidence of its implementation.

One of the major tasks ahead of this Government therefore, is to satisfy the yearning of the people of Kano, to truly run their affairs on the basis of Shari’a. We shall prove to the whole world that Shari’a is the most suitable legal system for mankind, and it goes beyond caning or amputation of arms. I assure the people of Kano that all Governmental issues and affairs will be treated on the dictates of Allah (SWT) and the teachings of His Prophet Muhammad  (SAW).  Reward and punishment within this Government will be based on the dictates of Shari’a.

We shall establish a Zakkah Commission, head it with people of unimpeachable disposition and accord them executive powers. We are convinced that a true and flawless Zakkah- distribution system would wipe out poverty and degradation within the citizenry.

AGRICULTURE

Conscious that a society whose citizens are living in hunger and poverty cannot partake in any meaningful developmental programme, we are fully committed to boosting food production that would bring about food sufficiency and security for our people.

Based on this imperative, our ANPP Government would endeavour to stimulate the performance of the Agricultural Sector in the State through the provision of subsidies to farmers in the purchase of all agricultural inputs, including fertilizers and pesticides, and ensuring that they get to them directly. We shall also extend credit facilities to farmers’ cooperatives and encourage them to use agricultural machinery, modem farming techniques and improved seeds through agricultural extension services. The Government would also renovate the numerous earth dams in the state, and ensure their effective utilization for irrigation and fishery. We shall as well improve and reclaim additional land for grazing of livestock and animal husbandry.

WATER SUPPLY

Water is the essence of life, and its availability in sufficient quantity to serve the needs of our populace is critical to our survival and development. The fact that most of the people of the State are dependent on agriculture makes the provision of water for domestic and agricultural use one of our most important and pressing priorities.

We are fully aware, and concerned with the perennial difficulty of water shortage that our citizens continue to face. The perpetual shortage of drinking water which the inhabitants of Kano Metropolis are accustomed to will, by the grace of Allah become history in the very near future.

Towards this end, this Government will endeavour to develop a well-articulated water resource development and management policy that will ensure adequate and sustainable water supply for the entire population. We shall restore a normal, steady and sustainable supply of potable water in Kano metropolis and its environs. We shall sink adequate borehole wells in the rural areas to ensure that the rural populace has adequate supply of clean and healthy water. In addition, the Government will expand and upgrade the existing water supply schemes and treatment plants all over the State.

HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

The well-being and progress of any society depends, to a large extent, on the level of health of its members. A society whose members are languishing in ill health and malnutrition is not likely to make any meaningful progress in any sector. Conversely, improved health and nutrition contribute directly to the progress of a society by reducing sickness and child mortality, increasing life expectancy, and indirectly improving labour and productivity. It is saddening to note that Kano State, despite the information we received over the radio in the past four years, still lacks the required number of hospitals and clinics. Shortage of hospitals and clinics has caused long queues in the little number available. For this reason patients simply gave up any effort to be medically examined and dispensed with medicine. There is also the shortage of medical doctors and other health workers, particularly in rural areas.

As regards the environment, the story is not different. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) once said, “Cleanliness is a component of one’s own faith”. But our environment has been left in total degradation. Heaps of refuse have been left on major roads in the metropolis and -the rural areas. Such conditions gives rise to epidemics in a heavily populated State like Kano.

This Government will not tolerate such scenario. We shall introduce a new programme that would attach importance to preventive techniques. We shall fight filth with all our might. We shall encourage self-help organisations to assist Government in this regard by assisting them with working materials. At the top of it all, this Government will create a Waste Management Board to squarely address this predicament.

Pertaining to health care, this Government is committed to improving the standard of our hospitals and clinics.  We shall recruit more doctors and other health workers, and equip our hospitals with medicaments and latest, medical equipment.

I wish to, at this point, inform the good people of Kano, that we have closely studied how patients suffer in the purchase of safe drugs and other medicaments in both public and private hospitals and clinics. For this reason, this Government would provide sufficient, safe and affordable drugs in our health institutions, and stamp out the proliferation of fake drugs in medicine stores across the State. In addition, we have from today, scrapped consultation fees in all our public hospitals and clinics. As regards care of the unborn and the infant, this Government has resolved to strengthen the existing maternal health care system and childcare survival strategies to reduce the existing high mortality and morbidity amongst pregnant women and children.

EDUCATION

It is well known that Education is the primary key to development and progress throughout human history. As an agent of both, cultural preservation and transformation, it is the central nerve of a community’s existence and invariably, therefore, the most significant determinant of its survival. This Government will consider the provision of qualitative education to all our citizens as one of our cardinal responsibilities. We are particularly committed in having our educational system to be in consonance with our cherished norms and values. At the same time, we are disturbed with the rapidly declining standards in education in the country in general and in the State in particular. We are also concern about the status of our traditional Islamic educational system. This Government is determined to seriously address this issue from all angles.

I would want to draw the attention of the citizens of Kano that we shall not expend their taxpayers’ money in the name of education on projects that would not improve the quality of instruction in our schools. Rather than paint walls, we shall squarely address the issue by providing the much-needed teaching materials and equipment in our schools, recruiting more teachers and seeing to the general welfare of the teachers.

Qur’anic and Islamiyya schools will receive equal attention from this Government. An arrangement will be made to identify and register each Qur’anic and Islamiyya School in Kano State, with a view to granting them some form of aid. Our ultimate goal will be to make Qur’anic Malams self-sufficient, to prevent them and their pupils from begging for alms on the streets.

Adult Education will receive special attention from this Government. The physically retarded will henceforth receive free education in all our schools.

We all know how Kano State has served as a pacesetter in educational innovations in Nigeria, in the 1976/77 academic year, Kano established the Science and Technical Schools Board to manage the affairs of our science and technical colleges. It is gratifying to note that today over half of our medical doctors and engineers are products of this excellent endeavour. Unfortunately, these colleges, and the Board itself are today mere shadows of their past. Previous administrations failed to give the Board and its schools the necessary attention they deserved. On top of this, they made fees in these colleges unaffordable to the masses. To restore the past glory of these institutions, as a starter, this Government has, with immediate effect scrapped the payment of school fees in all our science colleges.

SECURITY

In its capacity as a commercial centre, Kano State has become a rendezvous of people of different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. People troop into Kano to settle down to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere, and partake in the vast economic opportunities available. To uphold this noble tradition, it has become imperative to ensure the security of life and property of all individuals and groups, irrespective of their religious or ethnic backgrounds. With the increasing levels of brigandage, community clashes and armed banditry across the country, this Government vows to improve the general security situation in Kano.

WOMEN

In their capacities as mothers on whom early education and discipline of the young rests the contribution of women in the development of any society is immeasurable. This role, and their position as the weaker gender, may be the reason why Allah (SWT), in His exaltedness instructs men to take over their affairs. But because about 100 years ago, our colonial masters set aside the laws of Allah we were made to discard this responsibility. This plunged women into unnecessary hardship.

This government is therefore committed to uplifting the status of women, by sharpening and developing their potentialities so that they can contribute to the betterment of our great State. We shall introduce special programmes for unmarried women, widows and young girls. These programmes would focus on encouraging them to enter into matrimony and assisting them to be   economically independent.  To enhance   women education, this Government has henceforth made education for girls free in all public schools.

THE YOUTH

Like I have said pertaining to women, our youth too have a vital role to play in the development of our society. This Government is committed to easing the hardship of the youth, as leaders of tomorrow. We shall introduce schemes that would curve idleness and delinquency that are prevalent in many of our neighbourhoods. Such schemes would aim at encouraging our youth to form self-help groups through which Government would assist them. This Government would team up with the Ulama to encourage parents to properly shoulder the responsibilities of educating their children.

To further engage our youth in meaningful activity, we shall pay attention to the development of sports. In this regard, we shall accord sports adequate funding, provide sufficient sporting equipment, maintain the stadia and the pitches, and hire experienced coaches.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Our dear State has been known as a centre of commerce for over 200 years. We must understand that it has acquired this encomium not through the establishment of multinational companies, but through the setting-up and sustenance of (very) small-scale industries in such activities as weaving, dying and blacksmithing. Previous administrations paid little attention to the development of these industries. Our Government will introduce schemes that will revitalize such endeavours. We shall also boost local trading by establishing new markets and expanding the existing ones. We shall as well look into constraints that stagnated the development of the large-scale industries.

CONCLUSION

My dear people of Kano, we assure you that we are determined to pursue the implementation of this programme. We certainly solicit your support and cooperation as we have confidence in you, facing the task ahead. I would want to assure you that we shall not rely on our capabilities alone. Our doors shall remain open for meaningful observations, suggestions or criticisms.

We shall introduce a discussion forum - to be known as Dandalin Tattaunawa - through which we shall interact with people in both the city and rural areas. We shall also set up a committee to listen to complaints from the public with a view to rectifying them.

We all know that no Government programme can be implemented without the physical involvement of civil servants. I therefore call on Kano State civil servants to cooperate with the new dispensation and give out their best, as the Government too would respect their positions and protect their interests.

To my good friends, the pensioners, I pledge to, with effect from June 2003, pay their monthly pensions before paying workers’ salaries. We shall also endeavour to pay them their backlog of arrears in not so long a time.

Finally, I wish to remind us all that we do not have any strength or power, but that which comes from Allah. We pray for His guidance. We also pray for a sustained peace in Kano, and in Nigeria.

Wassalamu Alaikum Warahmatullah.