Herculean Tasks Ahead of Katsina Governor

Mallam Dikko Umar Radda appears poised to tackle the myriad of challenges facing him as he rebuilds Katsina state, writes Francis Sardauna.

Unarguably, the new Governor of Katsina State, MalamDikkoUmaruRadda, braced all odds to emerge winner of the keenly contested governorship election in the state.

He beat his opponents, Senator YakubuLado of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nura Khalil of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), among others, in the poll which was considered by political pundits as free and credible.

Sworn-in as the fifth governor of Katsina state on May 29, Radda emerged winner after surmounting several landmines orchestrated by some stalwarts within his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He would face the stark reality of governing the 9.5 million estimated citizens of the state, over half of whom impoverished, and contend with other myriads of challenges facing the state for the first four years.

Thus, the daunting task before the 52-year-old governor, would be to initiate a viable healing mechanism process to pacify many angry APC bigwigs against his emergence as the governor of the state.

But beyond the razzmatazz of the campaign and eventual victory, another task before Radda would be  how to address the myriad of the pitfalls and mundane issues that characterised the eight-year government of his predecessor, Aminu Bello Masari.

The harsh economic realities, escalating unemployment rate in the state, massive debt burden with apparently empty treasury, poverty, lack of payment of retirement benefits and replacement of retired workers and more importantly, worsening infant mortality seems to conspire to make the task before him even more laborious.

For instance, according to a 2022 National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) multidimensional poverty index, the state had a 72.70 per cent poverty rate. This showed that seven million out of the state’s estimated 9.5 million people are poor with vulnerable households finding it very cumbersome to afford three-square meals a day.

The NBS’ multidimensional poverty index further showed that Katsina is third in the list of states with the highest number of poor people, only behind Kano with 10 million people and Kaduna with eight million people.

Likewise, a 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) carried out by UNICEF in Katsina, further revealed that the state has 1.6 million people who are currently suffering from hunger, while 63,000 people out of the 1.6 million are battling with acute food insecurity.

Out of the state’s two million under five children, 1.2 million, according to the UNICEF’ MICS, are stunted, 574,200 moderately wasted, 250,151 severely wasted and 1,376,000 currently suffering from anaemia across the 34 local government areas of the state.

Similarly, the domestic debt of Katsina, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO), is N62.3 billion, while the external debt is $53.9 million. Judging from the DMO report, Radda has inherited a total debt of about N86.5 billion which includes both the domestic and external debts.

Another task before the governor would be solving the intractable escalating insecurity and uniting aggrieved Hausa and Fulani communities in Batsari, Jibia, Faskari, Kankara, Danmusa, Safana, Dandume and Sabuwa local government areas of the state into a peaceful state.

Although the former governor made appreciable non-kinetic efforts in taming banditry in the state, the security challenges seems to be escalating because hardly a day passes by without the hoodlums launching fresh onslaught on communities in the aforementioned local governments.

Also, Masari failed to address the infant mortality rate in the state. A 2021 MICS and National Immunisation Coverage Survey (NICS), showed that neonatal deaths increased from 38 to 49 deaths for every 1,000 births under his government, while the number of dead infants increased from 66 to 89 deaths per 100 births.

Findings further revealed that the state has a shortage of 11,222 teachers. Also,  poor budgetary allocation and untimely release to ministries, departments and agencies in the state, are among the challenges that the incumbent governor needs to urgently address for effective services delivery.

Above all, the greater task before Radda will be the possibility of eschewing the normal tendencies of an average Nigerian politician reneging on their campaign promises once they assume the mantle of leadership.

Nonetheless, Governor Radda had during his inauguration speech at MuhammaduDikko’s Stadium in Katsina, promised to squarely tackle the humongous tasks before him which appears to be eclipsing the bliss of election triumph.

Considered by pundits as a greenhorn in political gamesmanship, Radda told the gathering that: “I knew from the moment I decided to run for the governor of Katsina state that upon victory, I would give my best and work my hardest to ensure that I deliver the mandate on which I was elected”.

Radda, who realised that the economy of the state is in shambles, said boosting local economies will be critical for his government’s collective growth and approach for economic revitalisation and diversification for the betterment of the state.

The governor noted that the modernisation and expansion of public infrastructure so that the rest of the economy can grow at an optimal rate will be his government’s ultimate priority.

He promised to establish an agency to enhance employment generation and youth engagement by developing MSMEs, assuring citizens of Katsina to expect more positive changes from his administration, especially in the areas of land administration, revenue generation, environmental management and infrastructure development.

The governor vowed to introduce a Treasury Single Account (TSA) to consolidate the state finances in order to strengthen accountability and close all loopholes in the state’s financial system.

He said: “Linkages in payroll and overheads and capital projects would be targeted until we eradicate them to ensure that public finances are managed efficiently for the benefit of the people of Katsina state”.

On health and social care, the governor said his administration would embark on an unprecedented drive to ensure that the most vulnerable persons in communities across the state are well taken care of and equipped with the tools to take them out of poverty.

Radda’s quest for improved access to quality and effective healthcare at all levels by Katsinacitizens, observers believe, will lead to sustainable universal health coverage and eliminate the spate of infant mortality rate.

His promise of deploying all available resources and working with neighbouring governors to ward off banditry and other criminalities in the state, is considered by security experts as another strategic administrative plan to end killings, abductions and raping of innocent citizens by suspected terrorists.

According to him, “The insecurity issues will be paramount for this administration and I will deploy all available resources to end banditry and criminality across the state. We will also engage communities in this fight to ensure that security is sustained.

“Those affected by banditry and insecurity, I assured you that my administration will do its best to rebuild your lives. We will also focus on your mental well-being and provide special support to women and girls who have endured unimaginable pains”.

To the bandits, Radda said: “Abandon your cause and reintegrate into society or face the full wrath of the law. And I urged our youths to shun drug abuse, time wasting and criminality. We will work with relevant law enforcement agencies to provide social order and overall security of the state”.

Being an agrarian state with 85 per cent farmers, the governor noted that his government will develop an agricultural value chain along essential commodities and ensure that all the 34 local governments benefit from activities in which they have comparative and competitive advantages.

Also included is Radda’s desire to continue assisting ever-toiling farmers through enlightened agricultural policy that promotes productivity and assures decent incomes so that farmers can support their families and feed the state.

On education, the governor vowed to ensure that the best students have access to world-class academic facilities across the state, calling on teachers to embrace his government’s drive to improve the state educational system.

According to him: “Our future development would hinge on an educated population ready to contribute back to the state. We will also focus on technical and vocational education for those who need skills to become productive in society”.

Reforming the public service sector to ensure upskilled workers to work more effectively and efficiently in line with his strategic policy document, is another targeted  achievement by the Katsina governor.

The process of modernising the sector, according to him, is not designed to bring hardship to civil servants but to ensure that they are working in a capacity that matches their competencies with the right tools and enumerations.

He averred that such administration reforms will be extended to local government areas, while promotion and placement of staff will be entirely on merits and not through favours. “We apply the sticks and carrots in our approach towards performance”, he said.

While stating that his government would encourage civil servants to come forward as whistleblowers when they observe practices that violate due process and rule of law, Radda said: “my administration will be transparent and ensure that reasonable efforts are made to engage the people as we introduce new policies”.

However, with his manifesto, campaign promises and inaugural speech safely in the custody of many Katsina citizens, Radda must refrain from toeing the obnoxious path of his predecessor who failed to fulfil most of his campaign promises when he came into power eight years ago.