Leadership (Abuja)
29 December 2008
opinion
Without engaging into any strenuous intellectual exercise, it is evident that a survey of objects of human knowledge shows that they are either ideas imprinted on the senses or passions and operations of the mind or better still, ideas formed by the help of memory and imagination.
How and to what length these ideas connect with the reality of things lies the validity test.When the bold caption of 'Umar Blasts Governor Namadi' appeared on the cover page of National Life November 22, 2008 as a headline news item, we for once thought it was our own colonel (rtd) Umar Dangiwa, the incorruptible and indefatigable social critic. But further enquiry revealed that someone with a similar name also, presumably in the league of the 'critique enterprise' decided in his own wisdom to take a swipe at Governor Namadi. For what the piece of interview is worth, an illogical assemblage of mis-information traded on the turf of public conscience, some issues needed to be responded to. In doing this we desire to tie the loose ends of misinformation and the split personality created by Major Umar Abubakar who many mistook for Col. Umar Dangiwa.
To put issues straight, the said interview granted National Life Newspaper was by one Major (rtd) Umar Abubakar, a social critic in his own right but whose style and depth of research are a world of difference with that of Col. Umar Dangiwa. When Umar Dangiwa decides to speak on any issue the detail and depth of his research, articulate culture and style of presentation are exemplary and faultless, full of punches and hard-hitting in form of content. So we may be forced to rest our curiosity; Dangiwa could not have been a party to that tiny piece of show-sensation prosecuted with such bold screaming headline as to suggest that there is virtually no governance in Kaduna.Observation and remarks are all holed up in the deep trenches of ideas in possession of the observer. Ideas are the fountain head of remarks and comments. In an informed society where ideas are traded comments and remarks on issues of public concern are well thought of before they are let off because superior ideas offered as a counter poise can render them hollow and dry and a source of embarrassment to one.
As human as we are, we are not in possession of clairvoyant insight to discern what informed a particular comment or remark or what such persons who made have at the back of their minds. However certain consideration of style of language, mode of expression, mood of the moment, accuracy of facts and figures, give considerable insight and understanding of purpose and intention behind certain remarks.The case we have in hand though, only a speck of catchy similarity in personal identity but a cast off from the real Umar Dangiwa whose views are sharp and straight, cornered to the ends of indepth research, and brain work, facts and figures as part of the general features of his remarks.In a democratic dispensation where political office holders should be held accountable to their oaths of office and pre-election promises, comments of respected social critics are weapons that opposition parties and vigilant electorates can use to chastise indolent regimes to action. But ,when remarks are just made to create attention, in a disguised, sanctimonious pretense for rectitude, neither the government nor the people benefit from such comments. Whatever anyone may construe out of the comments of social critics the fact remains that in a cloudy and foggy political climate like ours such is to ensure a thorough sit-up for effective delivery of positive governance.
For governments whose self-conceived ideals of governance, are off the path of a nations tradition enshrined in its political culture, social critics are only of nuisance value and must not be tolerated. Extreme measures in rare cases could lead to arrest, molestation and sometimes outright incarceration.Even with the obvious hazards that come with being identified as a social critic the gains are real for they are held in high esteem. Their views are well informed, balanced and weighed against reason and logic and well articulate, and capable of sending the right message across.Such being the case comments oozing out of the domain of any intending social critic must be thorough, well informed and laced with facts and figures that cannot be refuted. This in any case serves the interest of the social critic who may wish to be taken serious; whilst on the path of where such comments are directed, to be used as safeguard against mistakes and areas of errors, and in the interest of public good.In the sense that our society is still battling to reclaim its lost values to the clairvoyance dominance of material ideology comments from critics these days are often taken with a pinch of salt. It has often been noticed that some critics after a short-lived, well crafted output of action-show dissolve into oblivion - a clear case of plain attention - seeking agenda.
If critical comments do not rest on the plank of aiding sitting governments to duties of office and effective governance they had better be swallowed because they could send the wrong signal behind noble intention which we believe Major Umar has for the good people of Kaduna State.This was the risk Major Umar took when he failed to advice Namadi after a constrained tale of errors and weakness he noticed. We feel that he ought to have embraced the better side of engaging Namadi to the path of alternative approach to arrears of errors, and mistakes he noticed rather than just zero his comment on the note of 'failure'.Even if one can excuse Major Umar for choosing a low-rated Newspaper to express his view, the limited areas of attention he used to arrive at a hurried conclusion of failure bounds off the walls of logic and rationality. A performance assessment devoid of statistical references, facts and figures is hollow enough to stand the chance of credibility. If he had keyed in more details, enriched his findings with facts and figures and expand his areas of attention, his total configuration of Namadi stewardship so far would have discharged the full content of empirical validity.
This is where remarks squares with reason, logic and information base to give a clear picture and undisguised intention in public affairs commentary.In the self-assigned task of performance evaluation of the Namadi administration we observe that Major Umar choose to be terminally evasive in depth, curiously brief in sighted instances thereby corrupting the smooth edges of convincing argument and logical analysis. In exploring the full text of his remark we were lost in the constrained path of unhemmed mixtures of arguments, informations and logics. If Major Umar seeks to return Namadi government from the run-away path of ineffective performance as perceived by him, the disordered sequence of remark and reality and the terrible disconnect in language and subject matter have combined to send the wrong signal. It may be argued that given the penchant for sensational reporting and screaming headline in most Newspapers Umar may not have used the exact word of 'failure' as a descriptive term of evaluation but his outright dismissal and total crucifixion of Namadi gave his interviewers the soft-edge to ride on in that rude craftsmanship of exaggeration.In the hurried rush to pin-point areas of weakness and consign a young administration to the dustbin of failure Major Umar laid bare his proclivity for hard-hitting critical comment even at the wrong instance. On this, one may be forced to agree that this instance was one venturesome endeavour calculated to marry negative ends of personal sentiments with reality.
As we proceed to look at the issues that Major Umar raised, our approach will be to skirt around them, not too deep as to suggest that we are holding brief for Namadi's media aide,yet, deep enough to open other windows of views that can afford a neutral mind the gauging capacity of fair assessment of the Namadi administration vis-a -vis Major Umar remarks and comments.Major Umar claims that government hospitals in the state lacked common drugs like analgesics. Since Major Umar did not tell us which of the state hospitals he attends, we would assume that he frequents all the state government hospitals and his observations apply to all of them. But has Umar cared to asked the nurses and doctors and other such health personnel in the state whether drugs were supplied in the first place, or will he claim ignorance of sharp practices common among health workers where sophisticated channels have been designed to hide drugs and later sell those drugs at odd hours? recently, the Lagos Governor, Fashola disguised himself into one of the state government hospital and his discovery was startling enough. Once the information got round that the Governor was around, all ineffective segments became active; drugs that were hitherto unavailable as claimed became available instantly. We believe that the extent to which Namadi is committed to free medical treatment for pregnant women and children under the age of five (5) cannot be washed away except if Major Umar doesn't think such treatments rendered freely are services that should have cost implication and the source of internally generated revenue for the government.
We however advice Namadi to take on the example of his Lagos counterpart by embarking on surprise visits in these state hospitals. Channels of communication that feeds back information on governments efforts and results can be corrupted by bureaucracy and sheer inefficiency such that government never really get to know what goes on in these state hospitals.Major Umar also claimed that ex governor Ahmed Makarfi awarded billions of naira water projects to Namadi and his inability to solve the water problem is responsible for the water scarcity facing the state.It is pertinent to know that contrary to Major Umar's claim Makarfi never awarded water projects to Namadi, the said water project contract was a rehabilitation of the existing water works in Zaria and it was a Federal Government contract. It was not a fresh contract that has to do with reconstruction of a new one even as the existing two water works built in 1935 and 1975 respectively were threatened by declining power supply needed to run the machines and the growing population of Zaria. Can we safely assume that Major Umar did not know that apart from the Federal nature of the contract Namadi was then a contractor whose side of the bargain must be respected by the Federal Government and any breach thereof could cause him to withhold his own end of the deal? We are only too conversant with the culture of abandoned projects on account of the unstable political climate and changing government policies. On account that the Federal Government has never made any pronouncement that Namadi defaulted in the said contract. It is correct to say that Namadi cannot be held liable for any noted failure in the Zaria water project. We share the sentiments of Major Umar that the acute water shortage in Kaduna is becoming a problem whilst we also observe that we have had to cope with this problem even when Makarfi was in office and he never accused Namadi of being behind the problem as claimed by Umar. It may interest Major Umar to know that Namadi has now awarded a contract of 15 billion naira to address the same Zaria water problem.
The salary of workers in Kaduna state as low as it is compared to other states is part of what Namadi inherited from the immediate past administration and as claimed by Major Umar the show of lack of commitment is evident in the fainthearted increase of N100 that was swallowed by other deductions netting a zero increase at the end. Major Umar would agree that the challenging nature of administering a state like Kaduna with its fragile security situation, a government that is just over a year old would need time for total understanding of a situation which eight years of the past administration could not address. Attention must be focused in creating a stable political climate to allow for internal negotiation in the system that workers wage issues deserve.Major Umar also claimed in his interview that Namadi is foot-loosed to foreign trips which accounts for his lack of will in attending to issues at the home front. Just as Umar failed to mention which issues suffered neglects on account of Namadi foreign trips and how they have adversely affected the state, he also failed to mention how frequent and whether these visits are private or in the interest of the state. In a competitive global economy in which various state governors across the country are trying hard to woo international investors in the face of global economic recess, troubled financial meltdown and unstable political climate in African countries, can one accuse Namadi of doing what is not out of place at the instance? Has Major Umar forgotten that Nigeria is not an investor's haven and that they need to be spotted and wooed out of their cocoon in the face of harsh global economic realities threatening the world now?
Major Umar's fiercest attack on Namadi anchors on his conception of Major project. He claimed that 18 months after being in office Namadi has not embarked on any major project. It is interesting that he involved the descriptive terminology of the word 'major' used in a sense that is particular, selective and exclusive. At least he admitted that some projects were done only they were not major in his understanding. Like all major projects they must be conceived, planned, budgeted for, subjected to the time consuming rigors of 'due process' particularly the type invented by the Namadi administration. Having passed the internal checks in the system their full commencement and physical presence are only noticed by the public much later, when works have actually started.
Major projects are timed to be necessary, desirable and balanced with immediate and future needs of the people and we beg to agree that the entire lengthy process takes times.It may interest Major Umar to know that major contracts like the 15 billion naira Zaria water project , some rural electrification projects, Kawuru bridge project are part of the list of major projects that have been awarded with others closely following. Major Umar touched briefly on transportation and claimed that the taxis that were brought to ease transportation problem in the state were refurbished and cannot last for 6 months. Although the government never claimed that they were new ones but everyone knows that they are better than the ramshackle death traps we have as private taxis in the state and they have been operating for the past 7months contrary to Umar's claim that they cannot last for 6months.
Beside the ones brought so far are to serve as temporal relief and new vehicles have been secured by the government. We are however surprised that Major Umar's run on Namadi's performance failed to cover other areas like, security, agriculture, education and sports; or do these areas mean nothing in the total evaluation of a sitting government. It is only too revealing that Major Umar's deliberate refusal to feature these areas in his assessment sheet is part of the glossy incoherence that tore into shred the significance and validity of his remark at the end. We are then forced to ask with such vital segments missing in performance evaluation agenda what mathematical logic can conveniently explain the failure that Major Umar ascribed at the end?We welcome the arrival of Major Umar in the hot league of the critic's world and a major and striking force he would be just as we also patiently await his adoption of the enduring tradition of Col. Umar Damgiwa in seeking to draw attention to issues of fundamental concern to the public.
Muhammed Nura, Media consultant, No 20 Ladoke Akintola Boulevard,Garki 2, Abuja.
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