Whether you are his critic or admirer, you cannot deny the fact that Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State has remarkably transformed the once severely underdeveloped state. Former President Obasanjo himself said he was proud of supporting Lamido to become Governor in 2007. Lamido’s achievements in terms of improved infrastructure and service delivery in the area of healthcare, education, rural development, agriculture and poverty alleviation can hardly be matched by any northern state governor. His commitment to the development of Jigawa State is deep and even his critics are privately wowed by his impressive record. Jigawa State was once a hostile terrain to travel to because of the poor conditions of roads. Today, the story is different. Lamido has set a standard of development which will be the envy of other political leaders.
The development of the human capital is central to the socio-economic progress of any nation. One is particularly impressed by Lamido’s emphasis on qualitative education, better health standards and rural development. He has demonstrated a clear vision of putting Jigawa state on the map. It is hard to travel to Jigawa State today without taking notice of the positive progress made by the Lamido administration.
General Obasanjo’s persistence praise of Governor Lamido is not an idle talk. He can support his assessment of Lamido with evidence on the ground. In fact, Lamido has taken politics beyond rhetoric. He has demonstrated that with committed leadership driven by vision, a state can transform itself even with limited resources. Jigawa State is not the richest state in Nigeria, but with a resourceful leader like Lamido, he has lifted it from the fate of underdevelopment to progress. Subventions alone don’t bring development; what it does is the commitment of the political leadership to use funds efficiently for the progress of the people. This is where Lamido makes the difference. He is an efficient manager of resources.
With this impressive record of achievements, Lamido’s next challenge is more political in nature. The issue of succession is now the dominant issue of discussion in Jigawa State. Power shift is a political reality in Nigeria and we cannot pretend that it does exist. Governor Lamido is a fair-minded and just politician who believes in equity for all.
Although Lamido has not come out officially to announce his successor, the people of Jigawa State are convinced that he would take a just decision on the issue. In fact, all political parties in Jigawa State have agreed to support the Hadijia Emirate to produce the next governorship candidate for the 2015 election. Lamido himself is believed to be committed to this idea, though he hasn’t expressed it openly.
The people of Jigawa State are united to support the Hadejia Emirate to produce Lamido’s successor in 2015. Their confidence is boosted by their belief that Lamido has passion for justice. In fact, the common interest of Hadejia Emirate is greater than the political differences of the people. The people of Hadejia Emirate should support any candidate from the area, regardless of which political party he comes from.
With Lamido’s commitment to power shift, supporters of all political parties should throw their weight behind a Hadejia governorship candidate. Governor Lamido can only achieve his power shift plan if Jigawa State citizens back him in this regard. He needs a united people behind this policy and, therefore, political differences should not be allowed to truncate the power shift policy.
Lamido is a man of justice, but he needs the support of all to achieve the objectives of power shift. No leader wants to leave a legacy of divided people. Effective power shift requires unity. There is no part of Jigawa that didn’t benefit from the development agenda of Lamido.
Politics of division undermines development and, therefore, the people of Jigawa State should support any candidate from Hadejia Emirate endorsed by Lamido. It doesn’t matter whether we are APC or PDP. The interest of Hadejia Emirate is more important than these differences. Since his election and re-election, Governor Lamido has demonstrated his commitment to the unity of Jigawa State. Power shift in 2015 to the Hadejia Emirate would go a long way to make the people of Jigawa State more united, regardless of political affiliation.
With the people of Jigawa State commonly united by the desire for power shift in 2015, Governor Lamido is well assured that every indigene of Jigawa State would endorse and vote for a candidate from Hadejia Emirate. Exclusion is not in Lamido’s political dictionary. Therefore, he needs the support of all for a smooth power shift in 2015.
By: Lawal Jet Kaugama , a former media aide to former Governor Saminu Turaki of Jigawa State
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