What’s Kwara Governor Abdulrazaq Doing?

Some of my friends have asked me this question several times. And I must confess, I’ve also asked friends and family members who live in Kwara State the same question until recently, after I visited the state and spoke to people.  But first let me share an unforgettable experience.

As a non-resident indigene of Kwara State, I’ve always keenly followed developments in my home state. I started picking interest in the governance of the state after my NYSC when I landed my first job as a teacher with the Kwara State Teaching Service Commission in 1990. I did the job for nearly a year before I voluntarily resigned and traveled to Lagos to pursue a career in Journalism.

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But I will never forget how I got my first job and how that has influenced my perception of governance in the state since the return to democracy in 1999.

We were told at the NYSC camp during orientation that the Nigerian economy (public and private sectors) would not employ more than ten percent of the graduates of that year, and there were just a little over 22,000 graduates. So we were all advised to start learning about entrepreneurship.

After completing my NYSC, colleagues informed me that the Kwara State government, under the military administration of Alwali Kazir, had advertised recruitment of teachers.  Even though my passion was journalism, I was ready to get any job that was handy to kick-start my after-school life. I applied for the job and was among those called for interview. I guess everyone that applied got invited for the interview.

After the interview, friends told me it may not be easy to get the job without a godfather! This was in 1990! I didn’t know anybody in the state since we were raised in the north where my parents settled. So, I informed my dad who then asked me to meet one of his cousins in Offa who would take me to meet late Chief Sunday Olawoyin.

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My father, may his soul rest in peace, was a strong Awoist and whenever Olawoyin came to the north and visited Minna, he used to come to my father’s shop. So, I was excited to meet him and he gave me a note to take to the chairman of the state teaching service commission.

I traveled back to Ilorin about two weeks after the interview to deliver Olawoyin’s letter so I could get the teaching job. On getting to the office of the commission, I saw a crowd of people scrutinizing some papers pasted on the notice boards. It was the list of successful applicants, and my name was number 5 on the list!

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the list. I checked the content of the letter I was going to deliver and tore it into pieces.  I already got the job, so no need to deliver the letter. I knew I was given the job because the interview panel found me competent. I studied English Literature and I applied to teach English language and literature. The interviewers made me read from text books to assess my pronunciation and asked questions on basic grammar. I met others too who told me they didn’t know anyone but got the job.

But that seems like a century ago now.  Since the return of democracy to the country nine years later, the story changed for young graduates looking to work for the state. You needed to belong to the ruling party or know someone in power to get a job or government contracts.

It got so bad that all employments and contracts were shared inside the government house by a few people. A secondary school colleague of mine who is a deputy director in the state’s teaching commission told me in 2014 he couldn’t get his own daughter a teaching job even though she was very qualified. He said they always send them the list of fresh employees from the government house!

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I have no doubt in my mind that these are the kind of things that led to the push against the political dominance of Bukola Saraki in Kwara politics known as the Otoge Movement. It was the political expression of accumulated anger against a system and leadership that suppressed them. The people of Kwara, in unison, voted against Saraki’s party and swept him out of power.

Then came Abdulrazaq, a successful businessman, who is untainted by the scandals of the previous administrations.  He was a new face on the scene and aptly offered the state a new beginning. While he did not hit the ground running as expected, there can be no doubt he knew what was expected of him by the people.

But has he met the expectations of the people? It’s difficult to judge an administration that is barely two years in office. Considering the debts and dirts he inherited, coupled with the devastation of the Coronavirus pandemic on national income and state allocations, it is unsurprising that kwara, like many other states with low Internally Generated Revenue, is struggling to embark on critical physical projects.

My research shows that the governor is doing rehabilitation of selected roads,  hospitals and schools in all the three senatorial districts of the state. I am, like many other citizens of the state who understand the current economic realities of states, willing to wait until the end of his tenure to assess the impact of his administration on the people.

But I am willing to commend what he has done in the intangible realm of governance.  Apart from awarding contracts for physical projects, which is not what I consider as good governance, I have been enthralled by stories rendered by graduates, pensioners and contractors who could not believe their luck under the administration of the current governor.

Graduates and other unemployed youths are getting government jobs without godfathers but on their own merit. Contracts are now openly awarded to deserving companies based on competence and track record, not on political patronage. Someone who had access to the government house told me he couldn’t get a job for his cousin because he was told that she failed the employment test!

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Most touching for me is the treatment of pensioners who now receive their monthly stipends regularly because the governor makes funds available for it as a priority.

These are invisible dividends of democracy that must be used  as benchmark of good governance. The constitution says the security and welfare of the people is the primary role of government. Unfortunately, elected leaders and the electorate themselves do not prioritize this very important aspect of governance. Instead, we expect leaders to give us money or contracts because we voted them or we’re close to them.

I hear Governor Abdulrazaq is not doing that and that is why he’s having problems within his party, and with some influential groups in the state. I hear some people in his cabinet are also grumbling because Governor Abdulrazaq did not approve provision of official cars (commissioners use their own cars) and other perks of office.

Those close to the governor say he’s a very prudent man who knows the value of every naira and wants to get it for the state.  But I have an advice: politics is not business and running a state is not the same as running a business. Businesses are set up for profit, but governments are not. While it is commendable to manage state resources in a prudent manner, it is imprudent not to make your aides comfortable to do the task you assigned to them.

The governor must find a balance between managing the material resources of the state and managing the people, including those who oppose him. That is what will ensure his political longevity. But I’m of the view he’s started well.

– Tajudeen Suleiman is an Abuja-based journalist.

Disclaimer: This article is entirely the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of The Whistler.

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