MADUABUCHI NMERIBEH/Kano

Governor Ganduje

On Sunday, 26 July, Speakers of Houses of Assembly from the 19 northern states gathered at Kano State House of Assembly complex for the maiden Conference of Northern Speakers Forum, NSF.

Their agenda was clear: to reinvigorate a North that can speak with one voice and tackle economic, social, political and other problems facing it as one entity.

During a dinner held into Sunday night after the Conference, Kano state Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje spoke to the lawmakers at Africa House inside Kano Government House. His message was apt and direct—that the lawmakers should use their positions to bring the North alive again—form a united front, make laws that can attract economic development, tackle poverty, tackle insecurity, encourage education and discourage the menace of street begging.

In Governor Ganduje’s views, it is high time the North woke up from slumber and embrace unity so as to garner the required strength to confront the daunting challenges facing the region. He said overcoming these challenges may not be easy without proper legislation from the State Houses of Assembly across the 19 northern states.

In Dr. Ganduje’s words: “We should take a pledge that will restore the glory of the northern part of this country. Like earlier mentioned, the North which used to be one entity, which used to be a very strong economic base for Nigeria, which was the determining political direction of this country, eventually has drifted into segmentation, various divisions, various cleavages, and various misunderstandings, realities, and unrealities; but we believe we should make a pledge. We should be born again; we should forgive each other; we should apologize to each other; we are all Nigerians, we are northerners, we are known for our culture, we are known for our tolerance, we are known for keeping our brothers in custody, in peace. We all have extended family system which helps the North to cling together.

“We should use these attributes, we should use this character to think again, come together again. I am happy to say that we decided to hold this Conference here, to come together so that we discuss national issues and regional issues. The North is backward in education—now it is backward in economy, it is backward in peace and stability considering what is happening in the North East, the North West and some parts of North Central.

“These are issues in which we must come together and think about them deeply. We must make relevant laws in order to take care of these aberrations. We need to take care of these shortcomings that warranted into our backwardness.”

He also tasked NSF to come up with a legislation that would give legal backing to the ban on street begging across the 19 northern states.

According to Ganduje, there was need for other states of the North to borrow a leaf from Kano in its effort to eradicate the disturbing trend of street begging.

“The issue of begging is an issue that cut across the northern part of Nigeria. We require legislation, but I believe, as young Speakers, you are equal to the task,” he stated.

He also warned on the implication of politics of rancour and bitterness between the Executive and the Legislature, leading to unwarranted impeachments, saying such development is not good for modern democracy.

“It is very disheartening when we look at our democracy, we made a simple research from 1999 to 2003, 2003 to 2007, and 2007 to 2011 and into the frequency, the frivolous manner at which we changed our Speakers—that shows that our democracy is not mature. The frequency at which we change Deputy Governors shows that our democracy is not mature. But we believe that this time around, Speakers should continue to be Speakers until their time is completed. Deputy Governors who are casualties, but sometimes we need to blame our legislators, because anything levelled against Deputies Governors, legislators will take it up; and what we can hear is impeachment. Imagine somebody who was having some poultry in his house was impeached because he was having poultry in Government House! In his own house; in a residence that is being allocated to him.

“This also goes to the Speakers, with the assistance of the Governors, Speakers too are changed like changing pants! This does not speak well for our democracy. Our democracy should be centred on issues, not trivialities. But there is hope—this young Speakers, I believe you are equal to the task. In Kano state experience, we have gone ahead, we have gone far. The chairman of my party is here, 40 members of the Kano State Assembly are here, it didn’t take us up to 30 minutes to come up with all the Principal Officers, including Speaker. And then, when they went to the Chambers, there was no exchange of blows, there was no exchange of Naira, there was no blackmail, no intrigues, they were adopted and here they are. So, you are most welcome. Thank you very much,” he concluded.

In his address, Speaker of Kano State House of Assembly, Hon. Kabiru Alhassan Usman Rurum also encouraged his colleagues to look into the issue of street begging, saying, “the smooth implementation of the ban on street begging in Kano State is likely to be hampered if similar initiatives have not been adopted by neighbouring states. While we have responsibilities to discharge in our various states, we have an equal, or perhaps, a much bigger role to play in ensuring the projection of the good image of our geo-political divide which is the North. We must tell ourselves the truth, the North has many developmental challenges, ranging from abject poverty and stack ignorance to disease, insecurity and poor infrastructure for sustainable growth. It is incumbent upon us to do something serious to overcome these and many other challenges. Nobody will come from somewhere else to do it for us.”

In a two-page Communiqué issued after the NSF Kano Conference and signed by Rt.Hon. Adamu Dala Dogo, acting chairman of NSF and Speaker of Yobe State House of Assembly; Hon. Salisu Ibrahim Muhammad, Chairman, Information Committee of Kano State House of Assembly and which was read by Rt. Hon. Sunusi Garba Rikiji, Speaker, Zamfara State House of Assembly, NFS resolved to uphold the unity and socio-economic growth of the North.

According to the Communiqué, “the meeting resolved that the Conference should act always in unity to pursue common goals as every problem solved in one state is a solution provided to other member states. Participants at the meeting resolved to maintain good relationship between Executive and Legislature to ensure rapid development of the member states.

Participants at the meeting sympathized with the victims of the recent Bomb Blasts at Plateau, Borno, Yobe, Gombe states to mention but a few as well as observed with keen interest the resolve of the Federal Government to fight insurgency to the end at the North East in particular and the nation at large.”

The northern Speakers, however, hailed President Muhammadu Buhari’s determination to tackle corruption and appealed to state Governors to emulate President Buhari in that direction, while also charging the President to take the issue of rebuilding the North East and other Boko Haram areas as a matter of emergency.