Kano, when sending reps, send Johnny-on-the-spot

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By Abdulyassar Abdulhamid

One of the determinants of growth and development in any democratic government is a good and committed representation. Nigerians has continued to suffer from the lack of both.

Whether in the North, South or East, Nigerians need an ideal representation to survive the torturing bad governance they have been experiencing for decades. Show me a Nigerian, I will show you a man a woman, who has survived a constant forging of the anvil and the hammer of a poor representation. Many Nigerians have been reduced to eternal mourners of a sort. Thanks to bad representation and its agents.

Who imagined that Alhassan Ado Doguwa, the member representing Tudun Wada/Doguwa federal constituency, who doubles as the Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, could have laid his life for Kano State, if the need be? Who knows he would fight to the very last until justice is served for the very people he swore to represent. Pardon my ignorance of his belief and democratic principles. I had but a cursory view of him. For almost a fortnight, Kano State was in a perpetual fear – that absolute fear that dries up one’s throat and makes one wet his or her palm with sweats.

Neither the authorities in the state nor the governed slept with two eyes closed. The cold hands of death were having a field day. This place, where my umbilical cord was buried, was trapped in the wheel of Coronavirus pandemic. Many factors were at play. The state was in a mess. Thanks to the ignorantly hateful analysts and their noises. They made anyone who cared to listen believe that the state was but a failure.

The mysterious deaths have continued to ravage the heart of the state. The state government’s efforts have been demoralized by enemies from within and without.

Those are hate-filled that have made bashing Kano State their pastime. At last, they have found an easy target in it. They have gotten the right satchel to place their loathing of the state.

They were forewarned that they should not, enemies whether from within or without, play politics with human lives. Yet, in Kano State much more than anywhere in the country, the 2023 politics has started to manifest as early as 2020. Here people don’t care. They can jest with people’s lives. Sad! Altruism sacrificed at the altar of politics!

The danger is immeasurably monstrous. The state government had almost exhausted its resources and energy in the endless fight to stem the spread of the disease. Three isolation centers were set up, health workers assembled and resources invested. Later, more facilities have been converted to isolation centres. But they are blind to this. Their intention was to create a vehicle of destabilization: “panic”. Ultimately, one has been invented.

Well-meaning Nigerians have said once and again that the fight against the dreadful disease needs collective efforts to succeed – meaning the authorities, the governed, rich and poor, name it, have a role to play.

This is one of the reasons the chairmen of Dangote and BUA Foundations, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Abdussamad Isyaka Rabiu, have donated so heavily in order to see the pandemic defeated. They have proven to the world that they are true sons of the soil and sincere compatriots whose love for their country knows no bounds. The huge donations they have made will surely remain in the hearts of Kanawas and Nigerians to the last day.

Still a question is asked, if a state as mighty as Lagos State would be taken care of by the centre, what has Kano State done to deserve such a prolonged neglect – such devil-may-care attitude from the Federal Government?

Yellow journalism was employed by the “Herds Media” and their cohorts to discredit whosoever cares for the state. The intention was to arm-twist the Federal Government into watching the state bleed to death.

The Federal Government said: “As we are all aware, Lagos and Abuja have the majority of confirmed cases in Nigeria. Our focus therefore remains to urgently and drastically contain these cases, and to support other states and regions in the best way we can.”

It recruited hundreds of ad-hoc staff in Lagos and Abuja to man call centers to support the government’s tracing and testing efforts. It provided an initial intervention of ten billion naira (N10b) to support Lagos State, as it fought to contain and control the virus spread.

The government also created a Presidential Task Force (PTF), with a special focus on the two states, to develop a workable National Response Strategy that is being reviewed on a daily basis as the requirements change. We all applauded. There is no objection against that. The two states belong to Nigeria.

All this while, Kano State was left at the mercy of its capacity and resources. The Federal Government didn’t care for almost a month. We silently buried our dead and patiently waited for others to succumb to the cold hands of the grim reaper.

Kano State is neither envious nor is she competing with any state. Rather she asks and fights for what is hers. The state says, “I wish I have a flag of my own. I need life no death for my people. Give my people what they deserve, nothing more, nothing less,.”

Amidst this trying time, emerged a “Mai kamar zuwa Kan aika”: Jonny-on-the-spot” – one man battalion he is. Following the approval of N15 billion intervention fund for Kano State by the House of Representatives, a friend’s comment was, “If you are sending a representative, send a strong one.” Alhassan Ado Doguwa has paid his dues. He singlehandedly rallied all the members to support the motion.

When he rose, deafening silence reined. With one single sentence: “if the situation in Kano State is not quickly checked, more residents will lose their lives”, he set the wheel in motion. As he spoke, one hears his raised voice intertwined with clip-clops of the hooves of the horse he rode.

To Alhassan Ado Doguwa, Kano State is worth dying for. He knows there at home are people who sincerely gave their votes and are hankering for good representation. This is a lesson for every one of us to emulate.

Abddulhamid wrote via abdulahiyassar2013@gmail.com

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Sky Daily