Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano state accept my best wishes and congratulations to you as the governor of Kano state. This is an open letter to you and I hope it will get to you through the power of the media. His Excellency, please tarry on your ongoing demolition of alleged illegal structures on public lands. Due process is required. Your actions have since empowered looters of properties in your state.
Your demolition exercise currently affects only those structures approved by a legitimate government not those built without legitimate government’s approvals. Your actions will scare away private investments/capital in your state which you badly need for your administration’s success in particular and your state in general. Your action so far should you deem it fit to attract private partnership for your government in the future will not speak well of you and your state.
Politicians” and “aides” may not honestly advise you on the issue at hand, but your honest admirers will. Sir, please don’t be a bull in a China’s shop. The noun phrase “a bull in a China’s shop” is often used for a person who breaks things or who often makes mistakes or causes damage in situations that require careful thinking or behaviour.
The fact that one promises to do “something” during his campaign is not enough reason to go ahead with it if it turns out to be a folly. Changing a stand or a position on an issue as a result of new facts or superior argument is not a weakness or ones failure to keep to promise. In fact, it is the right thing to do!
I know too very well that his excellency knows by the provision of the 1978 Land Use Act that the former governor has the powers to approve a change of purpose for the use of public properties from, for instance, public to private use or school to commercial or hospital to residential house use for as long as the due process of law is duly followed.
I equally know that his excellency by his exposure as a public servant and a former commissioner knows that there are processes and procedures for correcting a perceived wrong public policy or decision by a previous government. There is an adage that, two wrongs cannot make a right. His excellency knows that public policy or law is not supposed to be targeted at an individual or group of individuals or drafted to please the ego of an individual or group of individuals.
His Excellency sir, the best thing to do in the situation at hand is to set up a committee to investigate the following: (1) Was due process followed? (2) what was the rationale for changing the purpose of public lands? (3) were the properties sold at the market price or at a give away price? (4) were the properties sold through competitive bidding or just allocated to family and cronies? (5) were the funds realised from the sale of the properties paid to Kano state government or to private accounts? etc. The report outcome of the committee should form your next line of actions.
Perhaps your difference with the out gone governor is about governance model or philosophy. Governance model or philosophy is still an ongoing debate. From your utterances, it appears you align with socialist model. Socialism is a political cum economic system of governance.
It is apt to state that the Socialist Republic of China from the China’s golden era of Deng Xiaping (1978-1989) has since opened up China’s economy by embracing private capital. China now operates the political aspect of socialism, but it has largely discarded the economic aspect of socialism from the time of Deng Xiaping. At the height of the debate on economic model in China, Deng Xiaping said: “It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white as long as it catches mice”.
For as long as the due process of law is followed there is absolutely nothing wrong in public private partnership (PPP) or privatisation of dilapidated public assets in order to put it to proper use for the economic development of the state. It is just a matter of economic philosophy.
IIn modern economy, his excellency requires private capital to revive abundant public infrastructure for the benefits of your people. It is even more so, in an economy like yours which heavily relies on federal allocation with a very low internally generated revenue (IGR) profile in comparison with states with less potential as yours. His excellency requires private capital for public schools, hospitals, roads, rail, bridges, electricity, markets, and agriculture, etc.
Similarly, there is absolutely nothing wrong economically for borrowing to finance capital projects. Debt or loan in itself is not necessarily bad, but what you use it for makes it isgood or bad. At governmental level, It is sound economics to borrow for infrastructural development, but to borrow in order to sustain ostentatious lifestyle or finance over bloated bureaucracy is bad economics. I support loans for judicious execution of capital projects, but not for over bloated recurrent expenditures.
The United States of America is the most indebted country in the world yet the number one economy in the world. Brazil is the most indebted country in Latin America yet the number one economy in the zone. Japan is the most indebted country in Asia yet the second biggest economy in Asia and the third in the world. South Africa is the most indebted country in Africa yet the second biggest economy in Africa. Germany is the fourth most indebted country in the world yet the biggest economy in Europe.
Lagos state is the most indebted state in Nigeria yet the most developed state. Dangote Group spent $19billion on his the world largest single train refinery through debt financing model by both local and international financial institutions.
His Excellency sir, please retrace your dangerous steps. Accept my best wishes. May you succeed as the governor of Kano state.
Dauda writes from Kaduna Kaduna state via [email protected]
