By Adamu Muhd Usman
Political campaigns and elections have come and gone. What remains now is governance. Jigawa State governor, Malam Umar Namadi, a.k.a Dan Modi, is planning to constitute his cabinet anytime from now for his first tenure in office for a four-year term (2023 to 2027). Insha Allah.
Cabinet formation is one the factors that make or mar any administration, especially in states like Jigawa, where people’s expectations are high.
The agitations and expectations of Jigawa citizens are to see Jigawa progress to a new level, improvement on the existing development and commencement of new ones.
Governor Dan Modi’s first term success depends on his new cabinet (commissioners, appointees and other aides). About 13 commissioners are expected to be appointed, probably some of former Governor Abubakar Badaru’s commissioners may be reappointed into Modi’s new cabinet
Some of us have reservations on the reappointment of Badaru’s commissioners into Modi’s cabinet, if the governor is thinking in that direction, though such decisions are exclusively his right, being the chief executive of the state, but suggestions and advice are sometimes essential for a new government.
Your Excellency, you have to always remember that life needs careful planning and strategy. And strategy sometimes complement’s planning.
Sir, you were Jigawa’s commissioner for finance (2015 to 2019) and the immediate past deputy governor of the state (2019 to 2023) I hope and pray you will have a sober reflection and do your best to meet the people’s expectations. I am not saying you can perform miracles over night. A person that has never made a mistake has not tried new things. No doubt, you will make mistakes but the important thing is to learn from such mistakes. Remember that it is by mistakes that we learn. Mankind mostly learns from mistakes, not from example. You should always learn from the attitude and behavior of the people, as the world itself is an institution of learning.
Your Excellency, leaders learn by leading and they learn best by leading in the face of obstacles. As weather shapes mountains and problems shape leaders, your experiences in private and governmental positions will give you guidelines and advantages to do the right thing at the right time and for the right purpose. Yes, good leaders are mostly always great simplifiers who can cut through argument, debate and doubt to offer solutions everyone can understand.
Sir, as you take over the mantle of leadership as Jigawa governor on May 29, 2023, I pray to Allah to guide you and give you wisdom in order to think of so many issues bothering the state, but especially the workforce. There are areas that need serious attention. There is a great need to accelerate the level of development in areas like education, health, economy, security and human development, among others, and this solely depends on the competent and dedicated team you will chose to assist you in this onerous task.
Your Excellency, in this regard, there are some heads of ministries, agencies and parastatals that deserve not to be in this present administration because they have performed below average for the state at a point in time (2015-2019 and 2019-2023).
To be frank, sir, there is a tendency of some issues, if certain people are retained. To a point, giving up might be the resolution based on a lot of reasons to lose faith that I have seen. Jigawa is lagging behind and in some other sectors is stagnant. Because of incompetent people, some places were left vacant, some were left for long without replacement and promotion based on merit and these made many things go undone, uncompleted, unnoticed, uncelebrated and unappreciated by the general public.
So, you need to get and assemble a robust team of young, educated, competent, experienced, honest, talented and committed people who have the state at heart. People who can turn things around positively, and those who have the passion, interest and love for the wellbeing and progress of the people and the state at large so that you can succeed and leave good legacies behind, insha Allah.
Your Excellency, you should bear in mind that all ministries are important but some are more important than others. So, more priority should be given to some than others.
To succeed, you must give honest, dedicated, transparent, selfless and genuine leadership. Since the creation of Jigawa in 1993, the state has assembled an encompassing leadership in all the sectors of the socioeconomic life of the state, one that is committed to uplifting the standard of living of the downtrodden like some previous administrations tried to do. Please, politics aside, I hope Governor Umar will as well write his name in gold in the history of Jigawa State.
Lastly, His Excellency should realise that the state can never make progress until the citizens have a sense of belonging. I wish you Allah’s guidance. May God continue to help and promote Jigawa to live secure, peaceful, united and move to greater heights.
•Adamu writes from Kafin-Hausa Jigawa State; amu3333@yahoo.com