I read with bewilderment an article written by Aminu Abdussalam, a member of the Kwankwasiyya faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its deputy gubernatorial candidate in the 2019 election, in response to pronouncement by the Kano state commissioner for Information, Comrade Muhammad Garba, on the issue of Kofar Nassarawa Flyover in the metropolis. According to media reports, Comrade Garba spoke on the possibility of demolition of the flyover, considering the danger it poses to the public due to the slow wilting nature of the structure from its basement.
Ordinarily, comments or opinions expressed by people like Abdussalam require no response because to them, there is no good in any policy, programme or project of the administration of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, no matter how well thought out or beneficial to the people of Kano state. This, they do, just to settle political scores, because all they have been longing for, right from the beginning, is the failure of the government.
Having listened to the audio clip in which the commissioner made the statement, I understand that he was talking first, about the faulty architectural design of the bridge. This is because, as he put it, the essence of the flyover is to reduce traffic congestion, which it has not addressed. Secondly, the edifice is a thorn in the eye when it comes to the accumulation of body of water during the rainy season. No proper arrangement was made to drain the water at the basement of the bridge and the linking roads which are covered by flood, causing traffic jam and discomfort to motorists and pedestrians alike. Thirdly, some sections of the bridge at its cellar have started putrefying.
One is surprised to note that the Kwankwasiyya stalwart deliberately quoted the commissioner out of context by saying that arrangements have been concluded for the demolition exercise. Comrade Garba never said that. He only talked about a possibility in the event that the flyover poses a danger to its users.
While the Ganduje administration is busy evolving policies and programmes to better the lots of the people of Kano state through the unprecedented growth in physical development that aimed at making the North’s commercial hub join groups of megacities in the world, the likes of Abdussalam could not hide their envy even if through telling outright lies on the government’s unpretentious intentions.
When the man mentioned the obliteration of Kano’s historical and cultural monuments and other landmarks that gave Kano its identity, I laughed it off. The shops, departmental stores and storey buildings built at the foot of the Kano Wall opposite Radio Kano up to Kofar Mata Gate were allocated and sold to the highest bidder by his master, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso. A major part of Kofar Mata Eid Prayer Ground was allocated by Kwankwaso, where large shops were constructed. In fact, that singular action was the genesis of the misunderstanding between the former governor and the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero.
The Shahuchi ultra-modern 3 storey parking lot was built about three months to the expiration of Kwankwaso’s tenure in office, just to count the number of projects by the former administration. The hasty nature in which the project was executed resulted in a substandard, with the structure showing signs of cracks shortly after its completion. In fact, even after the parking lot was commissioned, it was never put to use because no sensible man can dare to park his vehicle in it. It was pulled down to pave way for the construction of a more economically viable structure to the envy of Kwankwaso cohorts like Abdussalam.
The Daula Hotel is an abandoned edifice, because even the state University of Science and Technology, Wudil which occupied parts of the hotel could not utilize one third of it. Efforts by successive administrations could not salvage the hotel from becoming a hideout for criminals. It is based on this that the state government is working under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) to revive the hotel. A 10-storey building owned wholly by the state government will be built within the hotel itself to be managed by private investors. There is also going to be a shopping mall and residential buildings.
In fact, it was Kwankwaso that first begun the allocation of land owned by Daula Hotel. Not only that, he allocated all the houses owned by the hotel to his cronies. And if there is fault in allocation of lands by government to its people, how can Abdussalam and his likes justify their master’s action?
For security reasons and deviation from the culture of abandoning government properties rotting away, the Ganduje administration, as any serious one will do, cannot look the other way. The land at Tukuntawa is a threat to lives and property since it is in the middle of residential buildings. Unclaimed bodies were found in the land, which is a clear indication that government has to take measures by making good use of the property. Triumph Publishing Company, which was unceremoniously closed down by Rabi’u Kwankwaso as part of his efforts to diminish the achievements recorded by the first civilian governor of Kano state, late Alhaji Muhammadu Abubakar Rimi, the same way he abandoned the State Agricultural Supply Company (KASCO) and the state Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (KNARDA). In fact, in an apparent insult to the Rimi legacies, Kwankwaso converted parts of Triumph building to public convenience (Gidan wanka da bahaya). It was only Ganduje that reopened it and relocated it to another place, where the paper is undergoing transformation.
Finally, since you are giving a warning as if you are in control of the destiny of the people of Kano, we shall wait and see what happens come 2023. You are saddened by your defeat and by God’s grace, you will continue to remain that way.
Abubakar writes from Kurnar Asabe Quarters, Kano.
