A LOOK AT ZAMFARA FROM THE OUTSIDE

Zamfara State has a sweet-bitter story: massive reserves of mineral resources including gold, iron ore, granite, limestone, chromate, etc., but illegal mining of gold and other minerals has led to making the state a hotspot of banditry and kidnapping in Nigeria.

Zamfara occupies a very important spot in the history of northern Nigeria, being one of the regions in the old Hausa Kingdoms and one of the roots of the Usman Danfodio Jihad of 1804. But its current story is mostly associated with senseless insecurity and bad news.

Zamfara has produced some prominent people who have served Nigeria and humanity well, but nowadays, one cannot talk of misgovernance in northern Nigeria without also pointing at Zamfara State as well.

One cannot talk of the rich culture and important towns in northern Nigeria without mentioning Zamfara. Zamfara hosts some prominent towns in northern Nigeria: Gusau, Kauran Namoda, Anka, Gummi, Talata Mafara, etc. Some 12 years ago, Zamfara State began to have its fair share of banditry and poverty in Northern Nigeria. There are 8.33 million out-of-school children in northwest Nigeria. When Governor Dauda Lawal took over the state’s affairs, Zamfara accounted for a significant number of this figure. Insecurity, kidnapping, and school closures are some of the factors responsible for the increase in the number of out-of-school children.

In the 2023 gubernatorial election, the people of Zamfara boldly moved away from the past—it was not only surprising, but it shocked the polity. In the presidential election, Zamfara people voted for the All Progressives Congress (APC), and President Bola Tinubu won the state, but in the gubernatorial election, Zamfarawa voted against the ruling APC; they voted for something entirely new.

But why did the Zamfara people, for the first time in 24 years, massively vote for something outside their traditional trajectory? And why the unnecessary distraction of Governor Dauda Lawal by former Governor Bello Matawalle and co? First, let’s look at the man, Dauda Lawal: He is a new breed politician but an experienced technocrat—someone who is completely outside the ‘system’ borrowing from the language of politicians. He twice contested the Zamfara PDP gubernatorial primary election and won it twice with a wide margin, beating all his opponents. He is the only gubernatorial candidate whose election was challenged twice in the court of law, but he prevailed. Dauda Lawal spent over 25 years in banking, reaching an executive director position at the First Bank. He has over 26 years of post-qualification experience, which covers commercial and public sector banking.

So why the distraction when Governor Dauda is trying to tackle insecurity, poverty, out-of-school children, misgovernance, etc? Recently, there were some shocking revelations from the state government: the Zamfara cargo airport and the uncompleted governor’s lodge in the 14 local government areas of the state. Documents released by the state government showed that former Governor Bello Matawalle approved the release of over one billion naira for the fencing, landscaping, and furnishing of the governor’s lodge in 14 local areas even before the projects began. Similarly, the state government also released some documents showing that the previous government spent over N4.5 billion from the abandoned Zamfara Airport Project. However, Matawalle has denied all the accusations and said that he inherited the Cargo Airport Project from the previous government, saying all the allegations against him were nothing but a calculated mischief and diversionary tactics by Governor Lawal’s government.

 It is obvious that the Zamfara local people’s worldview on governance has changed; they are thirsty for a new beginning free from banditry, corruption, poverty, and mismanagement of the state’s resources, but they also value accountability, inclusivity, responsiveness, and transparency in their aspirations and needs. Governor Dauda Lawal promised them during his campaign that he would leverage his experience as a technocrat, technology, and people for efficient service delivery and prioritise sustainability and immediate local needs, not white elephant projects. He also promised to face the bandits head-on while protecting human rights and addressing the challenges that birthed insecurity. Thus, many public analysts are of the view that former Governor Matawalle should have used his current position as Minister of State Defence to work with Governor Lawal to tackle the security challenges in the state, not distracting the governor.

Zayyad I. Muhammad, Abuja