An article appeared recently titled "The Changing Face of Kaduna" by Emeka Nwosu who claimed that Kaduna was a place where his umbilical cord was buried many decades ago. Mr Nwosu tried to convince readers that his write-up was instigated by his love for Kaduna his birthplace.

His acclaimed mission was to lament the deplorable state of infrastructure in the city but was forced by reasons beyond or within his purview to make passing comments on other issues like pattern of settlement in the Crocodile City on Christian and Muslim relationship and ethnic solidarity amongst others

The writer was deceptively magnanimous in telling his readers that "I am entitled to my opinion." This according to him was part of his democratic right to harbour an opinion in this case, no matter how erroneous or bias they are. In the same fashion, we wish to remind him of Mayoham Wails maxim that "you are entitled to your own opinion but not entitled to your own facts" and since opinion of a writer are not facts, as a government democratically elected; we wish to clear some of the issues raised for public good and records.

The points he fruitlessly laboured to establish were that Kaduna is a city of diminishing structures and social profile. According to Nwosu "there is no place where the decay is more popular than the popular Ahmadu Bello Way". This statement is a figment of his imagination. In the past two years, Ahmadu Bello Way has witnessed emergence of new structures that served as banks branches, eateries, corporate headquarters of various companies, and has permanently being swept clean and kept tidy. The roundabouts are looking exceptionally very good because the state government made a plea and some reputable banks took time to rehabilitate the roundabouts to standard

Kaduna State Ministry of Environment, in league with sister agencies, has cleaned the street from menace of hawkers and other hangers-on. This has made traffic flow smooth even in the usual rush hours that people trooped in hundreds to their work places and the Road Safety Commission has marshalled the free flow of traffic from the bridge to both sides of the city.

Consciously or otherwise, Nwosu has exhibited a high dosage of ignorance by trying to paint the unfortunate nature of infrastructural decay many businesses have shifted their corporate headquarters to other areas or closed shop. It is sad that we have committed precious time telling him that the multinational or trans-national corporations he said closed shop left Kaduna and the entire Nigeria more than fifteen years ago, faded, during the military era largely because of political and business climate in Nigeria then. It will be mischievous to tie their inability to remain afloat to decaying infrastructure. Some of us that were also born in Kaduna cannot recall UNTL corporate office being located on Ahmadu Bello Way, as the writer asserts. As a matter of fact, UNTL is in the Kakuri Industrial Layout.

The public commentator also made his effort difficult to sell for his lack of sincerity or understanding of who owns which structure in Kaduna. He deliberately muted issue of ownership of structures including roads he enumerated. Most of the structures are privately by owned properties and a few like the roads are jointly owned by Federal, States and Local Governments. On the issue of Durbar hotel, the Ministry of Environment has waded into the matter two years ago but encountered hurdles due to the multiplicity of litigations or claims of ownership. The state was advised to steer clear as any action that may likely constitute an act of trespass and contempt of many injunctions churned-out from different Courts. In fact, the governor paid a working visit to the bureau for public enterprise to meet with Irene Chigbue the then director general of the bureaus to try to find out the status of the hotel and how the state government can wade into the matter to restore to hotel to life

Since inception over two years ago, Kaduna State Government has invested huge fortune on federal and state infrastructure within its political geography. We have also constructed and renovated many in line with one of our 11-Point Agenda which is provision of infrastructural facilities. To this end, we did much in Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Murtala Mohammed Square, etc. so, mere minimizing them without telling us who owns them was a cheap form of blackmail.

The second branch of his mission was lamentation of settlement pattern which he said was along ethno-religious contours. We still do not understand whether his statement was based on empirical evidence on ground or assumption. Right from colonial era, settlement pattern in most cities in northern Nigeria takes cognizance of factors he enumerated. That is why you have GRAs for to top civil servants or business class, Sabongari's for settlers, Ungwan Hausawa's , Jaba, Kataf, Yoruba, etc in all the cities in Nigeria. Why making a case out of how and where people want to settle? He was the one talking about democratic rights don't people also have the right to and habit in a place of their choice? Is it wrong to choose your neighborhood for personal reasons? Except he can show us evidence of deliberate state policy that encouraged this settlement pattern, otherwise we smell a rat.

Beirut and Jerusalem are not the only divided city in the world. Sharp division existed in all the major world cities like Paris, Washington, London, Moscow, Texas, California, etc. this pattern of settlement is also in all the major cities of Nigeria like Lagos, Shagamu, Ibadan, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Kano, etc. people clustered around with people they share similar norms, mores and culture.

John Danfulani is a senior special assistant to Kaduna State governor.