There are rumblings in the southern part of Kaduna State over the distortion of a power sharing arrangement and alleged marginalisation of the area by the administration of Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
Unwritten Rule
Since the advent of democracy in 1999, there has been an unwritten code on power sharing in the state, which seeks to ensure balance and give every section of the state a sense of belonging. Although, Kaduna State, like other states of the federation, has three senatorial zones (Kaduna North, Central and Southern senatorial zones), historically, the state is seen more from the perspective of north-south and the Muslim -Christian divided.
It was learnt that the Peoples Democratic Party, which governed the state for 16 years before losing power to the Al Progressives Congress at the last general election, had initiated the power sharing arrangement since the inception of the Fourth Republic as a way of ensuring balance and giving every section of the state a sense of belonging.
The arrangement was such that if the governor came from the northern part of state, the deputy governor and the ministerial slot will be zoned to southern part, and vice versa.
Marginalisation
The present administration, however, seems to have discarded this arrangement, as the governor, the Secretary to the State Government, the Speaker of the House of Assembly and the minister representing the state are all from the northern part of the state with only the deputy governor coming from the southern part of the state.
The minister from Kaduna State, Zainab Ahmed, is not only from the same senatorial zone as the governor, but is also said to be a relation of El-Rufai. The seeming abandonment of the zoning arrangement by the El-Rufai administration is putting the southern part of the state on edge, prompting condemnation by groups from the area who describe the action as deliberately aimed at marginalising their area.
Agitation
At a news conference in Kaduna on October 13, a coalition made up of 13 civil society organisations and non-governmental organisations, under the aegis of Coalition of Southern Kaduna, criticised the governor for openly discriminating against their area.
The coalition includes groups like the Gurara Patriot Foundation, Southern Kaduna Youth and Student Forum, Southern Kaduna Youth Liberation Movement, Youth Wing of Southern Kaduna Progressive Union, Southern Kaduna Women Entrepreneurs, and Southern Kaduna Ladies Forum. Others include Southern Kaduna Farmers Forum, Southern Kaduna Lawyers Forum, Southern Kaduna Indigenes People’s Forum, Southern Kaduna Winning All Forum, and Southern Kaduna Youth for Progress and Development.
Spokesman of the group Mr. James Kanyip, a lawyer and former council chairman of Kaura Local Government Area, accused the governor of violating section 14 (4) of the Nigerian Constitution in the appointments of commissioners. He maintained that while the group supported a cost effective and productive civil service by El-Rufai, “We became suspicious of his motive when he started what looked like a vindictive approach to what would have been a laudable idea.
Kanyip quoted section 14 (4) of the constitution to buttress his point, thus, “The composition of the government of a state, a local government council, or any of the agencies of such government or council, and the conduct of the affairs of the government or council or such agencies shall be carried out in such manner as to recognise the diversity of the people within its area of authority and the need to promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the people of the Federation.”
He noted, “Usually, political offices in Kaduna State have always been fairly shared or distributed amongst the three senatorial districts in line with the principles of Federal Character enshrined in section 14(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“But, Kaduna State is actually North or South as the ‘Central ‘ was introduced out of the exigency of the constitution, and not reflective of the South/North divide.
“For instance, when the governor comes from the northern part of Kaduna, the deputy governorship and the ministerial slots will be zoned to Kaduna South. Presently, apart from the deputy governor who is an indigene of Southern Kaduna, all the other key positions of governance have been taken by the North, including the Speaker of Kaduna State House of Assembly. “Also, of the 13 commissioners, only four are from Southern Kaduna. This is very unfair and is in violation of the aforementioned sections of the constitution.”
Kanyip stated that the circumstances under which the southern part of the state found itself had made it imperative for the coalition to address “nagging issues under the government of Mallam Nasir El - Rufai, before they get out of hand.”
According to the coalition, “The people of this state had, decisively, at the last gubernatorial polls made a clear statement that they were not satisfied with the way they were being led by the PDP government under Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero. They voted enthusiastically for change, hence the coming to power of the APC under the governorship of Mallam Nasir El Rufai. “The change has finally arrived, but it has come with its shocking injustice, clear favouritism, arrant arrogance, inconsiderate policies and blatant violation of extant laws.
“As Nigerians indigenous and autochthonous to Kaduna State, we are pained that the governor has treated Southern
Kaduna with unabashed vendetta, which only reason would be because most of Southern Kaduna did not vote for him and because of our religion and ethnicity.
“We are law abiding indigenes of Kaduna State who are very desirous of development, peace and unity. We pledge to support the governor in every way we can if he shows evidence that he means well for every section of the state.”
Also expressing his disappointment with the current arrangement, the executive director of Centrum Initiative for Developmental Rights Advocacy (CEDRA), Dr. John Danfulani, asked the deputy governor, Arc. Barnabas Bala Bantex, to resign his position in protest against the marginalisation of the Southern Kaduna people.
Letter
Danfulani, who is also a lecturer at the Kaduna State University, in a letter to the deputy governor, titled, “Resign before it is too late,” and dated October 14, 2015, said the deputy governor’s continued silence over glaring discrimination and emasculation of the Southern Kaduna people spoke volumes, stressing that history will not speak kindly of Bantex if, as the highest political officer holder from the area, he does not speak out against the injustice against his people.
According to him, abandoning the long standing power sharing arrangement is not in the best interest of the state, as the arrangement gave the people a sense of belonging and promoted political harmony.
“Sir, your new style of leadership and guiding dictum challenged and ended some long standing power sharing tradition that came with this Republic in 1999,” Danfulani said in the letter to the governor.
He recalled, “Before your government, political and civil service positions were usually and equitably distributed across the three senatorial zones – sometimes, into two equal halves of Kaduna North and South – with River Kaduna as the dividing lines.
“The sharing starts from the four top positions, viz: governor; deputy governor; minister; and Secretary to the State Government. From 1999-2007 Governor Makarfi and President Olusegun Obasanjo observed this power sharing formulae. From 2007-2011; Presidents Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Ebele Jonathan respected this fair power sharing arrangement…This power sharing arrangement is not something that is only enshrined in our 1999 Constitution, but politically correct and expedient for an ethno-religiously balkanised state like Kaduna.
“This did not only address the feelings of marginalisation of Southern Kaduna, but also gave them a sense of belonging, encouraged political participation, and support for governments and their policies.
“You are a living witness and actor of this existing formula and have time without number advocated for its sustenance and improvement while you were a PDP member from 1998-2007.”
According to Danfulani, the argument that Southern Kaduna did not vote the APC does not hold water. He noted that APC’s votes from Southern Kaduna during the last elections were more than the total votes the party got from all the South-south and South-east states, yet they were given ministerial slots.
Denial
But while reacting to the accusations, a top government official, who did not want his name in print, said there was no basis for the allegations against El-Rufai. He said appointments in the state were not based on any tribal, sectional or religious considerations, but were based on integrity and competence, capacity and capability. He added that unlike during the PDP era, when huge public resources were spent on public office holders, the APC government decided to prune down the number of ministries to 13 and appointed commissioners based on the three senatorial zones.
The official stated, “Those who are criticising the governor for marginalising the southern part of the state are not being fair to him because of the 13 commissioners, four of them come from the southern Kaduna senatorial zone. If you look at all those appointed, they are experienced professionals, technocrats and politicians in their own right, a far deviation from the old system when mediocre and incompetent people were appointed to serve the interest of their political godfathers.”
He described the Southern Kaduna groups making the allegations as agents of the PDP who lost out and who still want the old order of doing things to continue.
“They have resorted to mischief by weeping up ethnic, religious and sectional sentiments to achieve their selfish interest, but the Southern Kaduna people are educated people and they know the truth. Nobody can use them to incite religious and ethnic sentiments.”
El-Rufai had recently reacted to the criticism of his appointments while responding to questions at the monthly Town Hall meeting held at the Kaduna International Trade Fair Complex. On the allegation that he nominated Zainab Ahmed, his relation, for ministerial appointment, the governor said he had no hand in the nomination.
El-Rufai had said, “No governor nominated any ministerial appointee for the president. Before we were elected as governors, we advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to allow any governor to nominate minister for him because if he allows, they will nominate somebody of their choice and not that of the president’s choice.
“The president heeded that advice. And there are some people who appeared on the face as APC, but right inside them they are PDP. We know those who did anti-party. And they didn’t vote for us but they went to get houses close to Buhari in Abuja for nomination.
“So President Buhari single-handedly nominated Zainab.”
But El-Rufai also added that there was no basis for appointing people who did not vote for him during the governorship election. He said, “It was what you voted that you got because we are aware that there are people who did not vote for us, in fact, they worked against us. But now they claim to be APC members and loyal to the party. We know such people. And so there is no way they would expect anything from us.
Relegation
Investigation, however, reveals that it is not only the people of Southern Kaduna that are complaining about appointments in the state. Even among top-ranking APC members, there are grumblings, as people allege that they have been side-lined after working for the party’s victory.
Many analysts believe that the success of El-Rufai’s change agenda and his determination to “make Kaduna great again” will depend largely on how well he is able to address the growing perception of his administration as sectional.
Southern Kaduna: A Grumble about Marginalisation
Reviewed by Vita Ioanes
on
Sunday, November 08, 2015
Rating:
Reviewed by Vita Ioanes
on
Sunday, November 08, 2015
Rating:
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