Katsina State is reputed to be bogged down by the twin-scourge of poverty and insecurity. Although there are several other challenges plaguing the state, it is no surprise that you will always trace back the others to these two. But Governor Dikko Umar Radda, an economist and politician, is determined to do everything possible to liberate his people from the stranglehold of criminals strutting the state. From bandits to terrorists and insurgents, he's had to deal with this vicious cycle from his first day in office. But Radda's leadership style and substance are rooted in the well-being and security of his people. In a session with select journalists, including THISDAY, the governor discussed some of his efforts to not just change the narrative but support this with evidenced performance. "I don't want to be carried away by what we've achieved in the first year because I am looking ahead," said a man constantly challenging himself. Excerpts:
What have been the core challenges, and how have you been addressing since you assumed office?
Exactly this time last year, I was sworn in as an elected governor of the state. We came with full promise to be delivered to the good people of Katsina State. We are human beings. We can make mistakes, but at the same time, we need to appraise ourselves. We appraise ourselves in the sense that we subject ourselves to the people who question what we have done or promised to achieve.
Essentially, we have three sub-activities within the week to mark the one-year anniversary in office. Today (last Wednesday, May 29, 2024), I made a state broadcast, and I highlighted some of the things that we are able to achieve and a lot that we are unable to achieve due to some factors. But at the same time, we have an obligation to tell the people of Katsina State what we are able to do. Expectations from people are very high.
Challenges and scarce resources are here, but we have to do what we can, not to give people excuses. But to be able to put something in place that we can say yes in our one year in office, we can do A to Z. Maybe we had some issues that did not allow us to do B and C. There is no perfection in leadership. As human beings, we do what we can with the resources available, and we can't do it alone. Also, you have the citizens that you need their cooperation to discharge the responsibilities bestowed on you by the Almighty Allah.
We came in last year and met a lot of issues. The most burning one is the issue of insecurity. We believe that we must do something as a state not to fold our arms because security is being controlled at the centre or it is the sole responsibility of the federal government. As a governor, you cannot just fold your arms and allow criminals to be killing your people on a daily basis.
You must do something to support what the federal government is doing in order to reduce the insecurity in the state. When we took over, about 23 local governments were categorised into two: frontline and vulnerable local governments. Frontline local governments are eight in number, while the other local governments bordering the frontline are the vulnerable ones. The issue of insecurity has reached places like Charanchi, Ingawa, Kankia and Bindawa local governments. But as of today, the insecurity has reduced drastically.
The war has now moved down to the frontline local governments, with only one or two vulnerable local governments being affected in one way or the other from time to time. The tactics of the bandits have changed drastically from coming as they want and molesting people as they want to night attacks in very hard-to-reach areas that may take security personnel about three to four hours before they reach there.
We have taken the war to the next level by organising an operation in all eight frontline local governments in which the security agencies are attacking the bandits, not waiting for bandits to come and attack them; that we have done for a month. We are appraising and assessing the operation to see its success and otherwise before strategising on the next stage, which I don't want to disclose here. But we have lost a number of people and properties, and these things keep occurring.
We need to study and do something different from what we used to do. We are working towards reducing the issue to the barest minimum we can as a state. We have been calling for and seeking collaboration and partnership with the security agencies with more fighting power that can match what the bandits have. Just in the last three days, we had a bandits' attack in which they used rocket propellers and shot one of our security personnel.
These are some of the things that make the war very difficult. It is only when all of us are police officers that we can be able to provide valuable information that will make the war against banditry, kidnapping and other criminalities easier to tackle. But that will not stop us from pursuing some developmental projects for the benefit of the people of Katsina state. However, insecurity has been a major distraction to my administration.
Before you came into office, you clearly set some targets for yourself. What are the ones not yet in the bag?
I said it at our last council meeting. I told the members of the council that we had not done well enough because I thought the speed should be much more than this, but I could understand the challenges. But I don't want to be carried away by what we achieved in the first year because I am looking ahead. This is not what I want Katsina to be; I have set myself a very high target and am working to achieve that.
But my major happiness as a governor is always to make sure that the right person gets the right thing. That is why I moved away from the era of lobbying, political considerations, and ethnicism and made sure that my approach to governance is to reach the people at the bottom of the pyramid.
I was so happy at this chamber (Red Chamber) when we had a farewell event for 41 students that we took to Egypt to study MBBS. These students came from public schools, the children of the poor without the influence of one single individual in this state. They got the opportunity purely based on merit.
They sat for the examination, and they got it. We did that to give everyone an opportunity. Anyone who can take his child to a private school will have the capacity to take his child anywhere in the world to study. We are targeting those who could not even take their children to private schools, but they only go to public schools and the children of the poor.
The opportunity was equally a proposition because it allowed every local government to produce the best they have. When we recruited 7,325 teachers, I did not allow any member of my cabinet or a member of the state assembly to manipulate or influence decisions on who should be.
We allowed them to sit examinations, and everybody was given permanent and pensionable appointments. But the first thing I did, which set the tone for all that we did, was my immediate dissolution of permanent secretaries and subjected them to examination before they got to the seat of permanent secretaries.
So, if I start from the top, anybody at the lower level should sit up and know we are not here to joke. That was my happiness movement at that time, and I was in the administration of this state for one year.
But the saddest one is to receive calls that 10 or 20 people were killed in a village, their houses were burnt, their women were raped, and some were kidnapped. The only way you can appreciate that is to put yourself in their condition, and you will feel it. I have already developed that feeling, and it remains with me because my elder brother was killed by the bandits and left behind 27 children and three wives.
And I don't think there is any citizen in this state who, in one way or another or his relatives, is not affected by these bandits' activities. That does not give us good sleep, and it affects our governance. Sometimes, I feel that why should I be here while people are being killed and I can't do anything, and that was what called for the debate of state police.
Before I became governor, I was one of the critics of the state police, but I have seen the need for it. I have also seen the efforts the Katsina Community Security Watch Corps are making towards curbing the insecurity in the state with ultimate courage, determination and sincerity. Their efforts informed my decision to call on Mr. President to make sure that any police officer from the rank of assistant superintendent of police should be posted to his state of origin.
Any military officer at the junior level should be posted to their state of origin because they should protect the lives of their people. They should have affection because their relatives are in the community. If they like, they should allow people to kill them. This will motivate them to do the needful. So, I think the debate for the state police is apt now.
I wonder when people say state governors will manipulate the state security apparatus to oppose their opponents. Were we not in Nigeria when Jonathan, with all the security agencies answerable to him, still lost the election? And if you say that an elected governor will manipulate and use the state security apparatus against opponents, what makes Mr. President, who has control over the security apparatus at the federal level, not do exactly that?
It is about leadership, responsibility, and doing the right thing at the right time. A leader should be guided by the rules and regulations as stated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We swore to protect and uphold the constitution of Nigeria: no fear, no favour. So, if we swore by that, it means we have a responsibility as leaders to use the security apparatus appropriately for the benefit of the nation.
If you are governor today and use state police against your opponents, you may not be governor tomorrow, and the person who is the governor may use it against you. So, why can't you do the right thing? It is about responsibility and having responsible leaders.
Insecurity is no doubt a challenge here. But you were reported recently as saying state officials and security agencies were fueling it. Why haven't you exposed them?
I have issued a press statement to that effect, and I have mentioned that I hold security agencies in high esteem because they, too, are being killed on a regular basis in their pursuit to curb the insecurity in the state. But the point is, there is no category of people not involved in this. What is hidden here? Who was not arrested? Different categories of people were arrested on allegations of being involved in banditry, criminality, and many other vices, even here in Katsina.
I don't know why people should bother themselves when I say this, but some people want to fuel it. But I remain here saying the same thing: there are a lot of different categories of people, whether in government, security, or anything else involved. Why I say that is because there are a number of arrests that were made. There are security reports that we have, and even in prisons now, if you go there, you will see some people arrested.
They may be from the government, security, and traditional institutions, but we should understand that we have good people everywhere. But you can't eliminate bad eggs. The bad eggs are with us. Why do you meet, and then you hear information somewhere from the bandits about the same discussion after 30 minutes or an hour? So, among those who met, somebody must have informed them.
The bandits already have the information if there is an operation before you reach there. So, you must ask yourself, 'Who told them?' It is not rocket science. It is logic. So, is it a devil that comes and hears what was discussed and telephones them (bandits)? We don't want to say the truth in Nigeria because we don't want to get to the root cause of the problem. If I am at fault, I should tell myself that I am wrong, examine myself and forge ahead. But when we are denying information and the truth, the problem will always revolve round us.
This is exactly what happens at the local level. Your neighbour's son is involved in banditry, but you don't want to expose him because he is your neighbour's son. Your in-law is involved, but you don't want to say it because it is your in-law. If you are a governor, somebody in government is involved, but you don't want to expose him because they will say the government is fuelling this.
It is the same with the police, military and other security agencies. We must tell ourselves the truth before we get to the root cause of the problem. No organisation that doesn't have bad eggs. We should fish them out so that we can tackle the root cause of the problem. But when we keep hiding things because we don't want a bad name, it will continue, and there will be no time for it to end.
So, it is high time for us Nigerians to tell ourselves the truth. When we tell ourselves the truth, we will correct our mistakes. Someone can challenge me on doing something wrong, and that may be a basis for my correction. This is the major problem affecting our country.
Is there any update on some of the people you recently said were placed on surveillance for their involvement in insecurity?
We were able to arrest a representative of a village head in the Guga community of the Bakori local government area of the state. He was arrested because of his involvement in banditry. He was given N700,000 to allow bandits to come to his village and kill over 30 people.
Available data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that Katsina has a 72.7% poverty rate. Last year, you pledged to prioritise the welfare of the people. What has your government done so far in addressing this issue?
It is true that you don't need anybody to tell you that there is poverty in our land because you can see it on the faces of people when you move around. We understand that the problem of insecurity is attached to the issue of poverty in our region. If a woman can be given N500 to transport petroleum in a disguised manner to the bush to give to the bandits.
If a young man can be recruited for N2,000 to provide information to the bandits about his neighbour, you can see that there is poverty here. We approached this issue in two ways: kinetic and non-kinetic approach. And then, if you are unable to reduce poverty and provide job opportunities for our teeming youths, it will be very difficult to address the insecurity.
We have come up with a lot of strategies, and that is the reason why we established the Katsina Enterprise Development Agency, which provides support to our MSMEs, especially micro and small businesses. My government has since set aside N3.4 billion for that in collaboration with the Bank of Industry as managers.
In the last three weeks, we launched mechatronics training for 3,000 youths across the state. We will attach them to various mechanics workshops, and after their graduation, we will support them in opening their own workshops and providing employment to our teeming youths.
Right now, we are trying to establish community centres in all our villages, which will be responsible for all developments and provide employment and support to the teeming young men and women in those localities. We are concentrating more now on the frontline and vulnerable local governments so that we can address the issue squarely. We are sure tackling poverty is the only way to address insecurity in our state.
Another way of addressing poverty is improving productivity. Agriculture is our major occupation, that is why we created Katsina State Irrigation Authority so that we can have all-year-round farming in the state that will reduce redundancy and keep everybody busy for the year because now we are only doing a rainfall production for three to four months within which people will be out of business for about eight months.
To increase productivity, we must educate our farmers on how to manage their farming business, prioritise it, and consider agriculture a business. Just yesterday (Tuesday), we expanded the number of extension workers from 72 to 722. Yesterday, we gave each one of them a motorcycle and other equipment to help them move around and educate farmers on ways to improve their productivity.
We also launched 20,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser to be distributed to farmers across the state at a very subsidised rate so that the farmers can have their fertilisers at home before the time for them to apply. It is very wrong to give a farmer fertiliser two to three months from now because agriculture is a timely production. These are some of the things we are putting in place to engage the youths so the locals can be productive, reduce poverty, and improve their livelihoods.
Even in the last three months under the Katsina Cares programme, we supported over 6,100 farmers in the state. We also supported women and youths with items worth N2.5 billion. In the interim, we have provided foodstuffs because we have reached a stage where we are not even talking about what to wear but what to eat. We have done that as a preliminary before we can go into the major and permanent ways of solving the problem.
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One seemingly intractable problem in Katsina, and many parts of the north, is water supply. What have you done to combat this, and is there a success story?
Yes. This is due to expansion because of the water system that we have in the state through the Ajuwa Dam. All the infrastructure has been in place for the last 40 to 50 years. The last administration started work on improving the piping and engines, which they engaged with the original producers of those machines in the last 40 years.
I visited the dam, and as I speak to you today (Tuesday), some of those heavy machines are on their way to Katsina to improve the state's water supply. But that will not solve the problem because the network and the piping of Katsina State were done in the last 50 years. So, the expansion we had is almost five times larger than the original because of urbanisation. However, we are working tirelessly to get support to enable us to pursue the second phase of the Zobe water project.
The second phase of the project will include piping the water through Dutsin-ma-Kankia-Charanchi back to Katsina. Also, re-piping the water in the state requires a huge amount of money. We have been talking with some partners to see if we can get some funding to pursue this mega project that will address the issue of water in about nine local governments.
Under the SWASH programme, we have improved some reticulations and water networks in some parts of Sardauna Estate, Batagarawa Low-cost, Rafindadi and Tudun Matawalle. We have done a lot of work there. We spent over N5.6 billion to improve the water supply in the state.
However, the major work that we want to pursue to have a permanent solution to the water problem in the state requires huge finances, and we are talking with a lot of partners to see how we can get funding to pursue the project.
You can't fight insecurity in Katsina alone. What support do you need and are you getting from the federal government?
The only way out of this insecurity issue is to address it squarely. We should use technology to fight insecurity. What stops the federal government from using technology to fight this insecurity? What stops us from having coordinated and joint operations? What stops us from pursuing and being proactive rather than being reactive?
Do we have to wait until the enemies attack us before we react? Why can't we have a coordinated, selective and targeted attack and approach to fight this insecurity? Why can't we use drones; why can't we use surveillance cameras and trackers to fight our enemies? I have said over and over that fighting insecurity requires some level of strength. You have to show capacity to fight it before these people (bandits) can relax, but once they see loopholes and lack of coordination, it becomes difficult for us to control it.
As a government, there should be a clear and very supportive approach between the subnational and the national governments. Everybody calls us or addresses us as the chief security officers of the state, but are we? We are not because we don't control (the levers of security). So, what are you chief for? That is cowardice because how will someone call you chief security officer when you know you can't control anything?
It is better we look at it holistically and address it so that we can have peace and get the needed development in the country because we are going backwards. For example, we have built schools and hospitals in these frontline local governments, and bandits have destroyed some of them. So, we have to rebuild them, so we are going backwards.
Instead of us to keep progressing, we are going backwards. We build schools and hospitals, but somebody will come overnight and burn all the projects and kill people. So, you have to channel your resources to help those affected to regain their livelihoods. When you look at the inflation, the school that you built for N9 million yesterday, you will build it for about N18 million today.
So, these are issues that we have to be really thinking about. People say there is an increment of revenue to the state, but they should know that there is also an increase in inflation. What N1 million could do for you yesterday, N2 million cannot do for you today. So, we have to allocate these scarce resources carefully and improve transparency and accountability to the people.
